My Pleco is Sick!

[Arashi]

Something is wrong with my L001 Pleco. He's not moving, but is on one of the walls of my tank. His fins are all standing erect and stiff. Now the thing thats really scaring me, is that even though he is on the wall of the tank, he is not sucking and there are tiny bubbles in his mouth!?!?! What the heck is wrong with him!?

I did a quick check on the water parameters and everything is very normal. Here are the results:

Amonia=0
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=5
pH=6.8
General Hardness=6

He is in a 10 gallon, as he is is still very small yet, and his companions are a few Platies and Swordtails, and a female Betta. There is a peice of driftwood in the tank, plastic plants, and a little cave made out of rock for him to hide in.

I added a bit of Stresscoat, but I don't want to medicate until I know whats wrong. If anyone knows what is wrong with the little guy please let me know! I don't want to lose another of my favorite fish!

:::Edited because I'm an idiot... :::

 

[cometcattle]

Your nitrates seem high Arashi.

I'd do a water change ASAP. Other than that, sorry,I have no clue.

 

[Arashi]

Wait...thats not right...thats not my nitrates! lol! I was typing too fast and I put in the wrong number. Hang on, I'll get another reading...

...ok...thank goodness I was wrong. Nitrates = 5.

Thats a bit better...

The last water change was on Saturday, and there are no problems with any of the other fish.

Thanks for helping cometcattle, and sorry I''m a freaking idiot who can't type. )

 

[cometcattle]

I was thinking "11, WOW her fish might be melting."

Have you seen him eat lately?

I've seen my ottos do this, but I never noticed bubbles.

 

[Arashi]

Yeah, sorry about that...I have no idea what I was thinking typing that fast and then not rereading what I posted before I posted it.

The last time I saw him eat was last night, when he was snacking on an algae wafer. I only noticed him like this when I came home from work, as he was perfectly fine this morning.

It's odd...he's on the side of the tank, but he's not sucking. The bubbles are definitely an odd scary sight though...think he might be drowing? I have a good filter and an airstone, so I would think he's getting enough air...

 

[reg2k2]

Is the fish new? Does he know about the cave?

When you say he's not sucking, u mean he's not attached by his mouth, yes? btw, is he at the surface...lower?
My pleco has done this a couple times while he was in a treatmt tank...but he didn't have a cave, and I figured it to be some sort of stress reaction (he did go back down at dark). Fins weren't stiff, tho, as I recall.
Maybe try adding another cave or two?

The bubbles, I think, should be normal....unless you see him going to the surface a lot.
Last time I caught mine to have a look at him, he had a big bubble in his mouth. This was still in treatmt, but I'm pretty sure I've seen it posted here that some think it may aid them in swimming/staying afloat , so not necessarily sickness-related.

Glad he's eating.

 

[Arashi]

Forget it guys. He's dead. My Mr. Sprinkles is gone!

I watched him die...it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen. He just sort of slipped off the tank wall onto the gravel, went into a short series of spasms which lasted no more than a few seconds, then...he just lay on the gravel on his side not moving. I hope I never have to see anything like that again.

I have no idea what happened to my little guy, but believe me this was not normal behavior...I had him for over 3 months, and I knew all his little mannerisms and quirks. He loved his driftwood and his rock caves, and would spend most of his time there, only coming out for his fresh veggies and algae wafers. There was no sign of anything wrong, except for those odd bubbles in his mouth, which I had never seen before.

I just want to thank everyone who responded to help me and my Pleco. Thank you all so very much.

Mr. Sprinkles will be remembered always.

Mr. S.

 

[Discomafia]

Let me be the first to say I'm sorry to hear about the death of your pleco. I'm sure he is in a better place now. I also hope the problem is not caused by the size of the tank as I have a small pleco in my 10 ga

 

[reg2k2]

I'm so sorry.

 

[cometcattle]

I'm so sorry, Arashi.

Mr Sprinkles couldn't have been loved any more than you loved him.

I wish we knew why this happened.

 

[Arashi]

Thanks, all three of you. cometcattle, you're going to make me cry.

Discomafia - I dont' believe it was the size of the tank...at least I hope it wasn't. I got Mr. S when he was barely over a half an inch...a tiny little guy! When he died he was only just under 3 inches. He ate well, swam well, and up until yesterday was the most intriguing fish in the tank. He would have been a perfect fit for the 10 gallon as well as L001s stay small, only reaching about 6 inches max in length, like Bristlenoses do.

I only hope I can figure out what this was. I have four other Plecos in different tanks, and I don't want to lose any of them to this...whatever it is.