Lost my beautiful butterfly pleco too soon

[HockeyPisces14]

Last weekend I added a Dekeyseria pleco to my 46 gal tank (either L52 or L168). It's colors got better than they had been at my LFS within an hour of release, and he immediately began scrubbing the interior decor with vigor. He continued looking well and active the next day, then he vanished, and today, 4 days after introduction, I found that he had passed away. I am heartbroken, because I had hoped to find a pleco like him for a while.

Now I am puzzled about the reason for his demise. All water parameters are what he is supposed to like (temp, pH, hardness, current etc.), zero ammonia, nitrite and even nitrate; phosphate 0.5ppm. All other fish (black neon tetra, panda corys and otocinclus) are very lively and show strong colors and activity. And the shrimp, that I had purchased together with the pleco are alive and kicking. The only thing the pleco was exposed to are some algae, which I am currently experiencing. I read somewhere that blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) can be toxic to plecos.
Does anybody know more about this, or have any idea, where I should be looking for cause of death, before I potentially subject another poor fish to the same fate?

I really miss this fish and would be very grateful for any help.
Thanks.

[skullduggery1]

Sometimes they are just underfed when you buy them.Sunken in eyes are a dead giveaway.Sorry for your loss.

[jessfish]

sorry about your pleco

I saw an article about plecos & blue algae i think i saved in my fav's i'll try to tack it down & link it for you.

[HockeyPisces14]

Sometimes they are just underfed when you buy them.Sunken in eyes are a dead giveaway.Sorry for your loss.

Thank you! His eyes seemed ok to me. Here is a (somewhat crappy) photo in his "pajama" colors on day 1 after the light came on.

[HockeyPisces14]

sorry about your pleco

I saw an article about plecos & blue algae i think i saved in my fav's i'll try to tack it down & link it for you.

That would be wonderful. Thank you very much!

[jessfish]

Do you have any live plants in the tank that the pleco may have had a problem with?
I don't know anything about live plants or if some are bad for plecos...just a thought

& im still looking for that article

apparently 'bushy' algae can kill catfish my sister just txt me that so i have no clue where she got the info...do u have 'wavy' or 'bushy' algae growing?

[HockeyPisces14]

Do you have any live plants in the tank that the pleco may have had a problem with?
I don't know anything about live plants or if some are bad for plecos...just a thought

& im still looking for that article

Hmmm, that's a thought. My tank is planted, but with fairly common plants: Vals, Anubias, Echinodorus tenellus, Marimo balls, and Java moss. I will do some research on their toxicity. Thanks.

[jessfish]

i had another thought about decorations...what do u have in the tank? anything that the pleco may have taken paint or something off of?
not sure if that could be toxic but its an idea.

& im not having any luck finding the algae article sorry

[HockeyPisces14]

i had another thought about decorations...what do u have in the tank? anything that the pleco may have taken paint or something off of?
not sure if that could be toxic but its an idea.

& im not having any luck finding the algae article sorry

Good thought, but I have only "aquarium proof" decorations, like soaked drift wood, tank gravel and ceramic caves. And I keep thinking that anything toxic should have given the Otos a tummy ache, too... but who knows.

No worries about the article. I will dig into google tomorrow. But thanks so much for looking!

[Roscoe47]

What did you feed your Butterfly Plec or Peckolita pulcher on?

Quote from "An essential guide to choosing your Tropical freshwater fish" by Gina Sandford.

"This is one little loricariid catfish that does not cause too much trouble in the community aquarium.
For most of the day it lurks beneath a stone, or under plants, but in the evening you will see it rummaging around the aquarium in search of its favourite food agae."

"Now no matter how hard you try,the tank can never grow enough algae to keep it happy, so be sure to provide alternatives in the form of lettuce, frozen peas, courgettes and potato".

"Ideal conditions".

Water slightly acidic to neutral,soft to hard.

Temperature 23-28 degrees C(73-82 degrees F)

Food green foods, plus small aquatic invertebrates, especially frozen bloodworm.
May also take flake and tablet foods.

Minimum number in the aquarium 1.

Minimum tank size 60cm(24")

Tank region bottom.

Compatibility this otherwise fautless fish does have one drawback, it is quarrelsome with its own kind, especially if there is not enough room for each one to have its own territory, or there are insufficient hiding places.
Since their territory is just the substrate, keep only one fish in a 60X30cm (24x12")tank.
However in a 90cm(36") tank you could probably keep two.

Origins South America: in the waters of the River Negro,Xingu,and Maderia.

I'm sorry that you have lost your plec, and I hope the above info from my book is of help to you,
Regards,

Peter.