What just happened (dead pleco)

Hawkian

Aww... sorry to hear that Angel!

You sure you trust that neighbour? * Just kidding of course *

So... what fish do you have left alive in that tank? Based on your profile there, that would be 2 CAE am I wrong? What about moving them to another tank and starting that one over? It's been nothing but problems for you since Day 1 right? Why not soak the plants, take everything out and start fresh? I dunno... I've just been reading about your troubles with this tank for a while and never know what to say... maybe this one needs an overhaul... from scratch? If I were in your shoes... that's what I'd do 'cause I'd sure be disheartened by that tank.

Sorry... I guess I'm not much help eh?

Angel079

Well she brought me over a Bible as a gift...think that had anything to do with the pleco flopping upside down in seconds?

All CAE and Serpae Tetra's (from the 45g) are going back to the store next Tue. Have 2 Kissing Gourami in there too, that I'd LIKE to keep.

MoneyMitch

if i were you and had all those probs with the 55 that you always seem to have i would drain it completely washeverything with bleach and let it completely dry out then rinse everything then try it all over i mean no seeding from another tank or anything just start from ground zero that will ensure its all gunna be gone

Angel079

Will it? If the tank is doomed?
If something untestable was in there, I'd think the Kissing Gourami are the 1st to be affected over the pleco thou.....
The ick I can see/ understand to some extent. The algae break out after that - Instable new tank and meds not gotten along I donno (know to lil about meds) the pleco I'd not wanna start guessing what the heck happened there...

Trust me I am very frustrated and sad over this, but break down the whole tank? And where do I put the Gourami's then? And a crap load of plants? I mean seriously not kidding, where would I put all this stuff for few weeks? Ya'll know I ain't letting no empty tank sit here, they're all going

Oh I got so may words in my mind for this tank, non of which I'll post here thou

PRichs87

angel, any rocks in your tank from outside that would possibly have metal in them? or anything like that.... just a thought, im sure you out of all of us wouldnt make a rookie mistake like that tho!

stephanieleah

there must be something that a pleco would be more sensitive to that the Kissing Gourami's aren't (salt?). of course, trying to figure it all out seems like a total waste of energy because there are SO many factors at work here. i like money mitch's idea...why not start from scratch. maybe burn some sage before refilling the tank : )

iamntbatman

I dunno...those various problems sound pretty unrelated to me, so I'd probably just chalk it up to bad luck rather than a cursed tank. A seemingly healthy pleco dying out of nowhere is pretty strange but not completely unheard of. I usually wait at least a couple of weeks after a fish death before replacing it and following this procedure, I've never had a new fish die of the same thing that the old ones did (at least not soon enough to attribute it to a contaminated tank).

Angel079

Nop, no rocks. Only regular tank gravel, plants and 2 DW's that I had for lord know how many yrs in other tanks now.
No salt used EVER in any my tanks.

Angel079

See that's what I mean...The ick death of the Cardinals, very unfortunate but not to uncommon in new tanks/ sick fish yaddy ya.
Algae hardcore break out - Wasn't cool at all, but also not too uncommon in new set up's, add to it influence by meds maybe.
The pleco....behind me what happened there...I seen no external signs of nothing, but Lord knows if something was wrong inside (birth defects?) def seen no ick signs on him.

So yea each of these 3 instances annoy the heck outta me yes, but take apart the whole tank cause of it and scrub everything back down, set up new filter media....isn't that taking it to the extreme over 3 instances that IMO (and pls correct me if you see anything I don't) have nothing in common with one another.
Plants & Snails are thriving extremely well there if that counts for anything....

LisaC144

The ick meds might have been too much for him to handle. Perhaps it slowly affected him that way?