Need advice on wierd behaviour

**weiquan** · 9th Jun 2009, 23:54

I have a few pleco species tank in my fish room but this is the first time i have encountered this weird behaviour of a pleco. I have 7 pieces of L174 plecos in this tank for over a year with no problem

and they have always been eating well with weekly water change. But there is a single piece of L174, its actually one of the 2 bigger pieces i have iniside the tank. It usually hides well in the caves but

suddenly i spotted its hanging high around the top of the tank.

Observation

Stays near top of tank
Tail is torn, looks like bitten.
Keeps shaking his tail, wiggling his tail once least every second or two. (not sure if its like trying to get something off his tail)

I feel it looks unsettled and not stable but his body colour is still there, i tried to disturb it by pushing it with a pincer, sometimes it moves to another top side of the tank but sometimes it just swims around in panic.

Today is Day 3 of it still staying near ther surface. My tank is serverly oxygenated with bubbles by the way. My other 6 pieces are all eating well and hiding well with their tails all normal.

I got a bad feeling on this. i think something bad might be going to happen to this particular piece. Here are some picture i took. Its really difficult to tak picture of it because it constantly moves.

Anyone have any advice to share or have encountered the same problem?

Could it be fin rot? I doubt it because my other 6 pieces in the same tank are fine. I hope im just worrying too much.

**darry** · 10th Jun 2009, 07:27

Hi Mate,

If this is the only fish that is not active, then it will be strange. Fighting or aggressiveness in the tank will not develop this type of behaviour, so it is likely to be a infection.

Did you "overdose" on S7? or any other kinds of minerals or vitamins. I believe this could be one of the main cause for fish to behave in this manner.

And more important, you better do a check on the rest of the 6 plecos, just to make sure that you "cannot" catch them with your bare hands. And if you can "catch" them, it is best to move them to another established tank.

If the rest of the other 6 are still good and active as before, it is best to remove this piece out for quarantine. It is better to be safe than sorry, and this is all part of fish keeping --> to be observant, to be able to handle the situation and keep a record of it.

Cheers
darry

**weiquan** · 10th Jun 2009, 18:36

thanks for your advise darry.

i did not dose anything in the tank at all.

might possibly be an infection i wont rule out this possibility.

Today is day 4 its still at the top of the tank but it looks more calm

not wiggling the tail much, just hanging around.

There are enough caves for it to hide, not sure why its isolating itself on

the top.

**genes** · 10th Jun 2009, 20:51

Not too much knowledge on plecos here but i think you should remove it to another well established tank to prevent any outbreak should it catch some sort of disease. A pleco staying near the surface for so many days defines something is not right. By removing it, you can also add some medication to aid the repair of his torn fins. Perhaps a heater in the hospital tank too.

**celticfish** · 10th Jun 2009, 23:47

If they pictures you took are on the fourth day the fish has a good chance to pass this.
Also, if the "fin rot" has stopped advancing.
It looks well kept and a strong specimen.
So it should be able to take not eating for some time before it really becomes a problem.
Has its breathing rate slowed to normal or is it panting as it wags its tail?
Panting? Danger is still close I reckon.
The body colour in the picture is also a good sign though.

I would not do anything at the moment since the other fish are doing fine.
I do not think its an infection at least for now...
Note that could worsen and the fish develop secondary infection if its immune system is unable to cope.
Then you would have to isolate and treat for bacterial infection.
But moving it now to another environment might give the fish more stress and puch it over the edge.
Keep observing the fish as often as you can for now.

To isolate or not is really your decision as the keeper on that.

**Gecko** · 11th Jun 2009, 18:59

When was the last time you serviced the filteration (canisters?) of this tank?

**weiquan** · 13th Jun 2009, 01:47

i agree with irwin that isolating the fish may cause stress which might make matters worst. So far its still the same but tail wagging movement has lessen i cant see how is the breathing but i will check on it again. Im starting to think it likes to stay at the top. I really hope its just a wierd behaviour to start with lol. thanks for the advice pal.

i wont be adding any medication because the other 6 pieces are eating well and everything looks normal so far.

Gecko i will keep your suggestion in mind once things improve. The canister has not been serviced for over a year plus. Let hope this piece will come down soon.

**weiquan** · 14th Jun 2009, 00:36

Well the worst has happened. It died tonight. for the past few days it was hiding partly behind my surface skimmer. i did not disturb it until last night when i realised its dorsal fins were rotting and some part of the meat around the dorsal fin were reddish, i knew this time it was an infection. After i disturb it, it swam right into a empty cave. i then started to cycle a new tank preparing to house it as a hospital tank for tomorrow but it was all too late.

I got home late tonight and i found it dead in the cave where i last saw it with the my alpha male trapping the dead body.

Since I decided to start the thread i shall conculde with the picture of the dead L174 to share this sad incident. i do not enjoy showing pictures of dead fishes in any case.

today should be day 8 or 9.

no signs of sunken belly.

**darry** · 14th Jun 2009, 07:41

Sorry about the loss, but there are things you still need to do to prevent further loss.

As per Gecko mentioned about the servicing of the canistor, you may want to do a cleanup and make a note of half-yearly maintenance in future.

A good water change will also be helpful at this point of time, as the death of the first piece will somehow "leave" some bacteria to multiply if the tank is left intact.

Finally, you should be relieved that the rest of the batch are okay. But as you are unable to determine the cause of this death, you may "need" to take more preventive measure so as not to hit on the same issue again.

**Gecko** · 14th Jun 2009, 13:03

do find time to service the canister asap. a big water change might push the situation over the edge and the whole colony will be affected. the bb might be overwhelmed already. sorry about your loss, it was a beautiful looking fish.

**khtee** · 14th Jun 2009, 13:18

Have you check on Nitrate level? I have similar issue with Nitrate level too high and PH crash could be the reason.

**weiquan** · 14th Jun 2009, 22:30

thank you all for your kind concern and advice. the 6 pieces are ok so far and nitrate and ph are all in the good range. I hope this is a one time casulty in my many species tank i have in my fish room. I hope everyone can learn from my exprience too.