spots on my pleco

hi there

only saw todat my large pleco in my 1000l 1.8m x 65cmx 65cm freshwater aqaurium has been running for more that month no issues ph has dropped over last few weeks from 8 to 7.ammonia is high but also dropped from 10 down to 5 and relative ammonia levels are low. I did do weekly 250l waterchanges. I have been noticing the bigger pleco mocking my pleco that is sick for last few days. is this white spots itch or just battle scarrs?

 

You mean the large, vague whitish blotches? Definitely not ick, hopefully just battle scars. But if he's sick it might be some other symptom, does anyone else have an idea?

 

there is no hair on area so it cant be ick but its on both sides of fish.the fish was nibbled on body for 2 plus days. will remove fish to a seperate tank and treat for ick.

 

I don't think you should treat for ick, since it doesn't have ick.

 

definately not ich.perhaps fungal infection

 

Maybe try a broad spectrum treatment like Microbe-Lift Artemiss which is a natural excellent for bacterial diseases including fungus. Also boosts immune system and destresses the fish. So good for amy tank mates as well.

 

Why is your ammonia so high in the first place?

Your best bet is to take Reedfish's advice.

Start with a large water change to get the ammonia as low as possible and then follow up with daily small water changes to increase the water quality (depending on how long tank has been running,you might have to do this for a month until the tank is cycled)

By the way,this is what ick looks like,rather treat with a general medicine like paraguard per bottle instructions.

 

Agreed. Those high ammonia levels have to be sorted or any medication is just a waste.

 

@junior1baby - You will definitely have to get your ammonia levels down quick or else all your fish will die. Not they may die, they will die.

1. Do a water change

2. Get some Seachem Prime. 25ml is a normal dose for your tank volume. I would add that, check your levels after half an hour and if it's not down drastically, add another 25ml.

Repeat daily until levels are in check.

I know doing water changes on such a big tank must be a lot of work, but it's all that's going to save your fish now.

Keep us posted.

 

well just an update. doing waterchanges 25% every wednesday and sunday. ph is down to 7.5 and ammonia down to 5.0. fish is much happier. pleco is looking better but I guess it must be domination issue as the bigger pleco still chases him relentlessly and his fins are looking bad. might just have to remove him to a qt tank for isolation. is isolation the best treatment for this situation.

been using borehole water and since I have started using it the fish are mush better. the borehole water is prepared for 2days in an 240l wheelie bin dosed with seachem.prime and microbelift special blend. will do a waterchange today and test water again.

 

Ammonia should be zero. I am amazed that any of your fish are alive. You really need to be doing daily water changes. Weekly is simply having no effect.
Borehole water is normally brackish thus very hard with high ph. You need to lower the ph more than that. Most pleco's come form soft water with ph much below 7. Try adding floating a net bag of palm peat in your preparation tank to soften the water. Or a peat extract like Tetra's Balckwater Extract. It will make the water a little yellow-brownish which you can filter out with carbon if you don't like the look.

 

well it was 15.but i could be me reading tests wrong as I leave it longer than recommended time. will do smaller dayly waterchanges say 10% per day. my tank is cycling very slow altough I dose it with microbelift.

 

Tank should have been cycled before adding fish,read the link in my signature.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First - Cycle your Tank - Tropical Fish Forums

 

i did cycle it and used mature water.my househelp put my fx6 powercable out and I fear I lost quite a bit of my bioload and all these waterchanges making the bioload thin out even more. I think I must qt all my fish at lps then redo my whole setup.

 

It's usually a sign of sickness when fish suddenly start attacking one single tank mate and the aggression is most likely being caused by ammonia poisoning. Look into zeolite for help with that if the water changes don't work. Also for softening borehole water filter through peat bought from a petstore (not peat for gardening as this might contain toxins) I get mine from @Moolis it's slow but it works in my experience. And plecos are messy fish they produce a bucket load of waist which needs to be removed so be sure to use a gravel vac with those water changes.

And how's your water surface movement? If it's not great get a 1200l electric sponge filter for surface movement and gas exchange. This would also be a great place to put the zeolite or carbon for easy removal when treating sick fishies

 

yes yes yes.f@ck you ammonia.

update today.

water temp 27
ph 7.5
ammonia 0--yes 0
nitrates 50
nitratrates 5mg/l

well from one bad to another. my tank has restabilised and ammonia is under control.I changed my routine a bit.

fed them and suctioned poo and food debri up. then drained 25% and refilled with prepaired water( 250liter with tetra aqau safe, microbe lift special blend).

Wc thus monday wednesday and fryday.

looks like it worked. will continue 25% WC every 3 days till bioload up and nitrates drop. thrn I will do a weekly WC on fryday. wont clean filters till nitrates drop.

any advice?

 

Keep doing what you're doing,you're pretty much halfway though your cycle since the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites has been fully established.Now all that's left to do is wait until your nitrites reach 0 or close to 0.Try and keep your nitrates below 20 with waterchanges,the tank will cycle a bit slower but the fish don't suffer as much.

 

well an final update. my tank is doing awesome now. ammonia zero. nitrates zero and nitrites zero with weekly 25% wc. use orca nitrate bio cubes and seems my fish cant be happier.got a new tank for plecos and gouramis so my main display a big malawi tank. and growth is fast!!

thanks for a the advise