# Pleco coloration



## Danja (Jun 8, 2010)

Hello,

I got my tank in the summer and made the idiotic mistake of not pre-cycling it. I therefore spent most of the ensuing months doing biweekly water changes and never seeing any ammonia stabilization. At one point about 2 months ago, I didn't get a chance to do the water change for a week and at the end of that period, most of my aquatic life was ammonia burned. After that, I hauled *** to the local fish store and bought a new Aquatech filter. Since then, my ammonia and nitrate levels have been 0 and 5 ppm, respectively. My four dwarf frogs have healed nicely (two of them still have a tinge of red on their legs, but it's going away) but the pleco does not seem to be healing. Here's a couple pictures that I took of it. If you zoom in, you can see the discoloration; near the fins he has his original dark luster but most of the body is pale.

http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/Danja91/Pleco/

Is it normal for it to take that long to heal? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? He's exhibiting normal behavior, eats well (although I only feed him one algae wafer every 3 days; should I up his food?) and isn't too shy, as evidenced by his posing for me. How can I help him?

edit: carbonate hardness is 71.6 ppm, general hardness is 2 drops above the upper limit of my API test kit, which is 214.8 ppm. pH is 7.3-7.5.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

first mistake was only doing biweekly water changes. even a healthy tank should have weekly water changes. when your tank is uncycled and you have fish in you should be doing changes every day or two to keep it less harmful. sometimes wounds can take a long time to heal. we had a pleco that someone donated to work with the work ulcer i have ever seen it was litteraly his entire uper body was nothing but flesh. we treated him constantly and after about 6 months he started to heal. your pleco doesn't seem to bad i would just give it a little more time. how long has it been since the rest healed up?


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## Danja (Jun 8, 2010)

The frogs healed up probably a month ago. Is my water hardness ok?


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

idk much about hardness and what each specific fish require but plecos are hardy and can tolerate a wide range of water chemistry. i forgot to mention u can treat with i believe its melafix it helps speed up the healing process. there are also other stronger medications bbut melafix is all natural. i dont think it will harm the frog but u may want to ask someone else before doing the treatment to be safe because i cannot remember.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

melafix should work ell for the pleco...and it won't hurt the frogs...
BUT........how happy would you be if you were only given 1 slice of bread every 3 days.....and if that pleco is more than 5 or 6 inches long you should be giving it 3-4 algae wafers a day....plus some other meaty foods..
i don't cycle tanks ; so i can't help you much with that....listen to those that have the experience.


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## Danja (Jun 8, 2010)

lohachata said:


> melafix should work ell for the pleco...and it won't hurt the frogs...
> BUT........how happy would you be if you were only given 1 slice of bread every 3 days.....and if that pleco is more than 5 or 6 inches long you should be giving it 3-4 algae wafers a day....plus some other meaty foods..
> i don't cycle tanks ; so i can't help you much with that....listen to those that have the experience.


Wow, thanks for the advice! We have a local fish store that's considered pretty reputable; it's privately owned and not a big chain. I went there for advice on my tank and they said to reduce feeding to every 2-3 days. That was when I was having trouble stabilizing my tank though. Thanks for the heads up; the pleco is getting fed right away!


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

Feed you pleco vegetables, too. Zuccini and cucumbers are a favorite. You cut off about a 2 or 3 inch long section and stick it on a fork. It will be eaten in about 2 days.


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