Sick baby Albino BN Pleco

gofish · Post by **gofish** » 22 Jul 2006, 15:42

I have 1 Albino BN Pleco that's looks sick he/she is only 1.5" and it is very pale and skinny. I have about 12 others that are much bigger than him/her. It seems like it's not eating. I put it into my hospital tank by it's self but it still has not eaten anything. I thought that mabybe the others were getting to the food before but even by it's self it won't eat. I have put in some flake food a pea and a Sera waffer but they are all still there.

Any suggestions?

Post by **Barbie** » 22 Jul 2006, 17:59

At the top of this forum there's a thread with a list of information that we need to help diagnose sick fish. Could you fill in all that information in this thread please? It really will help us help you.

Barbie

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 22 Jul 2006, 20:37

Barbie's right but being the cynical bushynose breeder that I am I suspect that this particular bn was never as vigorous as the rest when you first got them, right? It sounds like one that didn't pass through the distribution chain well and you may not be able to save it. There is such a thing as a point of no return for a bn that has starved too long. They need contnuous access to food from the first an are easily stunted in early development and only an exceptional fish so treated makes a full recovery. That said by all means keep trying until it either gets better or dies.
I have a group of LF albinos I bought and out of 6 only 4 are alive and I have concern for the smallest remaining and these all came in in an emaciated condition.
I have come to accept the fact I can't save them all and this applies not only to bushy nose but tank raised juvenile discus I receive that show signs of prolonged neglect prior to reaching my tanks and care.
1 out 12 is actually very good.

Reginator · Post by **Reginator** » 22 Jul 2006, 21:32

Try giving him some courgette/zuchini/calabacÃn (all the same thing, just don't know how you call it in your part of the world) or similar, my BN eats it even when he refuses all other foods (he's a bit fussy) and will chase all the other fish away from it....

gofish · Post by **gofish** » 23 Jul 2006, 05:19

1. Water parameters
a) Temerature range. 80
b) pH. 7.5 -8.0
c) GH.
d) KH
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, levels.
0 , 10 , 0

f) Water change frequency
min 2 times a week at 25% each time
(Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings).

2. Tank set up
a) Size. 35Gallon
b) Substrate. none
c) Filtration. 2 sponge
d) Furnishings. rocks, driftwood
e) Other tank mates. 12 more pleco's and 2 holding yellow lab
f) How long has it been set-up? 4 months
g) When was the last new fish added? 1 week (1 lab)
h) Foods used and frequency? spirolina/kelp flake 1-2 time per day, zucchini every 3 days, Sera wafers every 3 days,peas every other day

3. Symptoms / Problem description as stated on post

4. Action taken (if any) moved to hospital tank not medicated trying different foods

Added zucchini tonight.

5. Medications used (if any)

gofish · Post by **gofish** » 24 Jul 2006, 17:01

Should I use Metrodonazole? Is it safe for my Albino BN Pleco?

Post by **Barbie** » 24 Jul 2006, 17:26

Metro would be safe for your pleco, yes. I use it at a dosage of 400mg/10 gallons with daily 50% water changes. It definitely wouldn't hurt to try it as it not only works as an antiprotozoal agent, it has some antibiotic properties as well. The top two causes of that emaciated look seem to be parasites or bacterial infections, so it would probably be the best choice. I would also recommend soaking his food in garlic extract, both to make it more appealing, and to help reduce any parasite load on him.

With that said, all of this may be for nothing if he's actually got something internally wrong with him that we can't guess at that won't respond to the medications, but it shouldn't hurt anything to try it in a quarantine tank.

Barbie

jimmyB · Post by **jimmyB** » 26 Jul 2006, 18:23

I see there are some yellow labs in there,....so if the labs are old enough to hold, they are big enough to pick on a scrawny little 1.5" BN. I have a tank with yellow labs (african c***lids) and only keep 2 large 3" brown BN, and I still worry about their safety.

gofish · Post by **gofish** » 26 Jul 2006, 21:53

Yes I use that tank for my fri grow out tank. But I didn't see them picking on the pleco's infact this pleco was 1 of 4 that I bought. They are smaller then my other pleco's but they have grown to be almost the same size as the older ones. Unfortunately it was just that one that might have been sick. Unfortunatly it finally passed on Monday. But thanks all for the great advice I guess we just can't save them all.

Sick baby Albino BN Pleco

Sick baby Albino BN Pleco

sick albino bushy nose