Dying Pleco =(

[Levinsmommy07]

Hi everyone... I hope maybe someone can help me.. I have a 10 year old Pleco that for the last week hasen't been doing too well.. He use to come to the surface and eat with the koi, but he has not ate in about a week.. Hes not sticking to the glass and sometimes I find him upside down at the bottom of the tank, but hes still breating.. I did a water change yesterday thinking it might be the problem..I took some water to be tested and the Ph was a little off, and the Nitrate was in the (unsafe) area.. My two Koi don't seem to be affected... Any ideas? Oh, my tank is 55 gallon.. (in case that helps) Thank you for all your time and help!

 

[phin]

what was the "unsafe" nitrate reading? How big of a water change did you do? How often do you do water changes, and how big are they? Do you have readings for ammonia and nitrite?

 

[OrangeCones]

The tank is overstocked, so that may be part of the issue. What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? What temperature do you keep the tank at? Koi are coldwater fish, and the pleco is a tropical fish.

 

[Levinsmommy07]

The nitrate was 80 (from the test I did yesterday) The guy that helped me at the store said that my ammonia leves were fine.. I did about a 35% water change. ( I did a little more than normal because I wasn't able to do one last week) I usually do one a week at about 25%. I don't know if it helps, but Orick (my pleco) was sick before I did the change. I'm actually wondering if I should do another 25% change this morning to help with the nitrate. I just did another test and its still at 80... Thank you for your help!

 

[aakaakaak]

Your pleco and both goldfish are very dirty fish. Their water needs to be cleaned frequently. Do you have a liquid test kit that you could give us a Nitrate reading from?

Have you put in any meds or done anything different from what you usually do?

Also, your pleco, while not ancient, is still fairly old. This "may" be close to his end of life. He's like 70 is pleco years.

Edit: YES! Change more water. Remember the dechlorinator!

 

[Levinsmommy07]

I have 2 small koi and the pleco is about 12''. The temp usually stays between 72 and 74..

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

On a normally stocked tank, 25% water change is most likely not enough, on this overly stocked tank (your fish are big poopers) you should be doing at least 50% weekly. I would do a large volume water change ASAP. 80 PPM NitrAtes are lethal to fish.

 

[Levinsmommy07]

Ok, so I did another water change, added a little bit of stress zyme, and it only broght the Nitrate down to about 65ish and my ph went down to about 6.2.....RAH! Anymore ideas? I hate to be a bother, I've come to terms that I will probably loose my Pleco, I just don't want to loose my beautiful Koi.. Thanks again everyone!
EDIT: I added 2 tsp of PH increaser to the tank..fingers crossed..

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

How much water did you change? Also forget the stress zyme. Did you use a water dechlorinator? Stress coat or tap water conditioner are the ones API makes (Same company that makes Stress Zyme.) If you PH is changing alot when you do a water change, I would check the tap water to see what it is. While you are at it, check your tap water for NitrAtes.

 

[Levinsmommy07]

Ahh, thank you! Will do! Again, thank you to everyone for all your help!
EDIT: After adding the PH increaser it brought it up to a 6.8, the Nitrate is still about a 60ish..
Thinking I may wait a few hours and do another water change?

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

No more chemicals other then dechlor. You are using a something right?

 

[phin]

How often do you normally test your pH? What is it usually? Why does a pH reading of 6.4 bother you?

Keep doing water changes until your nitrate levels are less than 40ppm. Continue regular water changes to keep nitrates always under 40ppm.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

+1 to Phin

 

[aakaakaak]

Just remember that fish like Tang. It's not just the drink of astronauts. It's the color your nitrate reading should be. Fish HATE cherry kool-aid.

 

[Newman]

lol. and i would be slightly concerned about keeping koi in acidic water...they possibly wont function right at that pH. but yes what is the pH of your tap since that should be the pH of you tank water. if the pH of your tank is acidic then i figure if the fish are so used to it by now, I wouldnt make any drastic changes..