Spinning Plec,cant Swim Properly

[shelaghfishface]

i have no idea whats gone wrong here, my plec is acting very strangely, hes obviously havng problems staying where he wants to be and is sucking onto anything that he can get with dear life.hes spinning when he swims and seems to go staright to the top of the tank when he lets go of anything that he has managed to grip onto... hes been with me about 3 weeks he came with a new tank but i moved him into this other one, with Jambo, convicts,clown loaches and 2 more plecs, i tested the water yesteday and the ammonia was off the chart but with lots and lots of water changes it now down to 0 again, the nitrites didnt go up and the nitrates are 10, nothing has been added to the tank, tho i have been lapsing on gravel vacs, due to the fact that i have had a constant stream of house guests, but i did a damn good vac yesterday afternoon with the WC, i also found a piece of lead weight in the tank thats been in there a while,maybe this with the dirty gravel may have had an effect??

im assuming its something to do with his swimbladder, i was thinking that either the chnage in temp at the water changes (almost constant) or he has been sucking the air pipe that blows bubbles, i dont know but this only started today and im really worried about him so any advice would be gratfully receievd- i have attched a photo,this is him trying to stay in the one place, pretty obvious i think from the way his back end is floating

thanks in advance
shelagh xxxxx

 

[Axleuk]

Hi Shelagh,

Apart from the issues you have listed, is the plec showing any physical signs of infection? Try looking around the mouth area for abnormalities.

 

[shelaghfishface]

no none at all, i have been looking at him very carefully and cant see anything at all, not near his mouth/on his body

 

[Axleuk]

no none at all, i have been looking at him very carefully and cant see anything at all, not near his mouth/on his body

In that case i would say it is almost certainly Swim Bladder related. He doesnt sound too bad at the moment, so it might be a case of fishy constipation. Have you seen him pass anything recently? I have done a little research and it is suggested that you stop feeding for 3-4 days. If symptoms persist, feed the plec a small amount of fresh spinach or a green pea without the skin (laxatives). Dont use tinned peas, i know it sound silly but they contain preservatives so use frozen and thaw it first in the microwave.

If you see him getting worse, then i would consider treating for full blown Swim Bladder Disease and treat accordingly. I am sure that there are people that will pop along with more advice shortly.

Fingers crossed its not too seriously and hope he is ok soon.

 

[rabbut]

Hi, got your PM

Looking over the op, I see you mentioned you had ammonia off the chart high the other day... Have you nailed the caurse yet? Lead weights shouldn't do anything, but dirt in the gravel could be a contributor to the raised ammonia. My gut feeling would be that you are looking at ammonia poisoning... The symptoms resulting from this poisoning can be slow to set in, often taking a few years to fully exibit themselves, so if the pleco was in at the time of the spike, ammonia poisoning could be the issue.

Have you come across a serious protozoan infection or stray voltage in the tank before? If so, does the iratic swimming look anything like those symptoms?

I'll do a bit more thinking, but thats my ideas on the topic spent for now... If the pleco looks stressed, I'd get the tank lights off and keep it as dark as possible to try help the fish calm a bit, otherwise for now I don't know what to surgest...

No signs of this plec being picked on by the others is there?

The behaviour could also be something internal, but I don't realy know what internal issues could caurse these symptoms, as I haven't had to deal with such issues for a long while... I don't think plecos have swim bladders, but could be wrong (again)

All the best in sorting this
Rabbut

 

[shelaghfishface]

thanks both, no no problems of any kind aprt from the ammonia, which is cetainly from the gravel, but im usually so carefull with this tank in particular as jambo is in there, i did fit a tube and starter to the light unit last night? i have now removed the plugs, just incase.i cant say if it looks familiar to what you are suggesting as i have never seen it, no hes not picked on, he gets a shove from jambo from time to time, but nothing more than that, but then so do the others and no one else is poorley.
ill test for ammonia again in the morning, have just been and looked at him again and definatly no physical signs of illness...this is awful, i have no idea what so ever and i really hope he will be better soon, i feel bloody awful now, thanks for trying rabbut

 

[shelaghfishface]

have just boiled up some peas and put them in all my tanks, they had prawns earlier today, but ill hold off for 2 days now

 

[Axleuk]

have just boiled up some peas and put them in all my tanks, they had prawns earlier today, but ill hold off for 2 days now

Did you remove the skins ?

 

[boeingtech]

Hi shelagh, I had a platy about 2 weeks ago do the same thing. She started off swimming to the side then she was just spinning around, she could'nt hang on to the glass like a plec so just kept spinning, I got stressed just watching i was about to tell my husband to fish her out to put her out of her misery and i thought i would give her one last chance and put some interpet swim bladder med in. I expected to get up in the morning and find her dead, but to my surprise she was swimming around like nothing had happened I have had some sleepless nights since getting these fish they are worse than the kids. I did'nt add any salts with the meds like they recomend because i was worried abot my plec and catfish i have and i worked fine. Hope your plec gets better soon. Also i notice you were from wales, were abouts, i am in pontypridd, south wales, what made you move.

 

[Axleuk]

Hi shelagh, I had a platy about 2 weeks ago do the same thing. She started off swimming to the side then she was just spinning around, she could'nt hang on to the glass like a plec so just kept spinning, I got stressed just watching i was about to tell my husband to fish her out to put her out of her misery and i thought i would give her one last chance and put some interpet swim bladder med in. I expected to get up in the morning and find her dead, but to my surprise she was swimming around like nothing had happened I have had some sleepless nights since getting these fish they are worse than the kids. I did'nt add any salts with the meds like they recomend because i was worried abot my plec and catfish i have and i worked fine. Hope your plec gets better soon. Also i notice you were from wales, were abouts, i am in pontypridd, south wales, what made you move.

South Wales Rocks

 

[boeingtech]

hi Axleuk, i would ask were in bridgend are you from but i don't really know anywhere in bridgend other than the audi garage and the pide piper ( if i have spelt it wright) oh and when i drive through to drive the kids to porthcawl.

 

[rabbut]

I don't think it likely to be stray voltage, but it it were presant, you would likely be able to feel it. Ever had a weak electric shock? If so, and you get that feeling from your tank, that would be the issue. If you don't get that feeling, stray voltage isn't likely to be the issue

I've been poking arround and found that poor water quality and internal parasites are possible caurses. Do you have any Sterazin or paraquitanol (spelling?) to hand? I'd keep up with some regular waterchanges for now, say 20% daily for a week or so to see if that helps recovery, and observe the pleco going to the toilet. If the poo looks abnormal, you need to collect some an find someone with a mircoscope to try and identify/rule out internal parasites as the issue

Also, from the research I've done, poor waterquality is the most common caures of plecos "floating", so the raised ammonia yesterday is probibly your caurse. Keep a clean tank for the next week and hopefully it will clear itself Failing that, you may need to get Wilder to help.

All the best
Rabbut

 

[shelaghfishface]

thankyou Rabbut,we have had an electric shock, was a while back an i thought it was from the dimmer light switch(metal) that touches the outlet pipe of the external filter.didnt think anything of it, but dont use the light now as its summer and light til late,anyway ill check that with wet hands tommorw ( what a bloody silly idea!!) ill only touch it i wont play with it. i do have steriazin and i will of course do daily WC thats not a problem at all, our house is our own again now thankgoodness,so can get on with things...

just an after thought, i had my hand in the tank today and no feeling of electricity in there,so ill go on and assume its the water quality and will go back to my old routine,


yes i squished the shells axle,lol he has been eating them,

hi boeingtech, im from Barry, moved up here 4 yrs ago from swansea, and have regretted it pretty much ever since, my family have been nagging me to go home ( hence all the visitors lately-just to nag) but the kids are settled here so i wont be going anywhere for a while,as much as i miss wales and my family ( all in barry and cardiff,tredeger) kids have to come first now

thanks for all the help, fingers crossed the peas will clean him from the inside and daily WC will clean him from the outside


shelagh xxxxx

 

[boeingtech]

hi, shelagh, my husband works in cardiff airport, which you have to go through barry to get to. Have thought about moving there a few times for him to be closer to work. My mother lives in tredegar, what a small world it is

 

[shelaghfishface]

my uncle used to work there,( fixing planes) and my sister is about to land there at any second now ( shes gone from here tonight), it certainly is a small world eh? i know the airport well as some family live in Rhoose too.

shelagh xxxx