# Gold Nugget Pleco dies within 8 hours???



## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

so I had my local pet store order me a Royal pleco for the 125 Gallon and a Gold Nugget for my 35G hex community tank

both came in last Wednesday and I picked them up on Sunday to give them a few days, they both looked very healthy.

I floated the gold nugget with the lights off for 30 min and when I released him I kept the lights off for a while...water is 77.9 degrees, PH is 7.5 and Nitrates were at 10 PPG

I have other fish that have been in the tank for a couple weeks now and are as healthy as ever, eating and swimming around

the Gold nugget looked good for the first 2 hours, he was checking out the driftwood I had in there for him and finding some good hiding spots when all of a sudden he swam to the front of the tank and latched on. He stayed there for 3 hours and didn't move, he eventually started swimming franticly around until he ended up upside down on the bottom

I am at a loss, do you think he was sick to begin with?? never seen a fish die that quick, maybe if I had just set up my tank and it wasn't to temp but that tank has been sustaining life for weeks


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

sounds like it ph is a lil high


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

the PH in the water here is 8.5...that's pretty much as low as I can get it without using harmful chemicals

Gold Nuggets can have PH in the 7's

just tested nitrites and they were 0 and ammonia was between 0 and .25 (it has a very slight green tint bot for the most part it is reading more towards 0)

I do have the diamond blend carbon in my 280 biowheel as well


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

sounds like your water didnt agree with him. Some fish are very sensitive to changes in ph, even tiny amounts. Some will adapt, others wont. When I float my new fish, I float for an hour, adding alittle water from my tank to the bag every 10 mins., to adjust the ph slowly. This helps prevent ph shock from the fish going directly from the store water in the bag, into the tank. Has he recovered at all?


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

no he died within 8 hours, I knew I should have dripped him...the tanks at the store are the exact temp mine is so that's why I did 30 minutes

he looked very skinny when I got him out of the tank to examine him, he wasn't pale and no ick on him...I could see his bones through his belly

do you think a fish would die that fast from PH shock??


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

also another note, the Royal pleco is doing awesome...he was eating on his driftwood and cucumber the first night

I acclimated him to my 125 the same way as the gold nugget, water paramters are identical in the two tanks


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

L-18s are pretty sensitive to their conditions...they prefer a PH between 6.0-7.0..plenty of tannins..if the water is stained , all the better..they also prefer temps in the 80s...


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

I have a huge piece of driftwood in their and the water is discolored a bit...so you think it dies that fast because of PH?

keep in mind that the temp he was in at the store was exactly 78 degrees which is .1 off of mine


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yep.....PH could very well have been the problem....like i said ; L-18 gold nuggets are pretty touchy and die easily at first...once they are acclimated they are ok...


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

I will make a note of that, I knew they were sensative but not like that


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i once bought 8 of them...put them in a well established 75 gallon tank...the next morning i had 1 left...


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

man, I am going to look at other Pleco's from now on...what do you think of a Rio *****?

The Royal is doing awesome, my cichlids are terrified of him lol


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

there are dozens of plecos from the rio *****.....you need L numbers....
try this place......

www.planetcatfish.com

upper left side....." cat elog".....then click on "L NUMBERS"

there are 600+ species of plecos...take a look at L-46.........
at the moment we only have a few species....they are awesome fishes....


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

L-46 is amazing...aren't they in a 300 dollar price range though

I was looking at maybe an L-135


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

these days you can pick up a nice little L-46 for about $150-$185....
i have some LDA-33s that are pretty awesome looking fish...and not as expensive either.


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

those are awesome


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

one of the problems with planet catfish....you soon become addicted to the plecos and cories....and ya gotta have em all......


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

The very first bristlenose pleco I ever bought I dropped right in the tank. He swam straight to the bottom and sat between two fake plants. I then turned the lights off and went to stay at a friends house. The next day I came home and he was in the same exact spot. I touched him with the net and a white film floated off of his stiff body. I went to the store to test the water and the pH was in the 8 range. I'd try to drop your pH some more before trying again.


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

how can I drop it without a PH down?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

best ways to reduce PH is with driftwood and peat...
with peat...go to the local garden center...you will want milled sphagnum moss...make sure it has no chemicals of any kind..no ferts or anything...then you will need some fine pore media bags or pantyhose..take a section of pantyhose and tie off one end...stuff it with some moss and tie off the other end..place it in a HOB filter and let it run...
i see in your signature that you are planning a cichlid tank...South American or African ?? if African i would suggest you move the Royal pleco as they require different environmental parameters...


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I keep my ph low for my angels, (i have a kinda/sorta amazon tank)but my tap water is super high ph! I started mixing reverse osmosis water from the store with tap water, for all water changes. When water level is low, I add RO water straight from the jug. Also added driftwood. ( boiled it first, to reduce the browning of the water) Seems to have worked well.


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## MarinneSmith (Jan 15, 2013)

I have thought about getting an RODI unit...I don't like our water here, might have to invest in one


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## Pleco (Sep 22, 2012)

The pH should have been at 6.5 to 7.5, maybe that's why he died?

Sorry about your loss, those things aren't cheap.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Whenever possible in the future, take a sample of the water in the petshop's tank to see how much different it is from yours.


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## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

I think you had a combination of 2 problems. The sunken belly is common with Gold Nuggets. The fish was already weak from not eating (or internal parasites) and the change in PH was too much for it.

Most people don't realise the hardships a fish go through, before getting to the LFS. The nuggets are wild caught in Rio Xingu, and typically go to Belem, which is where most of the Rio Xingu fish go to. The fish sit at a holding facility, before getting sent to the states. They need to be checked before shipment from Brazil, and again upon entry into the states. A transhipper usually clears them through customs and Fish + Wildlife, before moving on to a wholesaler. Brokers can clear shipments, or some wholesalers handle thier own paperwork. The wholesaler sells them to a retailer, and eventually to the hobbiest.
During this entire process, the fish are in several different water parameters, different levels of stress from shipment, and have internal and external parasites that wild fish are prone to have. Everybody along that chain are dealing with high numbers of fish...so loosing a few fish, is cheaper then treating, and taking the time to properly acclimate the fish, and get them eating. Sunken bellies are common among gold nuggets...which by the way, can be L-18/L-81/or L-177. All 3 varieties are different.

So what can a hobbiest do to get good Nuggets? I would look for a store that's big enough to import direct from Brazil. Then I need to know that they have holding tanks, to properly acclimate the fish, treat them, and get them eating. When they do come out to the retail tanks, I'd wait a week or two, and make sure they are eating well. Only then would I consider a purchase.

The L-18 get the biggest. Up to 18" that I'm aware of. They have the biggest gold spots.
The L-81 are the smallest, maxing out at about 8". I think the L-177 are the small spot. I'll try to post pics.

>>>Better yet - Planet Catfish has an article for Catfish of the month, that explains it all...with pics<<<

http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/cotm.php?article_id=93


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

You can also get "Fluval" brand filter media that is peat moss. It comes in little pellets and is really easy to put into the filter media bag. I use that when I want to keep my Ph on the lower side (tap here is 8.0, tank is at 7.2).


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## Fishnut2 (Jan 18, 2005)

Obsidian,
Will the pellets hold it steady at 7.2? And how do you handle water changes? Do you use a mixng tank to get it to 7.2 before adding it. I used R/O and a mixing tank when I needed to drop PH. Just wondering how consistant the pellets are.


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