Poorly Bristlenose Pleco

[AdrianBru]

Hi Guys - my bristlenose pleco is unwell again. A couple of months ago he was pooping long stringy whitish poos which I was advised was likely to be internal parasites, this was cured by four consecutive cycles of esha NDX (levamisole). Unfortunately the poor lad is now not eating at all, has a very bloated stomach and very occasionally passes a thick whitish substance generally about 20mm long. I have put him in a hospital tank and added aquarium salt and API General Cure, this being the third day. Although he occasionally moves position he still isn't eating anything but his stomach appears to be less bloated. Water parameters are good - Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 25, Ph 7.2 - Have any of you good folks got any ideas as to what ails him and what medication I can use, bearing in mind I'm in the UK and decent medications are hard to get hold of. Thanks for your help

 

[Colin_T]

What are you feeding the fish?
Bristlenose and other suckermouth catfish need algae, driftwood and bits of fish and prawn in their diet. If they don't have algae and driftwood they can have intestinal problems. Rotten food can cause internal problems.

As far as medications go, the bloated belly is probably bacterial and Metronidazole is one of the standard medications used. Other than that, you can try anti-biotics if you can get them but it will probably require a visit to the vet and it would be cheaper to replace the fish.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Colin has a great point (as usual). Do you have driftwood in the tank to aid in digestion? This is a must for plecos.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Colin has a great point (as usual).

Colin always has a great point!


First of all, I agree with @Colin_T (as usual) any kind of pleco really needs to have some sort of driftwood, and or algae, to properly digest food. You can feed them algae wafers, but they also need what I mentioned above. What are you feeding him?

 

[AdrianBru]

What are you feeding the fish?
Bristlenose and other suckermouth catfish need algae, driftwood and bits of fish and prawn in their diet. If they don't have algae and driftwood they can have intestinal problems. Rotten food can cause internal problems.

As far as medications go, the bloated belly is probably bacterial and Metronidazole is one of the standard medications used. Other than that, you can try anti-biotics if you can get them but it will probably require a visit to the vet and it would be cheaper to replace the fish.

Thank you for your reply Colin. I do have driftwood in the tank and I feed him on algae wafers. I'm currently medicating him with API General Cure which contains 250mg metronidazole and 75mg praziquantel per dose. Should I be doing anything else?

 

[Kritastrophe]

Do you feed him veggies? Try blanching some peas and zucchini and see if he won’t eat those. Just make sure you remove them next morning and only give a small amount.

 

[Colin_T]

get some plant matter into its diet. You can use cucumber, zucchini, carrot, pumpkin, etc.
Avoid potatoe, onion, leeks, shallots and other onion relatives.

Make sure anything you feed is clean and free of chemicals. Cut it into thin slices and remove after a few hours.

 

[AdrianBru]

Do you feed him veggies? Try blanching some peas and zucchini and see if he won’t eat those. Just make sure you remove them next morning and only give a small amount.

Thank you Kritastrophe and Colin, I have tried him on both peas and courgettes but at the moment he's not eating anything. I will persevere in the hope that his appetite returns. Thanks for all your help

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Cucumbers, and Zucchini tend to work better, IMO.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Yes, mine loves zucchini. He will drag it from one side if the aquarium to the other so he can eat it in his favorite hiding spot. I hope you pleco gets better!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

And from what I hear, Plecos really do have a great personality, they can live up to 15 years!

 

[Colin_T]

Plecos are boring and sleep all day. Then at night they move around and suck on the glass and wood and that's all they do.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

But you got to admit, they look pretty cool!!

 

[Fishmanic]

mine often comes out and about during the day...he wants to get fed so he begs for his algae wafer. He also rearranges the sand to his liking to keep things interesting.