help anyone!!!!

[tamazepan]

We have just dived into the world of tropical fish, having never kept any befor i'm unsure what to think. our pleco seems sick???? he is so shy and seems to stay attached to the filter all the time, not really eating or moving we had to move the filtewr and he just dropped to the bottom n eventually sculked off returning to his favourite place, he just seems listless we have the frozen food n just want the best for him HELP please:confused:

[Kaga's Kritters]

have you tried feeding him algae wafers? what size tank is he in?

[tamazepan]

have tried the algae tablets n we have a 50 n have now got 120 which we are currently conditioning they are all very small fish at the mo, didnt realise the size some of them can get too!!!!!

[Kaga's Kritters]

its always best to know what fish you are buying and how big they will get and what care they need........before buying the fish. impulse buys get you in trouble, lol.

did you cycle the tank before you put the fish in it?

[kid_fishboy13]

50gal or 50L? my pleco acted similarly for some time but has recently become the boldest fish in the tank. maybe its just overwhelmed with its surroundings. also, if you add more hiding places, plecos come out more and feel safer. eventually, try to feed it blanched vegetables. mine's favorite is cucumber

[tamazepan]

thanks will try the blanched vegetables, have got some drift wood now so hopefully he can hide away in there.

tank was cycled n have dip tested it today and everything seems fine

[Kaga's Kritters]

by dip testing do you mean with the strips? cause they arent very accurate. you need the tests where you use the test tubes and bottles of stuff.

[Arkie]

i agree with kid fishboy, when i first got my pleco he hid for about a week, but then he seemed to venture further and further from his piece of driftwood and now a month later he swims all over the tank, he doesnt even swim away now when i walk past the tank. and his favourite food is blanched pumpkin. good luck with him.

[Lady Hobbs]

Pleco's aren't good for new tanks since there really is not much for them to eat yet. No established algae so make sure he gets his goodies. Feed him as the lights go out. They hide during the day but are up all night. Just their nature.

[CAF]

There are over 400 species of plecos... not all of them eat vegetable matter. Do you know which species you have? Some like the Zebra are active carnivores (scavenger type)...

[TowBoater]

My common ate other things besides algae. Plecos need an established tank with things for them to eat, driftwood is also needed as they need this in there diet. I agree, many types of plecos and you need a liquid test kit. The commons can reach 2 feet easily.

[kid_fishboy13]

hobbs, eventually most plecos(like mine) become diurnal and actively swim around. it just takes FOREVER