unexplained Emperor pleco death

[fishmommie]

plecos are armour plated and like little tanks. I doubt an angel could bully him to death. I would look elsewhere for the cause....hmmm...

Thanks again Crispy. I realize they are armour plated and I wasn't thinking the angel could have actually killed him but perhaps badgered him which may have stressed him and maybe caused him to not eat?
Something else that just occurred to me. I bought 4 ottos 1 month ago. 2 died within a few days. I chalked it up to wild caught, stress, whatever. the other two were fine. but yesterday, another one was dead. I had seen the angel chase an otto several times, so, again, I guess I was thinking maybe the angel figured out he could badger and picked until he stressed the otto too. Then went after the pleco?
Again, just reaching here

[Rocksor]

This is going to be one those mysteries I think. I have my doubts whether the bleach solution is what killed the pleco. If it WAS the bleach, then in my opinion there would be more ill fishes in the tank by now, and it would of been doing some kind of damage a long time ago. It just seems strange that it took a week to kill a fish, and it was only one fish. Not saying that this isn't possible, but I do have my doubts.

I agree...you would have lost your cycle and you would have more dead fish by now.

[fishmommie]

This is going to be one those mysteries I think. And there's a big possibilty that the Angel could be a big enough bully to even kill a Pleco, especially a smallish one. All the armour in the world can stop the fish from getting actually hurt, but it won't stop the stress from constant beatings or bullying. ... I'd be looking at the Angel. Only because no other fish in the tank has died (from the possible bleach solution), AND you've seen it hovering around where the Pleco used to rest, AND you've seen it chasing other fishes.

Really sorry, Cindy.

Thanks Chris. I'm kind of leaning that way too. Sadly, I'll probably be returning my royal pleco as I don't want him or her to suffer the same fate. appreciate you weighing in.

[escamosa]

You're welcome. You aren't concidering taking out the Angel instead?

[fishmommie]

You're welcome. You aren't concidering taking out the Angel instead?

No. I love the angel and it's some much more visible than the pleco. Love the pleco but I rarely see them. also, it's difficult to feed plecos in this tank. The BPs and the congos are BOISTROUS eaters. So I end up over feeding trying to make sure the plecos get food and then I get algae ... on and on.

If I just eliminate the problem eaters (the plecos) and get some more swimmers, it should solve a lot of problems.
I'll just be happy with my little BN in my 30 gallon. He's so cute and so busy an so visible all the time - unlike the emperor was or the royal is starting out to be. He's still hanging on the back of the pump where he's pretty much been for 4 days now.

[escamosa]

Ok, cool. All that matters is that you're happy with your tank, and nothing is getting beaten up. Just be very careful about what you choose to add, if the Angel is starting to get a little bit nasty. Stick to species that like to hang around in the top third or bottom third of the tank. Angels seem to like to hang around in the middle third of the tank, and if he's getting to be a bit of a bully, he'll more than likely start to go after anything that likes to share that middle third of the tank too much - especially at feeding time.

[fishmommie]

Ok, cool. All that matters is that you're happy with your tank, and nothing is getting beaten up. Just be very careful about what you choose to add, if the Angel is starting to get a little bit nasty. Stick to species that like to hang around in the top third or bottom third of the tank. Angels seem to like to hang around in the middle third of the tank, and if he's getting to be a bit of a bully, he'll more than likely start to go after anything that likes to share that middle third of the tank too much - especially at feeding time.

Would love some suggestions! heading for the LFS in a few minutes. Have the royal pleco in a bucket :o) sorry to see him go.

Could I add another Sev or would they fight? Silver dollars? Maybe another batch of schooling fish? a festum?

How about 3 roseline sharks? they move mostly on the bottom and are very pretty fish - not really sharks, I know. Also wondered about a red tail shark. do they get nasty?

[escamosa]

Roselines are beautiful fish. They're actually a barb, but as far as barbs go, I believe that they can be added in smaller schools. I have actually seen a guy in a town close to mine that has six of them in a 75g tank, and they look incredible with all the other tetra's. Not sure how the silver dollars will go. They're pretty peaceful fish, but everywhere you look or go, they're in with or recommended to be put in with other fish that share their size. Not too sure about those. Stay away from the Red Tail sharks though. They can be nasty pieces of work, and in my opinion should be put into tanks no smaller than 120g and with fish the same size or larger, and anymore than one of them can turn out terrible.

[steeler1]

Your probably already there (LFS) but get more Congo's.
Again sorry for your loss.

[fishmommie]

Your probably already there (LFS) but get more Congo's.
Again sorry for your loss.

thanks Escamosa and Steeler. he was fresh out of congos. but he had a trio of nice sized silver dollars. Nice peaceful fish and I know they pair well with the BP's. not as colorful but very pretty in shape + he's had them for over 3 months in their own tank so QT is not an issue for me. They're drip acclimating right now.
Know that they will get pretty big but I've got a lot of time before any of these fish outgrow the tank so they should be a good addition for now.

The roselines were really small = too small for my current stock so, we'll see how this goes.
thanks everyone.