pleco not moving but breathing
How big of a tank do they need? There are over 100 species of plecos, so it is essential to do your research to learn the best source of nutrition for your pleco species. Read on to learn about the signs and symptoms, the causes, and treatment options for your pleco. He may also fall sick due to anxiousness. Sorry your pleco is ill. every day I feed the fish in my school aquarium and I've notice the pleco doesn't ever move. One of the most common questions I hear is why do my pleco likes to hide and not come out. Hes in a seperate bowl. Try to fix this issue by isolating the fish and fixing issues with the water quality. Do your best to give your plecos the right food based on what is recommended for their species. I doubt this is the issue, but my pleco was acting odd, curving and swimming like he was intoxicated flying from one side to the other, no CO2, regular parameters, but I checked the temperature, like yours mine was breathing up a storm, but I raised the temp 4 degrees up and he was fine my temp dropped to 72, and he was going bananas, but after about 20 minutes I guess he caught a warm front and hugged the heater damn near. This is the main reason why we cycle aquarium tanks. What kind of pleco is he? "We are living on this planet as if we have another one to go to". This disease is not contagious but should be treated or death will follow. Knowing what signs to look out for might allow you to turn things around before its too late. Feed food before lights out and he is likely to come out when it is dark to feed. Small anekdote: I have a tank of zebra plecos (L46) (the fish that costs $200+ a piece). When using tap water you need to use tap water conditioner. It could be that the fish is sick and has some type of problem with its gills. Its also possible that nothing is wrong at all. This can happen to one eye or both. Touch the fish and see if you can get it to spring up. All my knowledge comes from experience and reading forums and a lot of informative sites. As you can tell, its important to treat things as soon as you can. Since yesterday, he's just been laying on the floor of the tank, so I don't think he's eaten anything. I have seen bottom dwelling loaches just get very pale and colorless when there is too much CO2 in the water. Do Plecostomus Need A Filter / Air Pump? {Why Is My Pleco - HelpUsFish If the fish is not moving, then there are no signs of life, such as breathing or eating, then it has likely died. Monitoring your water levels and performing weekly water changes will prevent this from happening to your fish. My Pleco Catfish doesn't MOVE or EAT? - YouTube If you dont already have some in your tank, consider putting in some real. Same my pleco only comes out when the lights are off and since ive got an enenemy (sorry if i spelled wrong) he just stays there and dosent move at ALL even in the day and the lights are off i guess he loves darkness an also cus hes hiding from my guppie named bob. Vampire plecos need to be fed meaty foods such as shrimp and snails. In some cases, it might even be as extreme as males killing each other. If your pleco is gulping at the surface, it doesnt have enough oxygen and is suffocating. Its also imperative to regularly clean the fish tank. It can hard to know whether your pleco is stressed, as theyre quite withdrawn fish. Keep the filter, heater, and lights on for long enough periods of time to ensure their comfort. My betta is laying at the bottom of the tank and breathing heavily. Ouwch. How is your pleco doing Vicki? Especially because plecos love oxygen-rich water (they often live in fast-flowing streams and rivers) adding an airstone or pointing your filter outlet in a way that it creates bubbles is useful. These fish enjoy hiding and they often stay in the same place at the bottom of the aquarium. Contests including the Tank of the Month, Most likely, the fish have fin rot due to poor water conditions in the tank. In addition, you will want to quarantine the sick fish, as it is contagious and will spread quickly. The hardest test for a Pleco keeper is to get the Pleco addapted to his new home. Not real sure though since don't feel like doing an experiment. Is Your Pleco Swimming Upside Down? (7 Causes of Swim Bladder Issues) Water quality problems will sometimes cause plecos to develop a condition known as cloudy eye. Clean the fish tank and regularly change the water to keep things clean. My pleco is sick. :( | Freshwater Fish Disease and Health Forum How to Tell the Age of a Cockatiel (Age Chart Included! JavaScript is disabled. What kind of disease? Youll also get a bit of information about why these signs are occurring. Ensure you follow the package instructions to ensure proper dosing for your fish. Baby plecos have been known to die when the water temperature fluctuates too much. Sometimes Plecos can be a little shy and may hide from people, especially if they have been harassed by humans in the past. Add an airstone if your filter doesnt create enough surface movement. Its wise to isolate the fish during the treatment process by setting up a quarantine tank. Tank mates: one guppy, one otocinclus.. in a 20 gallon tank. As I said, the other fish are showing no signs of stress. Here are some of my favorite foods for plecos (make a selection suited for the species youre keeping). Betta Laying on side not moving but breathing. Make sure that you dont have improper tank mates in the fish tank with your plecos. It's just another misleading thing that pet stores advertise. Increasing the temperature in the sick fishs tank is another way to combat the disease and aid recovery. Check out the FishForums.net Monthly I have one Bristlenose Pleco in a 55 gallon aquarium along with some other fish. A fish that doesnt react to being touched is probably dead. You may see this in plecos that don't get enough to eat. JavaScript is disabled. This gave me false readings that my water had hardly any co2 in it. If none of the above are the problem then diseases come into play. Diseases and Treatment. Cloudy eye is caused by bacteria and if your pleco is under stress, has had an injury, or lower immune system it can come up. One of our goldfish is sitting at the bottom of the tank and not moving. The better stores will do, so in that case you dont have to. Many plecos are omnivorous, meaning they need both plant-based foods and protein to thrive. I came over to his house about 4 hours later and noticed the plec was missing. I still don't know for sure what happened, but I'm going to blame the CO2. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. My pleco did the same thing, he still hides in his cave for long periods of time but if I sneak up on the tank he is usually swimming around. You should be changing 15% of the water on a weekly basis. The water might be dirty or the parameters could be way off of what they should be. Whatever was wrong has seemed to be fixed as he's now behaving like normal. Clean your fish tank. Especially if they are in the breeding season. My fish is alive and moving, but isnt breathing? Hello, and thanks for visiting Avid Aquarist! However, if you tap the fish tank, itll likely spring up and start swimming. i know hes alive because if i try and move him he will swim away, What do i do? They won't necessarily be dead yet, but they'll be struggling to try to breathe. If you have plecos that just keep dying in your fish tank, then you probably arent caring for them properly. I know that this thread was posted in 2003 but I just wanted to revive it as we had an accident with 2 of our pleco's today, a bristlenose and a dwarf clown pleco. One time a buddy was cleaning his tank and took all the fish out and put them in a bucket. If your pleco is stressed, it may exhibit some of the following behaviors: Hiding is a natural defensive response for many fish. Ill go over how to tell if your pleco is dying, the underlying causes of those symptoms, and how to prevent them from dying in the future. Then the water got cloudy and that is when they started breathing heavy. A pleco dying is often the result of bad information and lack of knowhow about the species.
