Rescuing A Pleco

[goldfishgeek]

I have no idea what type it is, She has had it for about two years, She is a good friend but not really in to the fish.

All the guppies I gave her have died, I have been over and done water changes - her water is generally not good, for some reason there it never exactly cycles. There is always NO2 and high levels of NO3 present. she tried plants but they died.

the problem is this.

the pleco is the only fish left in the tank which she wants to get rid of.

I will have to take it, she wants to get rid this weekend.

How long should I acclimate it for?

my water parameters are all at 0. this may be a shock to him - there is a lot of aglae in her tank and no light any more.

so I should mix the water leave him in the bag in the dark for how long?

I know there will be people who think I shouldn't do this but I cannot let it be flushed.

thanks

GFG

 

[tttnjfttt]

I would acclimate him VERY slowly. If you can convince her to give you the tank too, i would do that and begin giving him daily water changes. If you must move him into one of your tanks, look into drip acclimation since your water conditions are so much different from what he is currently in. Do make sure that if you have ever used salt in your tank that it is completely out of the tank, as plecos can't tollerate any salt.

I don't think anyone will yell at you for taking him out of such a bad environment. I am assuming that you are aware that your largest tank will be too small for him in the long run, but as long as you are aware of that and are working on making plans for him in the long run, i see no problems what so ever.

 

[goldfishgeek]

thanks,

I have two plans, one give him to my fish shop friend, or set up a big tank at school.

er what's drip acclimation?

do I drip my tank water into his bag?(how do I get it to drip?)

how long can I keep him in the bag?

Do you think I should add melafix to his bag/the tank? she said he looks a bit dogdey........ mind you she didn't think much of him in the first place. so he could be fine if you see what I mean.

thanks again

Lucy

I have a spare six gallon - would it be better to bring home his water and keep him in that for a bit??? or is it too small. I would guess yes, but just wondered.

 

[tttnjfttt]

as for keeping him in the 6 gallon, that wil depend on how big he is. If he is only a few inches and they will let you keep the filter media, then i'd say yes. If not, then i'd go for introducing him, as long as he doens't look too ragged or ill.

Here is a page that talks about how to do a drip acclimation. It is meant for salt water fish, but the same principals apply. The main rason for this is because he is in such different water conditions now that you want to make the change very slowly. http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/general...eral_pagesid=19

 

[slimboni]

I hope you don't mind me butting in here... I rescued an albino cory from a tank I couldn't even see him in because it was so dirty and it had koi in the tank 6 all over 8 in, they had nipped most of his fins off and his barbs were completly gone. I just said the heck with it, and dropped him right in. He was swimming around within 10min allready loved his new home. been there over a month and his fins look great, but his barbs are not going to recover. Oh I got him 2 tank mates so he isn't lonely. Feels great when you rescue something and it survives. So... I say just get him out of there asap and he is healthy enough to survive he will adapt without you doing major accomidations to save him. Just my opinion though.

 

[tttnjfttt]

I'm going to disagree. any drastic change in a fish's envrionment is stressful for them. The poor water quality is going to have stressed this guy out already. add to that he is goin to be netted, bagged, moved, and then put into a new area. I woudl play it safe. You are very lucky your fish had no complications.