I dont know why or how, but I found him at the cave of his driftwood today and noticed he looked different. I threw down some shrimp pellets that he loves and has been eating all long and it didn't catch his atttention. I decided to poke him with a long chopstick I have and he was dead.
I had him for about 3months now, he was always eating the shrimp pellets and looked hardy, especially for a pleco that is very flat in nature, he loved to eat and had somewhat of a noticeable stomach. I stayed to watch because he is very nocturnal and shy and only eats when the lights are out, so I know he was fed well.
I checked amonia and PH levels and all are okay. Temperature is kept at 78deg F which is a 2 degree drop from what I usually keep it at winter time at a constant 80deg F. Since its summer time now the tank always shifts within a degree or two but I cant think of anything I did wrong. He was about 4" long from head to tail and I do not know how old he was when I bought him at my LFS. Was it just his time up or what else can or should I check for.
He shared the tank with a large sailfin pleco and each stayed in their own cave.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Flyer Cat Pleco died
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Barbie
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At the beginning of the forum there is a sticky called "Before you post in this forum, read this". Could you please go read it and give us the ACTUAL test readings for those levels? Not just that they were "good" or not. That really is no help to us in helping you solve your problems. The most important factors will be ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, the tank size, and your frequency and amount of water changes on the tank. Thanks!
Barbie
Barbie
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sodapopdima
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@Barbie
Thank you for your prompt reply. I answered all the questions I could. I do not know what nitrate or nitrite levels are, nor how to test for them, nor do I have a kit for testing them. I have a test tube for testing amonia which I add 8 drops of a liquid and if any of it turns yellow that means there is ammonia in th etank. There was none, the water stayed clear. The PH was at a nice 7.0 at equilibrium according to my chart, maybe give or take +/- 1 because these tests are all dont by eye. But the coloe was a nice aqua green/blue which indicates ~7.0
y tank size is 10 gallons and no other fish nor other pleco exprerience anything wrong. I not not have my air filter set up anymore but I think there is enough air because when would watch him he never breathed fast and heavy. Thats the most info I can give, all housing id based on sunken drift wood. I do water changes like once a month about 20% and all the fish I have are: 2 hatched fish, 3 khuli loaches, 1 albino Cory, 8 tetra neons, and one sail fin pleco.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I answered all the questions I could. I do not know what nitrate or nitrite levels are, nor how to test for them, nor do I have a kit for testing them. I have a test tube for testing amonia which I add 8 drops of a liquid and if any of it turns yellow that means there is ammonia in th etank. There was none, the water stayed clear. The PH was at a nice 7.0 at equilibrium according to my chart, maybe give or take +/- 1 because these tests are all dont by eye. But the coloe was a nice aqua green/blue which indicates ~7.0
y tank size is 10 gallons and no other fish nor other pleco exprerience anything wrong. I not not have my air filter set up anymore but I think there is enough air because when would watch him he never breathed fast and heavy. Thats the most info I can give, all housing id based on sunken drift wood. I do water changes like once a month about 20% and all the fish I have are: 2 hatched fish, 3 khuli loaches, 1 albino Cory, 8 tetra neons, and one sail fin pleco.
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luvfishies
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Soda, I have to concur with Jeff. You need to be doing about 30% waterchanges at least once a week with that heavy a fishload in a 10g tank. I'm sorry you lost your plec, but honestly, you really need a larger tank, and to be doing more waterchanges.
When you do your waterchanges, do you "clean" the filter, as well? You shouldn't. You should just rinse out the filter innards in the water you remove when doing the waterchange.
How large is the "large" sailfin plec? Gibbys can get over 18" if they are cared for properly, and are given enough room to grow. Please please think about getting at least a 4' (could be anything from a 30Long to a 40breeder to a 90 standard) tank for your gibby!
When you do your waterchanges, do you "clean" the filter, as well? You shouldn't. You should just rinse out the filter innards in the water you remove when doing the waterchange.
How large is the "large" sailfin plec? Gibbys can get over 18" if they are cared for properly, and are given enough room to grow. Please please think about getting at least a 4' (could be anything from a 30Long to a 40breeder to a 90 standard) tank for your gibby!
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sodapopdima
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Hi everyone and thank you for the prompt replies. I wish I could have a larger tank but physical perimeter restriction on my room simply wont allow it. I will try more freqeunt water changes, although both pleco's did well with my rate I had before.
Why do you say I shouldnt change the filter or clean it with water changes. I have a penguin 170 and according to the instructions I am supposed to rinse it with every water change. It uses cartridges.
About the sailfin, yes he is getting a bit too large and I know the tank is a bit crowded for him but that is only for the winter. Most of warm weather climates he enjoys my Pond which is roughly ~1500gallons and he gets much much larger after being in that. I take him out wintertime just to be safe. Although one winter I couldnt find him and he did survive under the ice, I was amazed.
I would appreciate if someone could explain what nitrate and nitrite levels are and how to check for them, or if it is even important to do so.
Thanks for all the help. Now thast my tank is actuallu kinda empty, no pleco's at all in there, I think I might try looking for a zebra pleco. I used to have one before but gave it away as a bday gift. Although they are hard to find now, I knwo they don't grw large and my 10gallon tank would suffice its needs.
Thanks again everyone.
Why do you say I shouldnt change the filter or clean it with water changes. I have a penguin 170 and according to the instructions I am supposed to rinse it with every water change. It uses cartridges.
About the sailfin, yes he is getting a bit too large and I know the tank is a bit crowded for him but that is only for the winter. Most of warm weather climates he enjoys my Pond which is roughly ~1500gallons and he gets much much larger after being in that. I take him out wintertime just to be safe. Although one winter I couldnt find him and he did survive under the ice, I was amazed.
I would appreciate if someone could explain what nitrate and nitrite levels are and how to check for them, or if it is even important to do so.
Thanks for all the help. Now thast my tank is actuallu kinda empty, no pleco's at all in there, I think I might try looking for a zebra pleco. I used to have one before but gave it away as a bday gift. Although they are hard to find now, I knwo they don't grw large and my 10gallon tank would suffice its needs.
Thanks again everyone.
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blazespecv
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Ok, to start off, whether or not they seemed to be doing well on the previous water change routine, they probably weren't so hot, because after all one ended up buying the farm.
As for cleaning the filter, the reason you don't clean the filter every water change is because beneficial bacteria grows on the filter media, and helps keep the tank "cycled". Look up more on that if you still don't understand.
Yes you should get a bigger tank, or give away your sailfin.
Nitrate and nitrite levels are an indication of water quality in the tank. Cycling a tank involves getting a tank to have beneficial bacteria that will convert poisonous nitrite into much less harmful nitrate, etc. etc. Nitrite being present can and easily will kill many fish, nitrates need to be kept low with water changes, gravel cleanings, etc. For a more detailed explanation, you can also research cycling again.
I really would not put a zebra into that 10g, you are pretty heavily overstocked now as it is. Not to mention that zebras can be very iffy about wanting high water quality, which it is doubtful you will be able to maintain in a 10g with that many fish.
Hope this helps.
As for cleaning the filter, the reason you don't clean the filter every water change is because beneficial bacteria grows on the filter media, and helps keep the tank "cycled". Look up more on that if you still don't understand.
Yes you should get a bigger tank, or give away your sailfin.
Nitrate and nitrite levels are an indication of water quality in the tank. Cycling a tank involves getting a tank to have beneficial bacteria that will convert poisonous nitrite into much less harmful nitrate, etc. etc. Nitrite being present can and easily will kill many fish, nitrates need to be kept low with water changes, gravel cleanings, etc. For a more detailed explanation, you can also research cycling again.
I really would not put a zebra into that 10g, you are pretty heavily overstocked now as it is. Not to mention that zebras can be very iffy about wanting high water quality, which it is doubtful you will be able to maintain in a 10g with that many fish.
Hope this helps.
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sodapopdima
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Well, to start off I will be starting a new routine of water changes every 2 weeks of 30% and I purchased a gravel vac to clean the gravel weekly. I also dug out my old air pump and got a micro fine air bubble ceramic stone. Hopefully this will help oxygenate the tank more.
I spoke to the manager at my LFS and I was told if there is no amonia present in the tank tha I shouldn't bother to test for nitrate or nitrite. He told me it was a cycle that started after amonia is present. Is this accurate?
I understand that the reason most people don't clean the filter is because the bacteria colonies that gather there help reduce amonia by eating it, but I though the entire reason of the Penguin BIO-WHEEL was for this purpose and that is never cleaned. So rather the cartridghes are cleaned in its place, and the BIO-WHEEL supports the bacteria. Am I wrong?
I spoke to the manager at my LFS and I was told if there is no amonia present in the tank tha I shouldn't bother to test for nitrate or nitrite. He told me it was a cycle that started after amonia is present. Is this accurate?
I understand that the reason most people don't clean the filter is because the bacteria colonies that gather there help reduce amonia by eating it, but I though the entire reason of the Penguin BIO-WHEEL was for this purpose and that is never cleaned. So rather the cartridghes are cleaned in its place, and the BIO-WHEEL supports the bacteria. Am I wrong?
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Barbie
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Bacteria grow anywhere that there is oxygenated water passing over. The BioWheels aren't washed because they are supposed to saturate with oxygen like a wet/dry system, enabling the maximum amount of bacteria to colonize. That is why you have a dieback of bacteria when you rinse the filter pads under tap water. As long as you aren't overfeeding, I've never seen that cause a problem though, personally, as long as there is some sort of supplemental filtration like you have with the biowheels themselves.
Your LFS owner is correct about nitrite and nitrate only being present after you have had ammonia, but he seems to be a bit clueless about how the cycling process works. Fish put off ammonia as the end product of the foods they eat. That ammonia is digested by the first set of bacteria and converted to nitrite. Nitrite then builds up in a new aquarium until the next type of bacteria colonies develop that can digest it, and convert it to nitrate. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle in freshwater tanks, and must be removed with either water changes, or plants in the tank to uptake the nutrients. Any established tank has already gone through the cycling process, which means the nitrates are continuing to build up. In any failure of your filtration system, if you aren't seeing a rise in ammonia levels, you will sometimes see a high level of nitrites, which can be toxic to your fish, and cause problems with allowing their blood to carry enough oxygen. While not being something you need to test for all of the time, they are definitely something you should test any time you're having problems, and nitrates are something I test for on a monthly basis, just to make sure I'm keeping up with the levels the way I want to. I do weekly 30% water changes on regularly stocked tanks, and up 3 a week on tanks that are overstocked. As long as you don't do too much of a volume at once, frequent water changes will not stress your fish. The more regular your water change schedule is, the more your tank water will closely match what comes out of your tap, allowing the fish LESS stress when you do decide to do water changes.
Barbie
Your LFS owner is correct about nitrite and nitrate only being present after you have had ammonia, but he seems to be a bit clueless about how the cycling process works. Fish put off ammonia as the end product of the foods they eat. That ammonia is digested by the first set of bacteria and converted to nitrite. Nitrite then builds up in a new aquarium until the next type of bacteria colonies develop that can digest it, and convert it to nitrate. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle in freshwater tanks, and must be removed with either water changes, or plants in the tank to uptake the nutrients. Any established tank has already gone through the cycling process, which means the nitrates are continuing to build up. In any failure of your filtration system, if you aren't seeing a rise in ammonia levels, you will sometimes see a high level of nitrites, which can be toxic to your fish, and cause problems with allowing their blood to carry enough oxygen. While not being something you need to test for all of the time, they are definitely something you should test any time you're having problems, and nitrates are something I test for on a monthly basis, just to make sure I'm keeping up with the levels the way I want to. I do weekly 30% water changes on regularly stocked tanks, and up 3 a week on tanks that are overstocked. As long as you don't do too much of a volume at once, frequent water changes will not stress your fish. The more regular your water change schedule is, the more your tank water will closely match what comes out of your tap, allowing the fish LESS stress when you do decide to do water changes.
Barbie