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If you have a fish pond, fish tank or are seeking advice about keeping tropical fish, you can find advice on our Fish forum.

Original poster

Have i upset mr/mr Pleco or is it dead?

15 replies

Marne · 24/04/2012 17:53

I havn't seen my baby pleco for 3 days, i did a 50% water change on sat, removed some of the rocks and plastic plants and gave them a clean as there was a lot of brown algae, i thought i had lost the pleco but later that night he came out for a few minutes but i havn't seen him sinse, i am worried that he maybe dead but dont want to poke around too much incase he's just hiding (i don't want to upset him more). He's so tiny that he is easily hidden but last week he was quite sociable and was happily going around the inside of the glass munching on algae. Do they get upset easily? have i upset it by moving things around and cleaning the rocks? or do you think he's dead?

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EauRouge · 24/04/2012 18:08

They are really good at hiding and they are nocturnal. You'd probably be more likely to see it if it was dead! Don't panic just yet, I'm sure he/she is fine.

Original poster
Marne · 24/04/2012 18:13

I hope so Eau, he has hid for a day or 2 before and then suddenly appears but i can usually find him hiding by the heater or in the cave (i can't see him anywhere), wish i had bought an older one now, at least it would be easier to find Grin.

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Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 08:08

Stayed up to look my pleco last night and no sign Sad, have moved all the rocks this morning, shook the plants but no sign of Pleco. Would the guppies and tetras have eaten him if he died? what would cause a pleco to die?, he's had a good suply of angae and algae wafers. Would the water change and clean our of killed him?

I think i will have to go and get another as dd1 loved the pleco, pets at home had bristle noses last week (i think thats what our pleco was) and they were a bit oldre so easier to see. Is there anything i can do to make the tank more pleco friendly?

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EauRouge · 25/04/2012 08:55

I don't think your tank is pleco un-friendly. Have you checked in the clip that holds the filter on? My gobies used to scare the crap out of me by hiding in there.

A water change shouldn't have killed him. Did you check all the things that you threw out to see if he was hiding in the plants?

Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 10:34

Checked all the plants and rocks and placed them carefully back in the tank, the only think i havn't checked is the cave but cant see him anywhere on it Sad, very odd, he seems to have vanished, he often hid for most of the day but would come out in the evenings and do a couple circuts of the tank and sit on the rocks munching on algae.

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Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 10:35

If he is dead he will be hard to see as the gravel is black.

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Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 16:29

We now have a new Pleco (after searching for the other one), whats the betting it will appear now and i will end up having 2. At least this one is big enough to see and is deffently a bristle nose, he's doing a great job munching on the brown algae. I think this one is a male but not 100% sure, do there bristles grow as they get older? it does have small bristles.

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EauRouge · 25/04/2012 17:18

Yes, they get bristles as they grow older. If you are really lucky then the other one will show up and turn out to be a girl. Then you'll get tons of babies Grin

Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 18:23

I would love babbies Grin (would deffently need a bigger tank though), sasdly i don't think the other one is gooing to turn up, have spotted something at the bottom of the tank but not sure if it remains of pleco or algae (will fish it out with a net when the dd's are in bed).

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Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 19:21

RIP baby pleco Sad

Found his remains and there was not a lot left of him/her (was hard to work out if it was him/her or not), not sure what happened to him/her, must have been dead for a while Sad.

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EauRouge · 25/04/2012 19:31

Oh no :( Poor little thing.

Best keep an eye on your other fish for a while, nibbling corpses can transfer diseases.

MamaPizza · 25/04/2012 19:34

Oh no, RIP baby :( Hope the other one will last many years.

Original poster
Marne · 25/04/2012 19:44

Will keep a close eye, have done another water change and cleaned the plants off (fingers crossed we wont loose anymore).

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FermezLaBouche · 28/04/2012 10:49

Oh no! I wonder what happened to him/her. Perhaps he wasn't well when you bought him. A while ago I bought a group of albino cories from bloody pets at home and they all died pretty much immediately. I reckon they were ill already :(

Original poster
Marne · 28/04/2012 20:15

I think it may have been poorly (eaither that of my other fish ate him alive), he was so tiny Sad, luckily the new one seems fine and is doing a great job of cleaning the tank and loves hanging out near the filter. Fingers crossed my other fish stay healthy.

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