Hi, I just adopted 2 bn plecos w/ fin rot, they're otherwise healthy--advice?

Hi,

Nice site!

I have an US 55 gal. tank with a canister filter. I just adopted 2 bn plecos--one a standard brown, the other is a red marble--and they appear to have fin rot from the poor water conditions they were kept in. Having a nearly empty tank I thought, "What could it hurt to give them a chance to live here and heal?"

From what I've been told, the brown bn is about 7 years old (she's about 3" long) and the red marble is about a year old and is maybe 2.5" long. I'm really hoping they can heal (of course, I'll give them the best possible life no matter what.) They're acting healthy despite the fin damage--they eat well and right away when food is offered, they love to swim and explore. Right now I'm giving them Hikari algae tablets and shrimp pellets (the tank gets a mini siphon after meals along with the regular weekly water changes of about 25-30%.)

The tank's pretty bare just now so I've just started planning what to buy to make the tank a home. There'll be nice, soft sand substrate, abalone shells to lay in and explore, I'm ordering a nice aerator to ensure good oxygen throughout the tank (esp. since it's an awkward 18" high,) there will be driftwood of some kind, plenty of hiding places, possibly stones to explore and, in time, tank mates and then plants in the future.

Do you think the fish can heal from their fin trouble and hopefully, with time, be strong enough to enjoy a few tank mates comfortably? Is there anything I can do better to improve their odds?

I'm hoping to eventually give them something of a catfish (and maybe loach) paradise, so friends would be in order. I have a 20 gal. long QT tank that I'd QT fish in for about 2 months, just to be safe. How long would you advise that I wait for my bn's to heal before slowly introducing friends? I'd love to have at least one other bn if at all possible. Otherwise, I'd thought about having a few small corys. I'm open to suggestions. I want my tank to look like a river, but it really doesn't have to be a specifically South American river.

I've had fish for most of my life, only this is the first time I've tried starting out with ill fish and I'm really hoping for the best for them.

Thanks so much for listening/reading

Hi and welcome to Bristlenose World

When you say an almost empty tank may I ask what you mean? Was the tank cycled ? My advice is to get some esha 2000 and start treating them according to directions but you may have to give an extended treatment time if it is a bad case of fin rot.

Don't add anymore fish at all until the finrot has definately gone and the fish seem totaly better.They will need bog wood and caves and plenty of cover as soon as possibly so that their stress level is reduced and they can begin recovery faster. Bristlenoses like plenty of water movement/current and oxygen also.As for sand personaly i don't like using it because of keeping it clean and turned over so that no pockets of trapped gases exist.Some people like it and use it but i avoid it.

If you intend to let them breed at some point then you need to choose tank mates more wisely as some will eat eggs and/or fry.First thing to do is to get these fish better then consider where you want to go from there.

If you cannot get esha 2000 then get a good anti fungus and fin rot treatment.I hope they recover quickly,i wish you all the best,if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.

Bristlenoses

Thanks for replying, Bristlenoses,

The tank has been up for maybe 3 or 4 years and is completely cycled. My health has been wearing on me, so I haven't invested in more fish or other decor than I've already had (resin caves and tubes to swim through along with a bit of driftwood, pebble sized gravel, etc.) I've been tending my eldest and last surviving cory (about 4 years old) and wasn't sure if I'd continue in the hobby when I saw these 2 little bristlenoses and decided to bring them home and really get invested back into being a fish-keeper again.

Will something like esha 2000 spoil the filter media (do I need to remove it first?) I'm really thankful you thought about adding a medicine for them. I have some Mela Fix on hand, I can dose them in a little bit.

I'll order the Hydor 4 aerator tomorrow morning (hopefully I'll have found a good source for driftwood to order it then, too.) (I'll post again in a couple hours with pictures of tanks I hope to draw inspiration from.)

I have a fully established, fully cycled 20 gallon long tank that I use as my QT tank. I was hoping that maybe I could QT a few prospective tank mates while the bristlenoses are healing in the big tank (I usually QT everybody for at least 2 months prior to them making it into the big tank. Do you think that would be feasible? In a few hours I can post the names of a few fish I've considered having as tank mates. I'd be grateful for any imput you might have about who might make a good match as tank mates.) I hadn't considered breeding them. I suppose if they wanted to breed I'd make sure they could and would everything they'd need. I'm just not the sort who'd be any good at adopting out the fish I wouldn't have room for. To me, it would feel a bit like abandoning them or taking chances with their lives. So, if they wanted to spawn I'd celebrate it with them, but I'd be just as happy it the fish just decide to enjoy life without spawning.

Thanks, Bristlenoses. Your council means a lot (and I think the fish might thank you, too. Esp. for the medicine recommendation.)

I'll post again in a few hours (so much to do!)

Thanks, Bristlenoses

Hi again,
Sorry to hear about your health problems,i can fully understand where you are coming from as i have health problems too but my hobby keeps me going and I love it.I am so glad that you have decided to get back into it and I hope that your cory is o.k.
The Esha will not bother the filter bacteria at all,only thing you will need to remove is any carbon media,as this will remove the meds from the tank.I don't like melafix but it is better to use it than nothing at all if it is going to be a while before you can get other meds.I use Esha with excellent results and have also used interpet fungus and fin rot treatment with very good results too.I always extend the treatment time if it hasn't shown significant improvement as i like to be sure.
Yes you definately could get some tank mates and put them into your 20 long,there is absolutely no reason why not.
As for breeding,the thing with bristlenoses is that they will almost definately breed if they are given good conditions and a cave.They are very prolific breeders and it is hard to stop them from doing so.Do you know what sex the pair you have are?


Bristlenoses

Hi again Bristlenoses

I'm sorry to hear you can relate on the health problems front, but I smile to read how your fish (maybe nature in general, too?) keep you going Among others, my dog is a great reason to wake up in the morning and there's a family of geese that I've known since they were young who've adopted me and I them. Nature and photography.

Just after posting I dosed the tank with the Melafix I had on hand (I have a biopsy later today, but I can get to the pet store on Monday to check out better options. Hopefully this will give them a bit of a head start, though.)

I'm pretty sure both bristlenoses are girls, both due to their lack of prominent bristles as well as their small size. Part of me would love to have a male in the tank, if for not other reason than to admire his bristle-y beard. They're so handsome! I was thinking that until I get a bigger set up it might be wise if I kept to having girlies. I remember reading that there's a proportion for keeping males and females (I want to say 1 male to 2 females,) but is there a formula for keeping females? Or does the number of females you can keep largely depend upon each one having a large enough territory to be comfortable? I think I read somewhere where each bn should have about 20 gallons of their own to call home, but I'll keep reading up on that just to make sure. And is it important to try to keep just one breed of bristlenose, esp. if I'm just keeping girls?

I need to figure out how to post a few pics here (by later today, I'm guessing,) then I'll show you what I was thinking of considering in terms of tank design and tank mates.

Thanks again, Bristlenoses

Talk to you soon

Hey there,
I love all nature,wildlife,animals in general,photography,drawing etc.I keep thinking about getting a dog but i can't get out much now.I love the fact that you have adopted the geese i think that is wonderful,that is something i would do.
The melafix will give them a start as you say and maybe you could order some meds offline instead of going to the shop ? You can get a much wider choice on the internet.
I agree about the males,they are my favourites because i love their bristles.I am guessing that your tank is approx 4 feet in length and approx 18 inches wide,is this correct? If this is correct then you could happily keep a male and female in that or possibly even 1 male and 2 females.You don't have to keep more than 1 female with a male.1 Male and 1 female would be more than happy together,infact that would be the ideal.Bear in mind that they will almost definately breed.Of course it goes without saying that the more room a fish has the better.As for males it is better to keep males in a tank with no other males unless it is a large tank and it can be set up to allow them to have their own territory but even then it sometimes still doesn't work out,it depends on the fish.If you just want females then a couple of females will live happily in that tank,possibly even 3.It would depend somewhat on their final size but females tend to be smaller than males.I find that they are happier when they have space and don't feel like they need to compete for food and hide outs etc.
There are quite a few different types of bristlenoses but the same rules would apply to those also.You wouldn't have to keep the same type of bristlenose in the same tank,as long as you keep to the space issue and just 1 male or just females.Unless as i said it's a very large tank etc.
Looking forward to your pictures and i hope the biopsy wasn't too bad.


Bristlenoses