Weird lumps on pleco

[NoodleCats]

I've been removing any uneaten food in the morning. I had some carrots left over so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. He does poop occasionally so it seems he is eating but it's not nearly enough. I plan on doing a water change today before I add the PraziPro.

I'll see if I can scrap my original plan and try to bump it up to 150 gallon, maybe 200. Will have to check if my floor can hold it first.

Common plecos aren't full vegetarians, so don't be afraid to offer him flakes or bottom feeder pellets too. Or even carnivore tabs. Hikari Sinking Wafers or tabs or whatever theyre called meant for loaches and catfish are supposed to be really easily accepted by many fish.

Plus he's new so he will still be adjusting.
Can also ask the store what they feed theirs and try to get the same food while he adjusts to his new home.

 

[Cookies76]

Will do. I'll try zucchini later today, maybe some flakes or pellets tomorrow. If none of that works I'll definitely stop by the store and ask what they feed them.

Thank you guys so much for all the help. I've done a water change,vacuumed the substrate and cleaned his cave. I've just put in a dosage of PraziPro and now only time will tell if he gets better. Thank you all again

 

[fishorama]

Good luck! Let us know how it works out. Fingers crossed!

I don't blanch zucchini but make sure there's both green & white parts. I try for a vertical slice. Some like 1 or the other but the slit with pellet or wafer bit can help them get the idea both are yummy foods. Noodle is right, most plecos are omnivores but I bet they're not used to veggies much.

I don't remember the prazi dosing but you may want to go a dose or 2 longer if he seems to be ok with it. You're doing a good job with cleaning too, kudos to you. If prazi doesn't seem to work make sure to get flubendazole, its name is similar to fenbendazole (both kill parasites) but the first works in water, the fenben only in food.

 

[fishorama]

So Cookies, how's it going after a couple weeks now?

 

[Cookies76]

The long awaited update: PraziPro took care of the parasite problem quite well. He's now spotfree. As for my feeding problem, it seems that he might have just needed time to adjust to his new environment or he got hungry enough because he has started to come out more often and eat wafers whenever I drop them in for him. Good news too, I can go for a 175 gallon once they grow big enough and need more room.

 

[fishorama]

That's great news! Thanks for the update. I'm glad he's pest free & eating well...& you can get a bigger tank for him. Will you move him back to your larger tank soon?

Plecos can be great fun. We taught our "common plec" to "wink" for a pellet or tablet food, lol (more of an eye roll/blink). It wasn't hard for any of us to learn a fun behavior. You might try romaine lettuce too, slit the midrib & add a pellet bit. Or a sweet potato slightly zapped/cooked, & a wafer bit. Variety is the spice of pleco life

I had a friend whose pleco climbed out into her next to the tank big houseplant often. She just picked him up & put him back as needed. I didn't know her then but I loved the story.

 

[Cookies76]

I moved him into the other tank on Sunday, I wanted to make sure he was well fed before I moved him into yet another new environment. He's still hiding under a piece of driftwood but he's a lot less shy then when I first got him. Perhaps I'll see if I can teach mine any cool tricks too. ?