Gold Nugget Pleco dies within 8 hours???

[MarinneSmith]

those are awesome

[lohachata]

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

[Superfly724]

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.

[MarinneSmith]

how can I drop it without a PH down?

[lohachata]

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...

[C. King]

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.

[MarinneSmith]

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

[Pleco]

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.

[TheOldSalt]

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.

[Fishnut2]

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/co...?article_id=93

[Obsidian]

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).

[Fishnut2]

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.