SICK PLECO

[lorax311420]

IM SURE THIS HAS BEEN ANSWERED A FEW TIMES, BUT AFTER READING ALL THE POSTS I AM NOT COMPLETELY SATISFIED SO I HOPE SOMEONE CAN HELP ME OUT. HERE IT GOES, I WAS ON VACATION LAST WEEK AND LEFT MY TANK IN CHARGE OF MY BROS GF. WHEN I CAME HOME I HAD A DEAD GLOLIGHT ( 20 GAL WITH 2 ZEBRA DANIOS AND NOW ONLY 2 GLOWLITES, PLANTED WITH 4 UNKNOWN PLANTS, WATER PARAMS STEADY AT O, NOT EVEN NITRATE WHICH WORRIES ME.) I ALSO NOTICED A BROWN ALGAE PROBLEM.

AFTER FINDING A FLOATING FISH I WENT OUT TO REPLACE THE GLOLIGHT AND ALSO GOT A COMMON PLEC TO HELP W/ MY ALGAE PROBLEM. NOW AFTER 3 DAYS THE PLEC IS COVERED IN SMALL WHITE DOTS THAT I SUSPECT TO BE ICH. HES STILL ACTIVE AT NIGHT AND FORAGING AROUND FOR FOOD BUT IM WORRIED THAT IT WILL GET WORSE. ON TOP OF THAT I CANT KEEP MY TANK STEADY AT 78 DEGREES BECAUSE THE TEMPS DURING THE DAY GET UP TO THE HIGH 90'S AND RAISE THE TEMP IN THE TANK TO ABOUT 82.

SO IM WORRIED THAT THE FLUCTUATING TEMPS HAVE STRESSED HIM OUT AND CAUSED THE ILLNESS, ALTHOUGH HE MAY HAVE HAD IT WHEN PURCHASED (NO SIGNS THOUGH).

TODAY THE TANK TEMP IS 82 SO IVE RAISED MY THERMOSTAT TO READ 82 TO HELP SPEED ALONG THE CYCLE AND ADDED HALF A DOSE OF JUNGLE LABS ICH GUARD. I WOULD LOVE TO QUARANTINE HIM BUT I DO NOT HAVE ANOTHER FILTRATED TANK ONLY AN OLD BETTA BOWL.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN DO? I HOPE SOOMEONE CAN HELP ME OUT.

SCOTT

 

[WILDER]

What are your water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph, wouldnt buy new fish to you no why the fish died, is the plec sprinkled in salt like grains of salt.need to no how many gallons the tank is, and full stock list of fish.

 

[tttnjfttt]

You are right, it does sound like you have ich. You are doing the right thing by slowly raising the temperature, your end temperature should be around 84-86 degreese. Don't even bother trying to quarentine him, simply because if one fish has ich, the others will likely get it as well. It may take slightly longer to get rid of the ich, because of using the meds at half dose.

One thing you should do is give your tank a very through gravel vacuming, because most non-fish people over feed. Also, if you could check your water and post back the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, that would be great.

Just giving you the heads up, your 20 gallon tank is way too small for a common pleco. They are massive waste producers and also grow to around 12"

EDIT: I just re-read your post and saw your water paramiters, which are good. Having a planted tank can explain the nitrAtes of zero, as plants will get rid of some nitrAtes.

 

[lorax311420]

i know they do get big but i am planning an upgrade to about a 50 gal in the next 6-8 months so i figured i would have some time. Also, i di a 30% water change on Monday and again yesterday both times vaccuming the gravel. The lights in the tank are now off most of the day to avoid stressing him out to much. I dont want to lose this guy because I hate losing fish had a betta die 3 months ago from swim bladder. If it does happen, does anyone have suggestions for a rather small algea eating pleco?

Aslo should I up the dosage?

 

[WILDER]

No only go by what it tells you in the instructions, don't turn temp up to much as plecs don't like high temps or tolerate salt.

 

[playfulalliecat]

One good thing about common plecs is that they grow rather slowly. I have had mine for over 2 years. When I bought him, he was about 6 inches long and now is right around 8. I also have a bristlenose that was only about 3/4 inch when I got him, now he is about 2 inches in about a year and a half.

Keep up what you are doing for the ich, but you really need to check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Something could have caused a mini cycle or overfeeding could have caused some water issues.

 

[lorax311420]

Thanks for all the help everyone, unfortunately I was unable to save him or any of my other fish. My entire tank became infected and they all died one after another. I went back to Petco and half of their tanks were infected with ich. They said they will replace my fish but I assure you that I will never buy anything from them again.