Pleco Bloat or Preggers  9/18/08
Hi,
I was just looking at my Pleco (standard) who is about 4" long from nose to tail, a yellow and black striped Pleco (meat eater kind) that is about 3 1/2" and 2 Bushynose who are around 1 1/2". FYI. It is a planted discus tank with a giant apple snail, a few tetras and several discus. It is a 150 gallon. I noticed last week that the Pleco seemed a little chubby, but there is a lot of algae to be eaten, so I gave it no thought until today after dinner it was SO fat that it couldn't barely lay flat against the glass and there was a clear round thing coming out of its rear. It is perfectly clear like glass with a little red dot in it. I have pictures if you want, but I figured you may know what it is.
Thanks
Carrie :)
<Hello Carrie. The standard Plec is Pterygoplichthys pardalis, or some very similar species, a fish that gets to about 45 cm/18" when full grown. So I'm glad you have it in such a big tank! They are generally extremely robust and don't normally get sick when kept in big, clean tanks. Now, like most herbivores they are capable of consuming a lot of food and will look very plump. Providing they don't stay plump indefinitely, this isn't a problem. Cut back on the food for a while and see how things go. In fact with Plecs generally skinniness is the thing to be most cautious about. Being egg-laying fish, they don't become pregnant. The anus does indeed end with a small, nipple-like structure, and under some circumstances it can be visible when the fish is pressed against the glass. This is not normally a problem; the only things to be wary of are Camallanus worms, but these will be very obvious wiggling, red, thread-like animals protruding from the anus. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Pleco Bloat or Preggers 9/18/08
HI,
The Pleco was dead this morning. :(
<Oh dear! Just goes to show that doing a diagnosis without a photo isn't completely reliable. In any event, your job now is to understand why the fish died. Do check water chemistry and water quality. Also look at the cleanliness of the substrate. What aquarists called Dropsy, technically oedema, appears when organ failure occurs. Realistically, cures are very difficult to effect because the damage has already been done. This is why you need to try and establish what factor in your tank wasn't precisely right. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Pleco Bloat or Preggers 9/19/08
HI,
I do water changes of 20 to 40% every couple of weeks.
<Less than I'd recommend for such messy fish, but if your nitrate levels stay low enough for Discus, no big deal.>
All the other Plecos I had were fine. Just a fluke I guess.
<Maybe. But do remain open-minded and critical. Observe the other fish, and consider the possibilities. Cheers, Neale.>