# Missing Plec



## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

Hi Guys,

Wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom for me tonight?
When we inherited our tank we also inherited it's inhabitants one of which was an anti-social bristlenosed plec that affectionetly named Daryl after a friend of ours who has the same anti-social traits without having the excuse of being nocturnal!


Anyway about 3-4 weeks ago we had to completely start again after major issues with our tank. New gravel, ornaments, plants the works! In fact the only thing that stayed was about 60% of the original water. Unfortunatly this meant that Daryl had to be uprooted from his home and relocated. Within minutes he chose the inside of a hollow artificial tree stump. Everything was fine until a week ago....


Now there is no trace of him! No gravel disturbance No Sightings. Nothing! And I'm now worried! When we got the tank our friends did say that he would dissapear for a few days at a time and my husband gets the water tested weekly at the lfs and says that our ammonia level is 0 so he can't be dead, but still....


So I have these questions...

Could he be dead without it affecting the levels?
Can he swim backwards as some of the hollow bits are narrow and he could be stuck?
Am I worrying for nothing?:chair:
What should I do?

Thanks for any help in advance.


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

Oh and yes we have had a good a look as we could and but we can't see anything apart from maybe the tip of his tail, but we cant see enough to be sure!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Yes, he could hide himself in a piece of wood, even chewed the hole just big enough to fit in. If he died, there would be an ammonia spike, but it wouldn't last long. You could've missed it. And lastly, he could have "flown the coop" and be dried up under the furniture or eaten by a cat or dog.


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

Did he jump out of the tank? Because there has been a thread about a missing BN and they found him dead outside the tank. I've had a plec just go missing and never found him seached the hole tank gone wasn't outside the tank just gone so check and make sure he didn't jump out.


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

emc7 said:


> Yes, he could hide himself in a piece of wood, even chewed the hole just big enough to fit in. If he died, there would be an ammonia spike, but it wouldn't last long. You could've missed it. And lastly, he could have "flown the coop" and be dried up under the furniture or eaten by a cat or dog.


Hmmmm. Well the stump is plastic I think as it's artificial. How long would the ammonia spike last? and if there had been a spike wouldn't it of had an effect on the nitrates and nitrites?

As for flying the coop! No way! The lid is on 24/7 as we have 3 silver dollars who think that they are harry houdini!


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ShadowMinx said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> Wondering if anyone has any pearls of wisdom for me tonight?
> When we inherited our tank we also inherited it's inhabitants one of which was an anti-social bristlenosed plec that affectionetly named Daryl after a friend of ours who has the same anti-social traits without having the excuse of being nocturnal!
> ...



Well if your not sure that its his tail you see its quite possible that he jumped out of the tank. Bristlenose plecos dont take to well to being switched into new tanks and are known for jumping out of the tank. At work we got a some in and someone forgot to cover the tank and the next day there were about 8 of them on the floor dead. Even witht the tank completely covered they still seam to find a way out of the tank. Its possible he could just be hiding in an ornament typically they can back out no problem but sometimes they do get stuck. Im not quit sure what u ment by could he be dead without it affecting the levels? A dying fish is most likely not going to change the levels to much depending on the size of the tank and the size of the fish and how long he has been dead. Unless you ment could he have died without the levels being bad and the answer is yes their are many things that can kill a fish not just high ammonia or nitrites.


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

Like I said one of my plecs I had was just gone never saw him again. But hopefully yours is still in there alive.


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## hXcChic22 (Dec 26, 2009)

I'd say that he could very easily be hiding. We had our dragon goby up and disappear for over 24 hours, and we were convinced he and jumped and the cat had found and eaten him. Turns out he must have just buried himself in the sand, because there he was the next day, acting like nothing had happened.


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

@ Revolution. We have checked all round the tank and he's not there. As for the whole level things. We had a fish die and being newbies I took it into the lfs in a bag of water as we had only had it 3 days and he told me my tank was high in ammonia so to do a 80% water change! Well that was the start of a nightmare that resulted in the move about. Anyway when we complained about the bad advise the manager informed us that yes the water test would of had high ammonia readings because dead fish do that to your water levels. So we assume that dead fish = high readings


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

hXcChic22 said:


> I'd say that he could very easily be hiding. We had our dragon goby up and disappear for over 24 hours, and we were convinced he and jumped and the cat had found and eaten him. Turns out he must have just buried himself in the sand, because there he was the next day, acting like nothing had happened.


See thats why I'm worried. We've seen him for like 2 weeks after this huge shift about but definatly not the last week.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

In an established tank, a dead fish make a "mini-cycle" as there is suddenly more "waste" than the bacteria is used to. In a small tank, it can be killer, then the next dead fish causes a new spike and so on. Thats why its better to let fish go hungry, than be overfed by a pet sitter. In a established tank with a good filter, the ammonia can disappear in anywhere from an hour to a day, then you'll see a nitrite spike, again gone in hours, and then the nitrates go up. But unless you test and chart your nitrates weekly, you're unlikely to notice the bump.


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

emc7 said:


> In an established tank, a dead fish make a "mini-cycle" as there is suddenly more "waste" than the bacteria is used to. In a small tank, it can be killer, then the next dead fish causes a new spike and so on. Thats why its better to let fish go hungry, than be overfed by a pet sitter. In a established tank with a good filter, the ammonia can disappear in anywhere from an hour to a day, then you'll see a nitrite spike, again gone in hours, and then the nitrates go up. But unless you test and chart your nitrates weekly, you're unlikely to notice the bump.


We have the water tested every 5 days or so as after the whole ammonia mess up my husbands paranoid. 

What do you suggest we do?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Put a piece of zucchini in a veggie clip on the side of the tank overnight. See if the pleco comes out to chow down. You could also try poking inside of the ornament and see if anything twitches. But don't leave it out of the water, even if nothing fall out when you shake it. If the pleco is in there, you could kill it. If the fish is dead, your nitrates will go up more than usual for a few weeks and the tank will smell different. 

And I'd be inclined to add more caves. You might catch him checking out new digs.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

emc7 said:


> In an established tank, a dead fish make a "mini-cycle" as there is suddenly more "waste" than the bacteria is used to. In a small tank, it can be killer, then the next dead fish causes a new spike and so on. Thats why its better to let fish go hungry, than be overfed by a pet sitter. In a established tank with a good filter, the ammonia can disappear in anywhere from an hour to a day, then you'll see a nitrite spike, again gone in hours, and then the nitrates go up. But unless you test and chart your nitrates weekly, you're unlikely to notice the bump.


yeah i recently had something happen to my guppies lost about 20 of them but i think they were all removed soon enough i never had any spike. and to the other person did they test the water the dead fish was in cuz if so that was just stupid of them lol. sorry for all your troubles with your fish just try to bear through it and dont lose faith in the hobby i see that happen to, too many people.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The bigger a tank, and the lower the stocking, the more easily it can handle a spike. What goes unnoticed in a 55 is stressful in 20, dangerous in a 10, and deadly in a 5. Plant help, "overfiltering" helps, "ammonia detoxifying" water conditioners help. People do keep fish alive for decades in bowls with no filters. But there isn't any margin for error. 

I'd like my tanks to be able to go a week or two with no help from me. 

But looking at your fish every day, lifting the lid and sniffing the air that was trapped under the lid, checking for injury or signs or illness is really the best way to prevent trouble from wiping out the tank.

At this point, I don't think you need be afraid of bad water quality from a dead fish. I do think there is a chance the pleco is stuck in the ornament. That does happen. Sometimes the fish will be able to get out after fasting and shrinking a bit. Or it could just be eluding your sight. plecos do a mean "bump on a log" impression. You can look right at them and not see them until they move. 

Don't be too surprised if you find the fish 10 feet away in a corner. Fish are natural escape artists and can seem to teleport through lids. Once they end up on the floor, they flop around until they are in the dark.


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## PuterChickFL (Feb 23, 2010)

i recently had a pleco do a disappearing act. after i caught the aroma I knew what that meant. it stunk to high heaven and it sent the levels out of whack


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

Thanks eveyone! Since starting this thread I have 1 all night vigil by means of setting up a webcam set on night mode and had dreams about this plec. Not including turning my living room upside down to check he hadn't teleported out of the tank! AND GUESS WHAT!

The little monster turned up this morning. He was out when I came down like nothing had happend, although I must say he is looking thinner. So the stuck and fasting theory I think was the most viable! Thanks all, once again you have been a fountain of knowledge and have reminded me exactly why I haven't jacked it all in yet! thank you!


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

Thats great you saw him out. My current pleco didn't start coming out until weeks after I got him I don't know why I didn't think of this when I replyed to your thread .


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

Revolution1221 said:


> yeah i recently had something happen to my guppies lost about 20 of them but i think they were all removed soon enough i never had any spike. and to the other person did they test the water the dead fish was in cuz if so that was just stupid of them lol. sorry for all your troubles with your fish just try to bear through it and dont lose faith in the hobby i see that happen to, too many people.


Yeah he was assistant manager and he tested the water with a dead fish in it. Then told me he had managed to get a good reading because the fish hadn't been in there long enough to contaminate the water. Told me my ammonia level was sky high and that it was a result of treating the tank for swim bladder. He said that the swim bladder treatment had wiped out ALL the bacteria in my tank and that I had to replace my filters and carbon. Take all the fish out and do a 60-80% water change using a gravel hoover. So we did and well a load of dead fish, whacked water levels and useless treatments later, we complained and forked out for an external filter. The LFS manager was great she gave us new gravel, heater, bogwood, plants and ornament for free! This enabled us to set up our second tank for our little boy and we've had no problems since! I think had we not of been compensated we would have given up! But now I found this place and I have found that I don't have to ask the LFS anymore. I know I can post here and the responses I get are from true fish lovers and keepers not some store owner trying to sell me stuff I don't need and not caring.


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## ShadowMinx (May 12, 2010)

FishMatt said:


> Thats great you saw him out. My current pleco didn't start coming out until weeks after I got him I don't know why I didn't think of this when I replyed to your thread .


Thats ok. It was just weird how he went through all that truma and we saw him loads immediatly after but then 2 weeks after everything settled down he vanished. But he's back like nothing happend and has resumed asserting his dominence over everyone especially our little *******! Don't know why I was so worried about the thug!


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

ShadowMinx said:


> Yeah he was assistant manager and he tested the water with a dead fish in it. Then told me he had managed to get a good reading because the fish hadn't been in there long enough to contaminate the water. Told me my ammonia level was sky high and that it was a result of treating the tank for swim bladder. He said that the swim bladder treatment had wiped out ALL the bacteria in my tank and that I had to replace my filters and carbon. Take all the fish out and do a 60-80% water change using a gravel hoover. So we did and well a load of dead fish, whacked water levels and useless treatments later, we complained and forked out for an external filter. The LFS manager was great she gave us new gravel, heater, bogwood, plants and ornament for free! This enabled us to set up our second tank for our little boy and we've had no problems since! I think had we not of been compensated we would have given up! But now I found this place and I have found that I don't have to ask the LFS anymore. I know I can post here and the responses I get are from true fish lovers and keepers not some store owner trying to sell me stuff I don't need and not caring.


Thats really messed up idk why he would have ever thought it would be ok to test water with a dead fish in it. I mean even if i didn't know that it could set levels off i would have still been this doesn't seem right testing water with a dead fish in it.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

ShadowMinx said:


> Thats ok. It was just weird how he went through all that truma and we saw him loads immediatly after but then 2 weeks after everything settled down he vanished. But he's back like nothing happend and has resumed asserting his dominence over everyone especially our little *******! Don't know why I was so worried about the thug!


Your pleco was just getting used to his new home. After he felt comfortable, he did what all plecos do, hide. Plecos are nocturnal, so they hide all day long, and come out at night. Don't expect to see a lot of your pleco. I usually find a tail poking out from behind the filter intake.


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## PostShawn (Dec 22, 2009)

My plecos always hide after a new home or major change of environment. Anytime you want to know for sure or just want to give the pleco a treat put a piece of zucchini or cucumber in at the bottom and they love it.


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## FancyGoldfish (Jun 6, 2010)

This is truly a mirical story! Good job and I wish the best to you and your plec =D


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