Fat Bristlenose Pleco

[.Plecomania.]

Hi,
My albino BN pleco juvenile is getting very fat and has been like that for 3 days now. usually when he eats well he deflates overnight, but not anymore. i am afraid that this is bloat. he got it for no apparent reason. i do overfeed my tank a lot at night for my new L260, but am now going to feed every other night since they are used to the feeding.

is there anything i can do for him to save him? i have no other tank to put him into.

[Triactis Trainer]

I have used unshelled peas and it has worked for gouramis, would think the same for plecos. Google the pea method and something should come up hopefully.

[.Plecomania.]

I'll try to get some thanks!

i actually raised these guys from fry on a pea diet, so maybe that i havent fed them peas in a long time messed them up?

[Triactis Trainer]

No idea, i fed mine peas and still do, I figured it was just a nice staple for their diets. Helps the green dragons show more color imo.

[wijnands]

In my experience with Ancistrus they really do best on a diet with a lot of greens. Quite a few of the green sinking wafers on the market are relatively low on fiber and high on protein in my opinion

[.Plecomania.]

my BNs do get zucchini often and sometimes peas, but i guess ever since i got L260 i have been feeding meaty foods a lot every night and that's what probably did him in. I'll try to feed more greens for the BNs while feeding the meaty stuff every other day for the L260.


L260 don't get bloat from too much protein right? they are carnivores afterall?

[JamesFish]

Hi Pleco,

Sorry to hear your little guys are on the chunky side I know you love them. Can try not feeding for a day or 2 to see if they go down in size. I believe meat takes longer for any digestive system to break down so it could just be they are a little backed up and a couple of days will clear them out. A cucumber might help but be careful with tank mess.

[.Plecomania.]

yeah the problem is with just one albino bristlenose male that i raised from an egg, so I am attached to him. his counterpart is a female who is growing fast and is healthy, but this male not only slowed down in growth, now he got really fat in the last days. never happened to him before.

if i starve them for more than a day i worry about the L260 not getting enough food (I have 6 of those in here, all juveniles). And I do not want to lose my prized L260 because of some lame reason like starvation.

Seems difficult balancing meaty foods for L260 with greens for the Bristlenoses.

I have a total of 3 BN plecos in that tank right now. the problem male, his female, and a third, brown culled female who is crooked in the tail region (so i didn't bother selling her to someone with the rest of the BNs I sold).

O and his sides are also slightly bulging and showing dark green through his albino skin. if that helps solve anything. his belly is quite round and is also dark green.

[wijnands]

I'd still go for some good greens. Ancistrus tend to feed in the same spot. Get him some veg first. Then feed the 260 at the other end of the tank?

[.Plecomania.]

they all feed at the same spot - right next to my pleco caves. it is the dark spot in the tank and all my plecos love hanging out here. On the left of my tank.

I gave them zucchini last evening and the BNs ate it, even L260 were so hungry they were in the brawl over it as well - but maybe they were just upset that there were too many plecos near their caves LOL.

L260 have not been fed 2 days now. i will have to feed meaty foods tonight again after a water change. will also feed a bit of zucchini during the day for the BNs again.

[.Plecomania.]

so i cannot locate any peas now, maybe they are out of season but will keep looking. some are just too expensive to buy.
BN males is alive but no change in hist size. still bloated from what i can tell.

[.Plecomania.]

I need a laxative ASAP for him. he seems to be getting worse, and i can now confirm he is completely not pooping unlike my female albino BN who eats the same diet. she has no problems.

I am still feeding the L260 every other day.

are peas the best laxative? or is there something better? i doubt i can just give him a laxative dip lol! salts? i am lost. please help him!!

[Linus_Cello]

Try a little piece of prune?

[.Plecomania.]

they eat that? fresh plum or the oily dried stuff?

[Linus_Cello]

they eat that? fresh plum or the oily dried stuff?

I know plecos love mango.
This seems like a desperate situation, so I'd try dried prunes. A small piece again to minimize any "oil" and you can wash off as much "oil" as you can.

[.Plecomania.]

I'll try it, thanks.

[Linus_Cello]

I'll try it, thanks.

Good luck! Hope it works. Other things to consider: keep the tank dark and provide extra aeration.

[.Plecomania.]

yeah my tank has subdued lighting, and has two filters running for decent aeration and water turnover. I found peas instead of prunes so i will feed them one or two peas a day to see if that cleans him out.

[.Plecomania.]

ok he was not getting any better - only worse.

I moved him to a spare 20 gallon as a last resort. added some epsom salt (7 teaspoons for 15 gallons). provided lots of water flow, heat to 82F (maybe i will raise it). Also added Tetra Parasite Guard to clear out w/e he might have. I will keep him there for a few days w/o food, then will change water, and redo the treatment. I will update on his health. He looks really bad right now

[.Plecomania.]

crap i may have added too much salt, can anyone confirm?

[.Plecomania.]

I added more water to the quarantine tank he is in. he is still alive this morning.

[FerocactusLatispinus]

I had heated my tank once to kill off ich, and used the salt treatments, but every time they didn't help. I actually had heated the water about 6 F overnight, and that was what did it. I've also used the tiniest bit of salt, but that always shocked the catfish... the corys mostly. Rid-Ich Plus is what I've been using ever since, and my cats haven't had any problems with ich or any stress for months now.

My Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus seems to get chunky, then goes on a growth spurt; he's due for one right now.

I definitely agree that thee needs to be a lot of fiber introduced to BP diets; I have a huge piece of Malaysian driftwood with a bunch of holes that the Ancistrus, Microglanis, and Synodontis hide in. My pleco is really, really doing better since I added the wood: I see him gnawing on it occasionally.

As for treatment, I can only think of gradually adjusting temperature, using non-iodine NaCl (common aquarium salt; which I used way back when), and introducing a huge amount of fiber into the diet. Rid-Ich Plus has worked very well for my fish at a half dose, and over a few days of treatment, they have almost always recovered.

I really hope everything turns out well, and please continue to let us know how your little guy's doing!

[.Plecomania.]

Yea i'll let you guys know if anything changes. thanks for the helpful info!
I have Mopani wood in my community from where this pleco hails. its tough wood but that doesnt stop the plecos. i do have fresh peas ready for him once he feels better and deflates. So far he needs to make it past day 1 of treatment...

[.Plecomania.]

He made it past day 1!

[FerocactusLatispinus]

That's super!

Yup, fiber is the way to go. My guy loves blanched baby carrots... probably because they have some sugar in them! I've read that Mopani wood is hard on pleco teeth?

[.Plecomania.]

Mopani wood is tough, but the plecos can choose not to eat it. i have manzanita branch in the tank as well but they don't really do anything with it. they love to hide among the two big mopani pieces.

Is cholla wood a good choice for them? is it a softer wood they can eat?

[.Plecomania.]

he made it past day 2 but is looking worse. tomorrow is end of day 3 and i will water change and retreat the tank. less salt this time. proper medicine concentration though.

[.Plecomania.]

made it to day 3.
i changed his water and re-dosed the salt and meds. less salt this time around.
we will see what happens. fingers crossed.

[FerocactusLatispinus]

Cholla is a type of cactus (Cylindropuntia). The wood skeleton is really soft compared to other woods out there for aquarium use. It is really spongy in structure and is extremely light: I don't doubt it would be a great benefit to your plecos, but the most difficult part will be to keep the wood underwater. Also the center is hollow, so corys and tiny plecos could easily get stuck in the skeletons of some of the larger species of cholla (there aren't many of these in the stores though...).

I hope this helps!

[.Plecomania.]

yeah maybe i'll pass. lots of people use them for shrimp so i thought what the heck, but if it will be a fry hazard then nope!

still alive. 0 improvement.