Snowball Pleco Pale - Possibly Acting Strangely?

[Jonno]

Hi there,

I hve a 2 year old snowball pleco who is acting strangly lately. I upgraded my tank to Malawi about 2 weeks ago and removed bogwood and added rockwork. He has always been very shy and only comes out of hiding every couple of days. This past couple of days however he has been lurking around the front inner of the rockwork, which could be him becoming more confident with the extra hiding places. But in doing this I have noticed that he is pale/whiteish under his fins, the same colour as under his body really. Does this sound normal or am I worrying?

My thought is he may be hungry. He has never visibly eaten although does have an algae wafer when the rest of the fish leave it alone !!

As a side note he has always been very pale, is there any way to get his colour back?

Levels are all fine Nitrite and Ammoni 0, although had a slight spike (0.5ppm max) 1 week ago after I introduced new fish. Tank is about 3 years old.

Jonno.

 

[WILDER]

Your tanks overstocked.
What test kit are you using?

Has the ph altered due to removing the bogwood and adding the rocks.

The white area does it look like bleacing beneath the skin.
Is he still eating well.
Does he look thin or bloated.

 

[Jonno]

Your tanks overstocked.
What test kit are you using?

Has the ph altered due to removing the bogwood and adding the rocks.

The white area does it look like bleacing beneath the skin.
Is he still eating well.
Does he look thin or bloated.

Hi Wilder,

I'm not sure as the tanks overstocked - it's 200 litre and only has 20 fish including the pleco. The Nitrite/Ammonia increase was only present when I tested it the day after I got the new fish and hasn't been there since so I assumed it was just the filter catching up with the increased stock?

Like I say I rarely see him eat although i've been putting cucumber in the tank overnight for the past 2 nights and he appears to have been knawing on it.

PH has changed due to the coral rock and is between 7.8 and 8.

Doesn't look thin or bloated.

He has seemed back to normal the past couple of days but i'd like to get to the bottom of his paleness. Bleacing beneath the skin you say? What is the cause of this and is it anything to be concerned about?

Thanks!

Jonathan.

 

[WILDER]

Can you list all the fish you have in the tank. How many.

What was the ph when you had the bogwood in the tank.
Tap ph.

If ph changes fast it can cause ph shock.

Bleaching beneath the skin can be columnaris.
Being pale can be stress, desease.