Gonna try this again...

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Fishandfrogs

Medium Fish
#1
Jan 19, 2008
70
0
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#1
OK so i picked up another Rubberlip today. i jsut really like the little boogers, and i want to have a Plec in my tank. The little guy seems to be doing great so far.. Darting around the tank exploring his surroundings. cant tell for sure but i think he has sampled the algae on a couple sides of the tank so i guess that means he is eating. Ill have to keep an eye on him of course, but im hopeful. *BOUNCINGS Anyway here's a pic its not great but i think he can be seen.

 

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Fishandfrogs

Medium Fish
#5
Jan 19, 2008
70
0
0
#5
Still alive and maybe getting comfortable...

ok so, he is still alive, which is great.

After the first few hours of exploring, he settled behind the Red Wendii at the back of my tank and i hadnt seen him away from that area til today. When i got home from work and turned the lights on, he was on the other side of the tank happly munching on a clump of algae under one of the tank ornaments. it looks like i might not kill another rubberlip. lol.*celebrate
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#6
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#6
Great news...I'm glad to hear he's feeding!
I've also noticed that plecos can take a while to start feeding when introduced to a new tank. Seems kinda odd considering how much they do eat once they get going though...lots of pooping too! :p

Of course, my experience may not be the norm, but I just thought I'd chime in anyway.
BV
 

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Fishandfrogs

Medium Fish
#7
Jan 19, 2008
70
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#7
Now Im Pissed!

DAMN IT. He was doing so well.. active every day, eating, moving around the tank..

Came in form work today and he was fine, chilling on the driftwood, moving every couple of seconds. 3 hours later, i glance into the tank, and he is sitting in there, bright white except for an area around his mouth, completely dead. Only thing i can think of is that he got poisoned somehow. Are there any types of algae that can kill a fish that eats it? The reason i ask is that my driftwood has this fuzzy WHITE algae growing all over it and i dont know if its safe. :mad:
 

TabMorte

TabMorte

Superstar Fish
#8
Jan 17, 2008
1,470
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#8
white algae I have only seen when my tank wasn't fully cycled. Plecos are really sensitive. Did you check all your water perameters?
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#10
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#10
this may be inaccurate but my plecos have been anything but sensitive, during a die off in one tank it was one of a few survivors, and the other plecos i have had as a kid were all the same way..and I killed alot of fish back then. I have a Pleco that is about 10in now and I got him from my sister in law that had him for 2 years and u couldnt even see thru the water most of the time, the only fresh water it ever got was when she added to refill from evaporation. So from my unprofessional experience Plecos are hard to kill. I am sure others will disagree with me but thats my personal experience.

All are the other fish under your signature in the same tank? If so and they are still living and appearantly breeding I would guess your water is ok, but you should test it, even test strips are better than nothing.

Where did u buy the pleco...if from the same store then maybe the are sick from the start.

Where did you get the driftwood? If it is nibbling on it could it hold a toxin that is killing them off?
 

TabMorte

TabMorte

Superstar Fish
#11
Jan 17, 2008
1,470
0
0
#11
Before you buy any more fish you need a test kit.

The only time I got white algae was when my tank wasn't fully cycled. In the mean time take a sample of your water to the fish shop and have them test it. Do not let them say 'its fine'. Get them to write down all the numbers.
 

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Fishandfrogs

Medium Fish
#14
Jan 19, 2008
70
0
0
#14
To Brian 1973: 1) Yes. all those fish are in the same tank. Ive been doing 10-25% Water changes about every other day because i know the bioload is getting bad, but i dont really know what to do other than jsut kill my guppies as they spawn, and call me a softie, but i dont like to do that. Dont have a problem killing a deer though. go figure. The damn things are suppossed to eat their young right? havent seen ANY of that yet.
2) The only fish store within 120 miles that i know of is the local petsmart or the wall mart and i got the pleco from Petsmart. this one lived longer than the others, and died differently.
3) i highly doubt the driftwood itself is to blame. he munched on it, along with the oto for some reason, for several days before this happened. The oto is still fine.
4) No, unfortunately, the firebellies arent in seperate housing yet, Although this particular tank is set up to keep them pretty comfortable. they need water to swim in and land to eat and sleep on. but i have a platform right at the surface of the water which serves as their land. they are totally comfortable,(you can tell by their color) and the initial 3 guppies (which i actually got to see if the toads would eat) have been living in the same water that the toads have been swimming in since about september with no ill effects, they even spawn regularly, as you know. when its all said and done, i think all concerned are comfortable. of course, if anyone knows differently, i would like to know.



To Brooklynfish: My tank is 16 gallons, and the water level is kept at 10 gallons. (the presence of the frogs demands a little headroom above the water)
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#15
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#15
Firebelly toads are toxic to other animals and fish...I would recommend removing them ASAP, also color is not a good way of telling if an amphibian is fairing well. Toads need more land mass than water..aslo if they leach toxins onto thier platform or other surface and the pleco latchs onto it then it ingests them it just got poisoned. Maybe far fetched but if everything else is surviving and multipling in this tank then something has to cause just the pleco's to be affected and to me this is the only thing that makes sense. I would throughly clean that tank.

The poison released from toads is a milky white substance, could that be what your seeing on the driftwood, a would also think that driftwood may absorb and toxins released by the toads.

Amphibian Articles - Species Mixing: New World Syndrome

Also found another forum stating that toads lose their slime coating as well and this is full of toxins.
 

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Fishandfrogs

Medium Fish
#16
Jan 19, 2008
70
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#16
Well, with firebellies in particular, they show their comfort by their color. a bright green (on top) means they are healthy and unstressed, if they get darker, or shade down to brown, they are stressed. However, i concur on one thing, they need to leave that tank. Ive had a few fish i didnt expect and i know that tank is overstocked. The cories for example were bequeathed on me by a neighbor,(it was that or he was gonna flush them) The massive amount of guppies i have and am ABOUT to have ( like 4 of them are getting heavily gravid) is just due to unchecked reproduction. the shrimp, the oto and the loaches were to help control Waste, algae, and snails, respectively. Another tank, hopefully more than 30 gallons is in the works, as well as a terrarium for the frogs. As far as the white stuff on the wood, its definitely not frog poison. Its fuzzy and it grows. ive seen it grow on the occasional floater that i didnt catch right away too.
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#17
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#17
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