Pleco fish (sucker fish) dying - advice please

deadl0ck

Hi all,
We have a Fluval 600 tank (60cm long x 35cm deep x 40cm high) and have 2 goldfish in it for about 6 months.

About 1 and a half month ago we bought 2 pleco and put them in the tank. We asked in the shop if they were OK to go in with the gold fish and we told them the tank temp was 22/23 C all the time. They said no problem. We also got the little tablets you feed them with - we fed them one of these tables each day.
Anyhoo - they never really seem to move much and after about 1 week one of them dies, and a few days later the other was dead.

So, back to a few days ago. I went back, told them what happened and the guys int he store said I should have the tank at 26 C and that was the problem. So that evening I put in the heater tha came with the tank, and set it for 26.
The next day the tank was up to 26 so I went back and bought 2 more plecos, and 2 goldfish also. I asked if it was OK to buy that mank and put them in and was told it would be no problem, after I showed them the tank I had and told them there was only 2 goldfish in it.

I'm just home now from work, and one of the new plecos is dead !!

What am I doing wrong ?
Could it be the pH in the tank? I asked about his in the shop and they said, no they'll be grand......

Any help would be greatly appreciated !

By the way - all fish, equipment and advice we received was in Pet Shop Superstore in Blanchardstown.

KNO3

Well i'm glad you named the shop because the advice you have been given is nothing short of disgraceful and also for the long term future of the fish very cruel indeed.

Basically, first thing is that goldfish are a coldwater fish, a pleco is a tropical fish and therefore has a totally different water temperature requirement then that of a goldfish, keeping them both together is IMO cruel.

Secondly your tank is too small for these fish, I dont know what type of pleco you have but it is probably a common pleco, a common pleco will normally grow to about 12 inches in length in an aquarium (in the right conditions they will grow a lot bigger >12-24 inches) you have 2 of them and you tank is only 24 inches across, your tank is unsuitable for one pleco let alone 2, but I don't know what type of plec it is, but given the advice so far I would guess its totally unsuitable for your tank.

Basically whats happening is that your tank is probably not cycled and this is why the fish are dying most likely, are you using a filter on this tank?

If you are using a filter on the tank, the filter is probably not cycled or mature enough to take the extra fishload with the addition of the plecos, every time a fish poops it excretes ammonia and your filter should be able to process this ammonia and turn it into a harmless form through a process known as the nitrogen cycle (hence the term cycling a tank) if the filter is not mature enough (contains enough bacteria to break down the ammonia) then the ammonia causes the fish to die, you get ammonia spikes and it kills the fish, its very common in uncycled tanks where the filter is not mature enough.

Anyway those are just some of the obvious problems and probably the reason the fish are dying, long term goldfish can also get very big and the tank you have is barely adequate for them on their own, I would suggest returning the pleco, just keep the goldfish on their own in that tank in coldwater, and don't ever shop in that establishment again because the advice they have given you is very bad indeed.

Heres a link to a fish forum that will explain more about cycling a tank and you can check out pleco requirements also, look up the beginners section for info on cycling and the section on catfish for info on plecos http://www.fishforums.net/

Heres another irish based fish forum, the lads there are helpful and im sure would help you out if you have any other specific questions regarding plecos.

http://www.irishfishkeepers.com/forum/index.php