new L177 - what to look for?

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 12 Mar 2006, 19:47

I just traded a bunch of baby BN's for a 2" l177 gold nugget pleco. I brought it home on Friday and it appears healthy. Dorsal fin is up, color is very good, and I've seen it in several locations throughout the tank (so it's semi-active). But, it was a little bit thin when I got it, and I haven't seen it eat yet. Neither the belly nor eyes are sunken, however. It is in a 40g community tank with 4 albino bristlenoses, 6 corys and 4 boesemani rainbows.

I've read that gold nuggets aclimate slowly, but is there anything I should watch out for? The fish has its dorsal raised constantly, and looks healthy, but doesn't react when I shine a flashlight on it (tank lights are off). There is zuccini constantly available (three slices on clips), 6 large pieces of driftwood, and I gave shrimp today.

temp is 78F, ph is 6.8, and nitrate is around 20. Ammo/nitrite are both 0. The tank has been running 18 months with a penguin 330 and HOT magnum pro system.

Thanks! This is my first L# and I'm a bit nervous about it.

PS..any idea why the above link doesn't generate a picture? I can use photobucket, but not the PC system...

taksan · Post by **taksan** » 14 Mar 2006, 15:21

Thats a pretty thin fish ...needs to be fed up with Algae wafers and sinking general food tablets. Also they liek bloodworm. Nuggets are NOT straight vegitarians.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 14 Mar 2006, 15:34

Thanks for the repy. I haven't seen the fish actively feeding yet and I've had it 5 days now. I saw it poop once, so that's promising. I will throw in some wafers and shrimp pellets tonight and hope for the best.

I'm thinking of moving some of the bristlenoses to another tank to reduce competition, too. Keeping them away until the GN acclimates would help, right?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Mar 2006, 15:39

Yes, fighting to get to the food isn't going to help the fish along at all.

Using garlic is apparently good to attract the fish.

Whilst they are not strict vegetarians, they do eat courgette(zucchini) and for example Mango - at least mine does.

Having it in an environment where you can see that it's eating (or have eaten) would be helpfull - it's own tank or at least no other competing feeders [nothing that would normally eat for example the courgette] would be ideal.

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Mats

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 14 Mar 2006, 15:50

I could give the fish its own 10g QT tank, but wouldn't that stress it more?

My tap ph is also around 7.6 and is only lower in the main tank because of the driftwood. I fear being able to keep reliable water quality in a smaller tank, and that's why I put the fish straight into the main tank.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Mar 2006, 15:52

My fish lives very happily in water that is higher than 7.6 (8.something, my test-kit runs to 8.2 or some such, and it's showing that colour, but it may well be higher since that's the colour it would show if it was 15 too!).

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Mats

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 14 Mar 2006, 16:11

Many people recommend raising the temp up to 85F to get new plecs acclimitised and feeding.

Obviously you will need maximum O2 when you do this.

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 14 Mar 2006, 17:39

it is a bit thin indeed but still, some fish are just thinner than other others even though they eat well. i have that too with one of my plecs. is he eating yet??

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 14 Mar 2006, 20:01

I don't know. I put 4 slices of blanched zuccini in the tank each night to reduce fighting for food. They get eaten, but I don't know by whom.

He usually sticks to the back glass so I can't get a good look at his belly. He appears to be getting thinner, however.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 14 Mar 2006, 21:07

Many people recommend raising the temp up to 85F to get new plecs acclimitised and feeding.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=14933

Gold nuggets are found natually in water well over 30C. I think 78F may be too chilly for them to get settled down.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 15 Mar 2006, 03:59

I moved the bristlenose out, added a powerhead for circulation, and increased the temp to 82. I have cories (panda and julii) and don't want to stress them at 85; is 82 a safe compromise? Aeration should be OK since the entire surface ie now agitated by either an airstone or a filter.

The GN is already more active and I watched him chewing on some driftwood periodically tonight. His belly looks sunken now, but he is more active than before so I'm hopeful. His dorsal is also back up, after coming down yesterday. There is shrimp available and three slices of zuccini.

Fingers are crossed!

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 15 Mar 2006, 09:42

The GN is already more active and I watched him chewing on some driftwood periodically tonight.

That's excellent news. I hope it goes well.

I have cories (panda and julii) and don't want to stress them at 85; is 82 a safe compromise?

I would move the cories to the 10g QT tank (if it's cycled) for a few weeks while the GN gets feeding.

There is shrimp available and three slices of zuccini.

Instead (also as recommended in the post) I would feed just frozen bloodworms little and often (3 times a day). They never fail to work for me. Once he's feeding on these, try the zuccini etc.

Tempting me out of a hunger strike would be easier with a bacon sandwich than a salad.

Squirt some near him with a pipette after lights out if the other fish seem to eat it all.

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 15 Mar 2006, 17:51

Taksan Wrote:

Thats a pretty thin fish ...needs to be fed up with Algae wafers and sinking general food tablets. Also they liek bloodworm. Nuggets are NOT straight vegitarians.

Having seen pictures of dissected fish, I would disagree with that.

Just because they eat bloodworms (insect larvae) in an aquarium doesn't mean it's a significant part of their diet. I am confident they take in a bit of protien as incidental foodstuffs, but gut analysis would indicate that these fish are truely vegitarians.

Most algae wafers have a very high level of protien already.

As for the fish in question, if it get's a feeding response, use it. At least until the fish settles in. Then you can change to a more appropriate diet.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 21 Mar 2006, 02:55

I dropped in some frozen mysis shrimp last night and tonight, and the fish seems to be orienting towards it. He is usually on the glass but was on the bottom when I got home tonight. I haven't seen him eat yet, but I try to leave him alone when there is food available.

He is pretty thin now, so hopefully the mysis do the trick.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 21 Mar 2006, 14:02

I found the little guy belly-up this morning. I guess the shrimp weren't enough. Thanks to everyone for their help!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 21 Mar 2006, 17:02

Aw, sorry to hear that.

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Mats