Lessons learnt from premature Pleco deaths

[Savant]

Hi Bros,

First, my apologies for this morbid post.

Now, the subject proper. I was wondering how many of you have bought plecos and have them die on you within days/weeks or even months (too soon!) and why did they die?

Am hoping that this thread will serve to educate bros on what to look out for before buying these very exotic plecos only to have them die on you...

[lyh]

Let me share my experience. My first plec was a small L330 and this piece died on the very next day I brought it home. The reason that I could think of is that I did not provide any DWs and hiding areas for it. This could have caused it to bee very stressed thus died.

[bryan]

The most obvious sign will be a shrunken belly. Do not buy those.

[celticfish]

I've been told by pleco guru's sunken eyes too...

[valice]

Acclimatisation for me.
I have one L128 that died on me the very next day. I flooded the bag very quickly from a neutral water with quite high temperature to a low temperature soft acidic water.

[michael lai]

Two things work for me, acclimatisation and research. Acclimatisation if properly done, 90% of the time most plecos will survive. They are actually very hardy fellas. Research is another area alot of hobbyist ignore, wah nice buy buy, then the fish die the next day. i think alot of us plan the tank to what we like to see and not what suits the fish better, water parameters and filter systems are also areas hobbyists ignore. Some plecos require fast flowing water but end up in a planted tank, the list goes on. If you can relate to what I'm saying here, I'm sure you're on your way. If not "To-cheh" as the french would have it... but at least read before buying.

[Savant]

I know of friends who bought plecos thinking that they do not need to be fed (unless you want to stir shit into the tank water), as these plecos feed on shit (be it human or fish!!!)

[Savant]

Overcrowding and insufficient territories. I am still experimenting with driftwood public housing or HDB blocks...

Poor 183....

[eeeeemo]

i have never had plecos die on me before.. i believe in good water quality! as good as CRS tanks.... treat your plecos well!

[aquatic777]

Sunken belly first.... sunken eye later stage, usually near death. Both a no-no sign when choosing plecos at lfs. But I've had a few died on me too within few days of buying though appeared healthy and water parameters are okay. So it's a 'sudden death syndrome' to me since I can't figure out. And I hope there will be no more people who still thought plecos just eat dirt. That period should have passed already.

[pl_cec]

I have 2 tanks, 1 placed on the floor with canister filter and another a cabinet tank also using canister filter. 5 pieces of pelco die when I placed them in the tank on the floor and none die for those placed in the cabinet tank. Learning Point: The filteration of the tank placed on the floor is not good enough. Good Filteration is the Key to healthy Pelco. Thanks

[luenny]

Recently 2 of my normal pleco (those $1/- a piece type) died. One of them is albino type. Reason, I overfeed the discus tanks. They stay together with the discus and eat beef heart and grow very quickly within the year or so I had them. But when the beef heart wasn't consume fully and the sponge filter (as most discus people uses) clogs up, the plecos were the first to go. Then one day later one by one the discus go. Seems that discus is even tougher than plecos. Both tank plecos die first and then discus start to die the next day. Anyway, manage to safe some of the discus by doing WC. That's my story.

One thing I found from my many years of keeping fishes (since primary school) and my not so many years of keeping planted tanks is that a lot of planted tank people tend to care a lot more for their plants than their fishes. They would buy fishes that suit the plants. The water parameters are tuned to suit plants than fishes by for example adding CO2 and keep water surface as still as possible (best if no water movement on the surface). There are people who keep discus in planted tank with CO2 and chiller too (and we all know discus likes it hot). Well, these are not the most suitable conditions for the fishes and sadly, a lot of people jump into it. Once they master the plants, they set up CO2, chillers, fert regime and after all that, only then they think about the fishes - and most of the time fishes they have not kept before. So they have no idea of behavioral change in fishes or how to look for signs of stress, etc. And a lot of times the fishes there don't do well. Worse still, they mix species that don't feel comfortable together - which is why there are so many cases where people say it'll do better in a species tank. A lot of times, a lot of fishes do very well in community tanks - I've bred a lot of fishes in comm tanks before - you just need to make them feel comfortable and safe. Of course, chances of fry survival rate is another thing but it has to do good before they are willing to breed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to condemn anybody or anything. Plant tanks with fishes look good but it's something that's very hard to balance out. You really need a lot of experience with the type of fishes and plants that you put in your aquarium to do well. Just my 2 cents.

[PeterGwee]

No surface movement is old school of thought for planted tanks and is bad. Moderate surface movement is a better idea and prevents the oxygen from going down to dangerous level if the plants do not do well for some reason. Yes, you loose some CO2 but then you can always add a tad more. Fish? You cannot reanimate them once they are dead.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[Vandecruz]

My bad experiences are with my L134,happened to bought around 8 adults L134 2 months ago and they died one by one in less than a week after my 60% water change ,Most probably are due to the water as there is alot of bros who did encounter this and suspecting it too and the new plecos that are not acclimatised well enough so after that lesson learnt,i have adjusted my water changing regime to more constant yet in lesser amount like maybe 15-25% once in ever 3-5 days and most of my plecos i am keeping now are doing just fine from what i monitor

[luenny]

Hmmm ... talk about water change. I did a large water change for my cory tank during weekend. Change about 50% because the tannin is really causing the water to go very yellow. Anyway, I use water conditioner that I've used for a long time. The thing is, after WC, the cories looks normal but the L134 started going up for air. I was thinking "Oh NO!", luckily it settles down after a while and they're both still ok. Darn! That was a close call.

[Savant]

When I have to catch fish out, move the furniture and rearrange them, I sometime get deaths... Think this is due to resuffling of the hiding places, stiring up settled waste etc...