will a pl*co eat itself to death?????

[animal lover]

I was wondering if a pl*co will eat itself to death.....I just got a baby sailfin pl*ce on Friday with a tiny little belly and now he seems really bloated and I don't want him to eat so much that he'll die......

 

[ecotank]

How much algae do you have?

I've never heard of an algae eater of any type eatiing itself to death, but I guess there is a first time for everything.

 

[animal lover]

enough that his belly is getting nice and plump.......there's a fair amount but do they not only eat when hungry.....he is just a baby and may be on a growth spurt...do you think maybe???

 

[bumblebee]

I would be cautious of an internal infection. I had a pl*co that swelled up like that within the first days, and he ended up giving my platies the internal infection too! If you have a quarantine tank, I would suggest that until you decide if he's just eating a lot, or is sick. hth,
JC

 

[pablo111]

Good point on the possible infection. A good indicator is the poop. If its brown, he's ok. But if its all white and clear odds are he may have problems. This isn't a for sure thing- just an indicator.

If you think he is eating too much, make sure you aren't feeding him. Feed other fish in the tank less so less food makes it to the bottom, and don't give him any bottom feeder tabs or anything.

Internal infections can be cured by boosting your water temperature or medications so you aren't screwed even if it is the case.

I doubt it though, odds are he's a piggy. Doubt he'd die from it, just put him on a diet.

 

[animal lover]

well I was very sad yesterday when I got home from out of town...I arrived home to find my baby pl*co stuck to my filter....He was so cute....I am going to get a new one and hopefully it will be as cute as him, I'm also going to put a sponge on my filter till he gets a bit bigger...Thanx eveyone for the info I'll use it for the next one

 

[Lotus]

Sorry to hear about your pleco

It's very unlikely the filter killed him. It is much more likely he died and was sucked to the filter intake. I am guessing it was some kind of internal parasite/infection. Those are often hard to diagnose until it's too late.