Sick dwarf bristlenose catfish (pleco)

[BlueVelvet]

Hello All,
I have a problem with my pleco, he is not feeling very well. 2 weeks ago, he lost his interest in food, was breathing heavily and quickly, he was struggling to stay attached to the glass or other surfaces.
I have taken him to 10l quarantine tank and gave him a treatment- first it was interpet aniti internal bacteria plus for 7days as per instruction, then 3 days break and water change and then Myxazin (antibacterial) for 5 days as per instruction. He seemed to be better but still look weak and not eating much. I also did not notice any faeces of his.
Could you please advise what I can do more for him, if he will not improve in a couple of days as I do not want to loose him 🙁.
Thank you
B

 

[Bradders]

Hello. Could you please send a picture of him? Also, can you send a picture of your main aquarium where he comes from?

Thanks, Brad

 

[BlueVelvet]

Hello Brad,

Yes, no problem. He looks still bloated but I think he pooped today. He also looks bit green in colour but this is caused by Myxazin. I have 60l tank with 4 guppies, 2 female betta fish & 8 Amano shrimps. All others fish and shrimps are perfectly fine.
Thank you for your help!
B

 

[Bradders]

OK, I can't see anything external on the Plec, so it's internal.

He seemed to be better but still look weak and not eating much. I also did not notice any faeces of his.

He looks still bloated but I think he pooped today.

As the medicine does not (seem) to work, then I would certainly observe over the next couple of days with the following recommendations.

1. Feed very lightly, and choose easily digestible food when you are feeding. Fish don't need to eat every day, so don't panic about the (very) light feeding.
2. Make sure the quarantine environment is well-filtered, well-oxygenated and well-maintained.

It is very hard to diagnose over the internet, and you are kind of waiting for something to present itself, which makes the diagnosis more certain.

 

[BlueVelvet]

Thank you for your advice, I will monitor him for the couple of days, maybe he just needs more time to recover as the meds he was given could make him weak too. If no changes or he will worsen I will try to obtain metronidazole and Praziquantel from my local vet, these are the strongest and may help more.
I will update the situation in a few days. Hopefully, he will survive this.
Thanks,
B

 

[AlecF]

That tank is too small for a pleco. It won't help him to be kept in that. I'd say 100L is minimum for a bristlenose. Maybe do some reading about their needs on the seriously fish website.

 

[BlueVelvet]

Hello Alec,
Thanks for replying, any advice strictly regarding current situation please ?

 

[AlecF]

What Bradders says. And focus on water changes. Possibly some healthy food like courgette, but there may be a risk it takes too much. I guess my point was, it seems possible the conditions in the 60L have taken a toll. The illness may lessen with lots of clean water and less stress. But I worry that returning it to a 60L tank is going to repeat the issue. I think sometimes we focus on a disease, and I get why, but perhaps the illness comes from long term stress. Sorry I can't advise more. I wouldn't necessarily focus everything on one perfect medicine, when it may need time, clean water, no stress. I would add a lot of floating plants to the quarantine tank and reduce light levels, give it a cave, add almond leaves. It needs to feel very safe to de-stress, and not be exposed to bright light.

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

I do not want to loose him 🙁.

Do you know how old the fish is? You can maybe estimate based on maximum size. While this is sort of discussing around the problem, fish don’t live forever and like humans, as they get older they are more susceptible to illness, infection etc and like humans may be less responsive to medication and treatment.

As fish keepers we are often blame ourselves when a pet gets unwell but don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing the right things, hopefully he’ll get better.

 

[Teleos]

Hello Brad,

Yes, no problem. He looks still bloated but I think he pooped today. He also looks bit green in colour but this is caused by Myxazin. I have 60l tank with 4 guppies, 2 female betta fish & 8 Amano shrimps. All others fish and shrimps are perfectly fine.
Thank you for your help!
B

Hello BlueVelvet,
are you sure that this is a male Pleco? The body shape looks more like a female to me. How old is he approximately?

To improve your tank for your pleco, you should definitely provide more movement on the water surface.
You can feed him with courgettes. Plecos particularly like this and you can see immediately whether he is eating.

However, the most important thing is to keep the water surface moving. Occasional water changes certainly won't do any harm. However, Plecos do not like very large water changes. It is best to change about 20 per cent a day over several days. The changing water should be at the same temperature and should be introduced as slowly as possible.

I would not use any medication at the moment. The most important thing is a healthy tank. However, if it is a bacterial infection, it is important to get the medication into the food. It is of very little use in the tank.

 

[BlueVelvet]

Hello Teleos,
Yes, it is a female, but I was not sure about his sex when he was smaller and decided to give him male name 🙂. I do not want to change this now because he might use to his name as I have him a few months now. I am not sure how old is he (she) but I think he is not an adult as yet.
I will try to keep ideal water as much as possible and if no improvements in a couple of days I will try to get metronidazole as the last hope to cure him.

Thank you all!

B

 

[simon_the_plant_nerd]

I do not want to change this now because he might use to his name as I have him a few months now.

When I adopted my dog he was five years old and came with his name. I decided to keep the name as he was probably already used to it.

As it turned out I could have called him anything - he still wouldn’t have listened to me. For about six months that dog didn’t listen to a damn thing I said. He’s 13 now and still exhibits selective deafness. Love him to bits though.

 

[Teleos]

Hello Teleos,
Yes, it is a female,

He actually looks normal for a female Pleco. Can you take a better picture?