What happened to the plec?

[birdfeeder]

I've got a new 10-gallon tank (completely cycled) and introduced a baby common plecostomus on Friday. He seemed perfectly happy until I found him dead this morning! What could possibly drive a plec to go belly-up after 3 days? My hunch is that perhaps he wasn't healthy to begin with, but I don't know if there's some trick with these guys that I don't know about.

 

[Rush07]

What are your water parameters? Are you pulling water from the bottom of the tank to test? Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are more concentrated on the bottom of the tank.

Do you remember if his eyes or belly were sunkin in when you bought him? If so, he may not have been healthy when you bought him.

 

[Lotus]

To be honest, a pleco isn't suitable for a 10g tank.

It could have been stress or poor water quality that caused his demise. Or he could have been sick when you bought him.

 

[FishGeek]

Also Plecos are very touchy when they are under 2 inches. Was yours???

 

[wilsonriverfish]

sometimes you just get bad fish and they die.

 

[birdfeeder]

Mine was right at 2 inches or so. I have heard about judging their health based on the look of the skin about their eyes. And it's true: I've been drawing water for testing from the top of the tank. I hadn't realised that ammonia and nitrates and nitrites concentrate on the bottom -- good to know!