my pleco freakin died

[chebert22]

two days ago i had a platy or a mollie die, i dont remember what it actually was. but then today I noticed that my pleco died to, and when I picked him up with the net, he was COVERED in slime. I dont know if it was the decomposition of the body or what, but it was ten kinds of nasty.

There was algae all over that tank. on the rocks, on the fake plants, on the driftwood. What gives?

Should I have supplemented with algae tablets? Could the two goldfish have raised the ammonia that much in a week in a 55g tank?

[greeneyed]

Is it OK to have Goldfish in with real fish?

[AndrewH]

There are several problems that could have cause the deaths.

Common plecos (like at Wal-Mart, etc.) get really large, up to 24", so when they live in a small tank for many years their bodies actually stop growing while their internal organs continue to grow eventually killing the fish. They also tend to get lazy over time and will substitute their diet with flake food (or whatever you're feeding the rest of the tank) and will stop eating the algea.

Gold fish are poop machines. They will raise the ammonia (which then turns into nitrIte then nitrAte) to toxic levels realatively quickly. I would highly recommend checking the nitrogen levels often for gold fish (at very minimum once a week).

Add an older, large fish in a small aquarium with poop machines and another dead fish you could easily get a very toxic condition in a very short amount of time.

Another possiblity is you could have an illness in your tank.

[chebert22]

hey hey hey hey hey hey heyyyyyy..... now. That aint right. Those goldfish are the reason I now have a 55g tank, and am expanding my "scaled horizon"! Leave 'em alone!

[chebert22]

The black finned tetra, the silver molly or platy whicher it is are both doing fine. They swim around and are very active. and they get in there and fight the goldfish for the food. The other molly/platy that died stayed to itself and wasn't as aggressive with the food, and I dont now what the deal is with the pleco. I am actively working on getting the goldfish out and into their own tank. Hopefully i'll have it done by the end of this weekend.

[AndrewH]

I'm not trying to "knock" your gold fish, I myself want some down the road, but facts are facts. They're really messy fish.

With the description of the other fish that died I'm leaning towards an illness or it was over stressed (regarding the molly), as those symptoms sound a lot like those assoicated with most of the fish killing illnesses.

That fish dieing could have push the pleco just enough over the edge to cause it's death as far as the water chem is concerned.

(and by no means am I an expert, ;))

[chebert22]

I'm not trying to "knock" your gold fish


I was referring to greeneye'd comment about "real" fish.... LOL

[AndrewH]

Oh, lol :D

[mpoarch]

Sometimes you can make it a little better if you buy a filter that is made for tanks bigger than the one you are using it in, more rotation and cleaning. That and more water changes. It can be done, but Goldfish are also coldwater fish and do not do too well with tropicals because they need it 78-82 even 84 for for tetras..but I always say if you like it and it works for you and you do not have massive carnage, then go for it, it is your tank.

[chebert22]

Well I didn't think of that, the heater that I have in the 55g tank is the same one I was using in my 10g tank and I know it is wayyyyyy to small, so maybe it was to cold for them. I need to buy a new one, I just haven't taken the time yet.

And as for a filter I have a HOB filter that pumps 300 gph.... I need one bigger than that??? (how'd ya like that acro usage???)

[mpoarch]

Well, what I am trying to saw is.. goldfish do not need heaters, your other fish do, that is one of the problems people encounter with trying to house goldfish and tropicals in the same tank.

[chebert22]

yeah, i understood. But thats what I am saying. I dont have a heater thats big enough to heat a 55g tank. I am only using the one that I had on my 10g. So maybe the lack of heat killed them because the tank was too cold.

I need to buy another heater....

[bra8ndy8]

You need to pull that heater out before it overheats from trying to heat 55 gallons of water.....it will bust and kill everything in there!