My Pleco's dorsal fin is splitting

[melinky]

I have a 6-8 year old pleco and his dorsal fin keeps developing holes that grow and then cause the fin to split. What do I do?

[DavidDoyle]

The first place to look for the cause of the problem is water quality. WHat size fish in what size tank and what is the wc and maint. routine. If a tank is well cared for, then the problem may be bacterial.

[melinky]

The fish is a 8 - 9" Pleco in a 55 gallon tank with 7 gourami. It's probably not as well-maintained as it should be due to time restraints. It's been quite a while since I vacuumed the gravel, but the water is clear. The only other problem I've had is that the pH keeps dropping, probably due to lack of routine maintenance. I'm planning on spending this weekend giving the tank a good cleaning, but want to do whatever I can to help the situation.

[DavidDoyle]

Vac the gravel and do weekly water changes of about 30%.

[fishfreaks]

yup, vaccum away at that gravel, i would test before and after also. also, what kind of pleco do you have?

[melinky]

Someone on another forum suggested it might be fin rot. I took a picture of him:
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[fishfreaks]

you may want to try treating with melafix, that should help. it worked great for us! but be sure to read the label carefully, have you noticed this problem with any of your other fish?

[melinky]

The other fish seem fine. I've started melafix tonight and will clean the tank thoroughly this weekend. Thanks for the help.

[fish_doc]

In tanks that have not been maintained in a long time there is a thing that happens called pH drop. This is due to excessive waste building up in a less-harmful form after being broken down by the nitrogen cycle. A good water change will re-establish the pH but you want to be careful now not to have to drastic of a change all at once. Fin damage can also be a sign of high ammonia. Another cause of a aquarium in need of maintiance.

Do what has already been mentioned. Give it a cleaning with a gravel vac and things should clear itself up.

As a reminder - clear water does not mean healthy water just like cloudy water does not mean toxic water. The clairity of the water is for us humans not the fish. It helps us enjoy the fish more by being able to see them better. In nature many of these fish live in water that you could not see 1" in front of you if you were to put it in a tank, but it is the best water for the fish.

[melinky]

Thanks all. I appreciate the good, sound advice. So far, my test kit shows no ammonia, I'm thinking the gravel not being vacuumed in a while is the culprit. Should I wait until the end of the 7-day Melafix treatment before vacuuming or do it midway through?

[fishfreaks]

i would vaccum the gravel as soo as you can, and do it again at the end of treatment