Murdering Fish!

[fishy_feet]

Hi. I'm new.

I have a BIG problem. I recently noticed that my pleco has been acting, very, well, strange. He used to always come out for food straight away. But now, the poor dear doesn't. It's very out of character. Well, that's not all. When observing him one day, I notice that his beautiful little fins were slightly, well, torn perhaps. I racked my brains for answers and read many books but I did not find the answer. Then yesterday I decided to sit and observe the fish for a few hours. To my dismay I discovered that my little b****** neon tetras seem to be nawing at my zebra catfish pleco's fins.

What can I do?!


Please excuse the language, but this is my original fish who I love dearly. Please help!!!

Many thanks.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Maybe try providing more hiding places for your pleco so that your neons cannot get to him as easily.

 

[rowdyburns21]

Yep, hiding places the way to go

 

[Spooky76]

What size tank is this in ?
As said, somewhere to hide for the Plec is always good. They love bog wood, so with a bit of work you can get a piece that will allow him to hide under it when he needs to. Also Plecs like to suck on bog wood, but try to get one that wont leak tanic acid, as some are pretty bad and will turn your water yellow for about 6 months

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Hi. I'm new.

I have a BIG problem. I recently noticed that my pleco has been acting, very, well, strange. He used to always come out for food straight away. But now, the poor dear doesn't. It's very out of character. Well, that's not all. When observing him one day, I notice that his beautiful little fins were slightly, well, torn perhaps. I racked my brains for answers and read many books but I did not find the answer. Then yesterday I decided to sit and observe the fish for a few hours. To my dismay I discovered that my little b****** neon tetras seem to be nawing at my zebra catfish pleco's fins.

What can I do?!


Please excuse the language, but this is my original fish who I love dearly. Please help!!!

Many thanks.

ok, here goes the list:

what size tank is this?
what is the gph of your filter?
what are all the other tankmates?
how long has this setup been running?
what do you feed and how often?
what size water changes do you usually perform?
how often do you change the water?
can you please give a detailed description of the tank decor?

also, please tell us the pH, the kH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels of the tank.

in my experience, most plecos are perfectly capable of defending themselves against nippy tetras. i imagine that the nipping is a result of the lethargy and not a cause.

if you could post a current picture of your pleco, that would be a big help

 

[scooterchick]

Hi. I'm new.

I have a BIG problem. I recently noticed that my pleco has been acting, very, well, strange. He used to always come out for food straight away. But now, the poor dear doesn't. It's very out of character. Well, that's not all. When observing him one day, I notice that his beautiful little fins were slightly, well, torn perhaps. I racked my brains for answers and read many books but I did not find the answer. Then yesterday I decided to sit and observe the fish for a few hours. To my dismay I discovered that my little b****** neon tetras seem to be nawing at my zebra catfish pleco's fins.

What can I do?!


Please excuse the language, but this is my original fish who I love dearly. Please help!!!

Many thanks.

ok, here goes the list:


in my experience, most plecos are perfectly capable of defending themselves against nippy tetras. i imagine that the nipping is a result of the lethargy and not a cause.

if you could post a current picture of your pleco, that would be a big help

Agreed. A pleco wouldn't volunteer to become fish food for tetra's, I have little doubt he's sick. If you could answer pica's question, hopefully we can help you sort him out! x