sick (?) pleco slowly starving to death

[Srenaeb]

Hello,
I have a "regular" type pleco from a local fish store, he's been with me for about 3 years now. In November I moved, and about two weeks after that the pleco jumped out of my tank. I found him in the morning, and popped him back into the tank. I gave him some fish antibiotics, because his fins started to rot away, presumably from getting infected by something on the carpet.

Then his fins grew back and I'm very glad he made it.

But since the incident, he's been slowly losing his happy tummy bump....
some mornings I see him with very caved in sides, some morning not so caved in. For sure he's swimming around much less, and will only hang out in the corner whenever I'm in the fish room...I simply don't see him eating any more, not once in the past 2 months.

He lives in a ten gallon tank with 5 corys, 2 amano shrimp and a marimo ball.

I feed him half a biscuit of Hikari algea wafer, once a day, supplemented with slice of zucchini exchanged every 3 - 4 days if uneaten.

Is there anything I can try? I'm very worried about him. Thanks

 

[tomany]

How long is he? One half of a wafer doesn't seem like hardly enough. What do you feed the cories? I'm sure he is not getting enough algae off of the 10 gal a day, to even come close to filling him up. I think you have way to many bottom feeders in your 10 gal.

 

[crimsonmoon]

he may just need a bigger tank and more food. three years old and still in a ten gallon doesn't sound too great for him especially if hes a common

 

[halfmoonplakat]

I have read that plecostomus jump out of their tanks because of insufficient water conditions (I am not saying anything here), but what are your params? If there is an ammonia spike or something wrong with your water, we can find the culprit easier.
P.S. I am so sorry that this is happening to you. Good luck, and I hope he gets better!

 

[plecoman]

If the water is ok, feed him or her more. Try some shrimp flakes and spirulina flakes. Mine love both of them. Also try some frozen english peas. Mine can't resist them. Boil them for 3 minutes, let cool, and peel the out skin off, then drop them in the tank.

 

[Cory Keeper]

Yeah, 3 years old and still rather small, and a common to boot.

Sounds like he's been stunted, fraid the damage has been done.

 

[Srenaeb]

Thank you for advice on Peas,
I'm also going to try all the other vegetables/fruits mentioned on this forum, maybe one new kind every two days. Hopefully it's not too late

From the picture, can anyone tell if he's on the brink of death, or still have some time to go at least?

=( I'm very sorry I'm not doing a good job...

I'm really sorry that I've done this to my pleco...I love the little guy
I must admit that I'm one of those people who just "decided" to get fish one day. When I picked him up, he was the same size as the smallest corys; I had not anticipated any of them to get any bigger....Also, yeah, somehow I ended up with all bottom dwellers in a tiny tank...

I'm afraid I don't have another tank for him, my family just doesnt have the space. Will this shorten his life? I really like him but I'd rather give him away to a good home than see him die in my care.

I've only very recently started testing my waters; after the pleco's accident, I'm afraid. Now the tank's conditions are almost always pretty good (0-10 NO3 0 NO2 0 NH3 6.4-6 pH)

I used to feed him 1/2 a wafer + zucchini twice a day, but lately he just hasn't been eating, and the dissolved wafer just muck up the water.

 

[heislertj]

It is possible he injured himself hitting the floor and cannot eat anymore or he has some type of blockage in his system. Fish like plecos can live a long time without eating. It is also a possibility that he has internal parasites.
I would try asking a fellow hobbyist or going to a pet shop and getting a rock covered in algae and see if he will eat that....it is worth a shot

 

[7itanium]

I hate to tell you this.. but he is beginning to become stunted.

3 years of his life in a 10g has caused his insides to grow larger than his outer body can contain.

you need to give him a much larger home as soon as possible or he is going to die :-(

sorry to be harsh.. but life has harsh realities

I wish you the best of luck

 

[crimsonmoon]

I hate to tell you this.. but he is beginning to become stunted.

3 years of his life in a 10g has caused his insides to grow larger than his outer body can contain.

you need to give him a much larger home as soon as possible or he is going to die :-(

sorry to be harsh.. but life has harsh realities

I wish you the best of luck

x2
Sorry :/