# Dead Pleco :(



## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

Howdy guys,

So yesterday I went and got a Bristlenose Pleco... This morning he was dead

He didn't seem to have any odd spots or markings that would indicate external disease... 

He did have a white area on his belly although I am pretty certain this happened after he died and the cichlids started picking at him. His back, head, and fins were all untouched which kinda indicates that he didn't get harassed. 

Is this just from stress maybe? None of the other fish were bothering him... I drip acclimated him... Temp and PH are within the acceptable ranges for a Bristlenose... Just don't know what I did wrong here... I don't want to get another one and have him die too...

I'm kinda bummed, he was a neat looking fish


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sometimes fish just die. I usually feel pretty comfortable if the fish is still alive about a week after the store. After that point I feel like it is on me and my tanks. Before that, who knows. The fish go through a lot of stress before they make it to your tank. This is why it is always good to ask what day the store you go to gets their fish and it is that day that you usually want to buy them. That is about the least stressed you can get them and give you the best chance to have a healthy fish.

Drip acclimating is the right thing to do. Just be sure that when you do it this time of year the dripped water is not getting to cold. It can, depending on the temp of your house. I keep my house at 61 and drip acclimating can cause more problems than not if I don't take special precautions.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

1^ with jr except I remember you are in Hawaii so I don't think your fish got cold during drip.I will say if not from local breeders you may get some of the MOST stressed fish for sale in the USA(long trip to you from wherever).Maybe wait till next shipment arrives,and definately find out what day is "fish" day at your LFS.


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

Yeah, I keep my house at a nice and cool 80F... Hehe, I don't even run heaters in my tanks... I HAVE them in the tanks, just in case, but I don't turn them on except for water changes when the temp fluctuates by 2 degrees. I run the heater to get it back to 80. Although I should probably just let mother nature do it's thing in that case since it sits at 80 without any assistance from the heaters.


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

coralbandit said:


> 1^ with jr except I remember you are in Hawaii so I don't think your fish got cold during drip.I will say if not from local breeders you may get some of the MOST stressed fish for sale in the USA(long trip to you from wherever).Maybe wait till next shipment arrives,and definately find out what day is "fish" day at your LFS.


Good point about their stress levels... I know our big chains out here (PetSmart and Petco) receive their fish on Thursdays and they are sent overnight in Styrofoam coolers, individually bagged with oxygen. Not sure about the store I got the Pleco, I'll have to ask them. I'd imagine they use local breeders for everything they can get locally... Out here in Hawaii local businesses try not to get anything from the mainland if they can help it.

I took the Bristlenose back to them today (They have a 2 day guarantee on freshwater fish) and apparently most of the bristlenose plecos from that shipment had died. 2 customers before me, and the one they had left in the tank was dead as well. He was fine yesterday. So I don't think it was my fault.

They felt bad and even though the Bristlenose was $3, they offered to give me a $10 Red High Fin Spotted Pleco in exchange. 

They had him in a tank with AC's, so I hope he'll be alright with mine... He's a bit bigger than they are. They've been nipping at him a little, nothing super aggressive, I think it was more to see if he was alive... He found himself a home inside a cave for now and nobody is messing with him... I'll watch him over the next few days to make sure he's not missing any big chunks of fin / tail, or god forbid gets eaten. Hopefully he'll be alright. The folks at the LFS seemed to think he would do well with AC's


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Wow that's a nice fish. That was nice of him To give you such a nice fish at a good price. That's a store I would buy from. That means he's in business more likely out of love for the hobby. But I have a common high fin and L25 in with my cicflids. They get nipped at on occasion but for the most part they leave them alone. Plus the plecos will stand their ground pretty hard. And if he found a cave that's good, hell probably settle down quicker. Hell feel safer. I'd be more worried if he just kept swimming around and not finding somewhere to hide.


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