Guest Mike Bennett Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = 3 Ph = 7.3 Ph from tap = 7.6 Aquarium Pharmicuticals test kit(drops) 65 gallon tank AquaClear 70,Eclipse Penguin 350 I do a 30% water change once a week. 3 comets,1 pleco.Masey 6.5 inches,Ruby 4 inches,Jack 2.5 inches,Al(pleco) 2.5 inches I use cycle,Novaqua,Amquel+,Kordon Tidy Tank No Meds Al(pleco) is new,got it about 10 days ago. I feed them Omega One Goldfish flakes and veggie flakes,Hikari frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms,and Omega One super veggie rounds for the pleco(the goldfish love 'em too)There are no grains of salt or blood streaks on any of the fish.Masey's behavior is making me nervous.She stays at mid level at one end of the tank and swims back and forth with her nose against the tank,ocassionally making a few laps around the whole tank,she seems to be constantly excited.She started acting like this after I put the pleco in the tank.At feeding time she seems a little confused and once she starts eating,its like she can't get enough(much worse than normal).I'm sure this all has something to do with the pleco but,I don't know what to do,or if there isn't something else wrong.Does anybody have any ideas? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member heidiinatree@yahoo.ca Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) commonPLecos are not very good tankmates no matter what the local fish store people tell you...they will get a liking to the slimecoat of your goldfish seeking them out at night while you goldfish "sleep".to suck on their slimecoat and cause injury and possibly death..I would remove the pleco..and welcome to koko's !!!!!! Edited June 30, 2008 by hi-d 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dkisosondi Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 commonPLecos are not very good tankmates no matter what the local fish store people tell you...they will get a liking to the slimecoat of your goldfish seeking them out at night while you goldfish "sleep".to suck on their slimecoat and cause injury and possibly death..I would remove the pleco..and welcome to koko's !!!!!! Just curious, it that still the case with common/not fancy variety of goldfish? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member heidiinatree@yahoo.ca Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 any goldfish ...common plecos are active at night while any goldfish variety are not ..leaving them just as much as a target for one hungry pleco..it's a big gamble I however lost a goldie to a very cute innocent pleco.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member rocmills Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 Just to throw my two cents in... we've had two large plecos living with four large comets for 5 years now without incident; in fact, all six of them have grown up together from 1.5" babies to 6-8" monsters. --Roc 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lynda441 Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 (edited) commonPLecos are not very good tankmates no matter what the local fish store people tell you...they will get a liking to the slimecoat of your goldfish seeking them out at night while you goldfish "sleep".to suck on their slimecoat and cause injury and possibly death..I would remove the pleco..and welcome to koko's !!!!!! In addition to the slime coat sucking, you were already at your limit with three comets in a 65 gallon tank. The pleco may be small now, but it will grow 8-12 inches, maybe more, depending on what type of pleco, and will add to the bio-load tremendously. So, with this and in addition to the fact that the pleco seems to be causing great stress to your goldfish, I too agree, you should remove the pleco. Edited June 30, 2008 by lynda441 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Acupunk Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 Just to throw my two cents in... we've had two large plecos living with four large comets for 5 years now without incident; in fact, all six of them have grown up together from 1.5" babies to 6-8" monsters.--Roc But don't your plecos have birth defects that prevent them from sucking normally, Roc? If that is the case, then your experience definitely can't be generalized to all plecos. I would agree that plecos are lower risk tankmates for common goldfish (because commons are so much faster), but it is still an iffy situation. I just had to remove my bristlenose pleco (and they're supposed to be safe with goldies) because my goldfish kept turning up in the morning with fin and scale injuries. Since the pleco has been out of the tank, the injuries have stopped. In retrospect, I think that the pleco was responsible for the death of my black moor Cricket. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Acupunk Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 The pleco may be small now, but it will grow 8-12 inches, maybe more, depending on what type of pleco, and will add to the bio-load tremendously. So, with this and in addition to the fact that the pleco seems to be causing great stress to your goldfish, I too agree, you should remove the pleco. Lynda -- this is so true (the idea that plecos contribute tremendously to the bioload). Since removing my bristlenose Buzz to his own 20 gallon tank, I have been ASTOUNDED at how much poop one small pleco can make. Seriously -- he makes as much poop as all seven of my goldfish combined. Plecos definitely can't be thrown into a goldfish tank and not counted as needing at least 10-15 gallons themselves when counting tank capacity. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lynda441 Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 The pleco may be small now, but it will grow 8-12 inches, maybe more, depending on what type of pleco, and will add to the bio-load tremendously. So, with this and in addition to the fact that the pleco seems to be causing great stress to your goldfish, I too agree, you should remove the pleco. Lynda -- this is so true (the idea that plecos contribute tremendously to the bioload). Since removing my bristlenose Buzz to his own 20 gallon tank, I have been ASTOUNDED at how much poop one small pleco can make. Seriously -- he makes as much poop as all seven of my goldfish combined. Plecos definitely can't be thrown into a goldfish tank and not counted as needing at least 10-15 gallons themselves when counting tank capacity. People tend to discount bottom feeders because they live on the bottom, out of sight, and I think, more importantly, because of their alleged ability to clean up waste. In fact, many people believe that bottom feeders eat poop, which we know, they do not. I encourage anyone I talk to, if I can get to them before they get a bottom feeder, to get the bottom feeder because you like its looks, not because you want it to be a clean up tool. For the amount of waste bottom feeders produce, the amount of algae and debris they eat is not worth it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member heidiinatree@yahoo.ca Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 when I had plecos their poop was everywhere it hung in the plastic plants like toilet paper in trees!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member lynda441 Posted June 30, 2008 Regular Member Share Posted June 30, 2008 when I had plecos their poop was everywhere it hung in the plastic plants like toilet paper in trees!! What a visual! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Bennett Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Thanks for all of the input and welcomes.I wasn't aware that plecos made so much poop,or that a pleco would cause my goldfish so much stress.When I woke up this afternoon,Masey was a little calmer and didn't spend so much time with her nose on the tank.I'm going to wait a day or two and if things don't get better I'll remove the pleco,Masey is acting more like herself .Thanks again. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.