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Post by accountingchick on Aug 28, 2005 11:23:04 GMT -5
I woke up this morning and saw that my plecostomus has two holes on its top fin. I don't know anything about this type of fish. I hope he is not ill because I do not want my Betta who is his tank mate to get sick. My Betta chases him around every once in a while, and I have seen him nudge the pleco before, but I have never seen him nip at his fins so I don't think the betta is at fault. I am totally worried. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!
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Post by amanichen on Aug 28, 2005 12:19:30 GMT -5
I'll help you figure out what happened, and how to remedy it but first I'll need to know some information:
How large is the fish?
How large are the holes?
What other fish are in the tank?
What kind of decorations do you have in the tank?
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Post by accountingchick on Aug 28, 2005 12:42:17 GMT -5
Thank you for your help. The fish is about 2.5 inches long, and the holes look like they are half the size of a pencil eraser. The only decoration that I have in the tank now a holey cave. I gave it the pantyhose test first before I put in the tank, and it passed the test. The male betta and the pleco are the only fish in the tank.
Let me give you a little background on this fish. I have had my betta for the past year in a 1 gallon bowl. I had a friend babysit him for me last month, and when I went to pick him up, my friend was trying to be helpful and bought the pleco at our local pet store, which he is quite small, and the pet store told him that they would trade him off for a smaller pleco when he got to big for my bowl. However, I knew that that was not enough room for both fish so I upgraded to a 2.5 gallon tank two and a half weeks ago and I have been doing 25% water changes once a week. I hope that i am not doing something wrong. Again thanks for your help.
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durbkat
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 127
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Post by durbkat on Aug 28, 2005 13:24:21 GMT -5
You should return that pleco and don't get another one unless you have a 10g with a heater. Because a pleco which is what you have needs a heater and SPACE!!! The most reasonable reason your pleco has these holes in his fins is because the betta is attacking him. Because a 2.5g tank is WAY to small for a pleco. A 2.5g tank has only enough room for a betta. So if I was you, you could either return the pleco and see if you can get a refund, get a 10g tank with heater to put the pleco in but you will need a 100g tank at least by the time he is full grown, or you could find someone who wants the pleco then give it to them. Those are the only thing I see you can do.
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Post by amanichen on Aug 28, 2005 14:00:29 GMT -5
The first thing I'm going to tell you is something you won't like -- get the pleco out of that tank and get it into a larger tank, or donate it to a pet store.
Of course you should never let ANYBODY buy fish, or fish supplies for you unless they know what the heck they're doing.
The second thing I'm going to tell you is watch the pleco's fins for signs of fungus (white fuzz composed of many filaments) or bacteria (generally indicated by raw, sawtooth, or bloody edges.)
While it's possible that the betta damaged the pleco's fins, it's also possible that the cramped conditions and and not-so-good water quality are stressing out the pleco to where bacteria has taken hold.
Some melafix will help heal the fins up, but you really need to get the fish out of that tank, and politely tell your friends never to buy fish or fish supplies for you.
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Post by accountingchick on Aug 28, 2005 14:18:32 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the advice everybody. I am going to call the petstore to see if they will take the poor little guy back. He is such a sweet fish too. If they cannot, I am sure that I will find someone who has the proper tank size for him and see if they will take him. I will give him some medicine in the meantime.
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durbkat
Junior Bubble Nester
Posts: 127
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Post by durbkat on Aug 29, 2005 15:11:11 GMT -5
Good idea accountingchick.
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