Any advice for an unsettled plec that won't feed?

[t.doyle]

Hello
Just wondering if anyone might have a couple of tips for me I have recently become the proud owner of a pair of l257's (Pseudolithoxus tigris). The male has found his own caves and is busy scraping away at the wood but hides in day time. I know this as I have seen him when I checked on the fish in the night the other day. The female however has stayed lying on the gravel at the back of the tank in the open for the last 4 days and to me it seems she hasn't eaten a thing. I know these fish are wild caught and a difficult species to keep. I use RO water re- mineralised with kH and GH.

anyone here suggest anything I could do to get this girl settled in and feeding?

 

[Irene0100]

keep small daily water changes going.
what food have you offered?

 

[bigbird]

do you also have enough wood and other areas for the female to hide and feel safe ? I would try rubbing the food with garlic as this does apparently spur on the feeding. cheers jk :thumbup:

 

[zeebo]

humm, a few things you could try. As bigbird said, rub garlic on the food, also, you could turn the heat up a degree or 2 until she gets the hang of it. Another idea is to call the store where you got them and ask what they fed them. Since they were wild caught , they might not recognize the food you are offering as food yet. Try to put the food near where they hang out and try to always put in same place. Remove each morning and at night repeat same. She will figure it out hopefully . Garlic and heat stimulates them to eat so try both.

I have 2 wild caught L128's that get raw veggies only. When I got them I had to turn up the heat a few degrees, and I stuck half a wafer in a piece of zucchini. When they went for the wafer , they got a taste of the veggie and now they won't touch a wafer ! They get a variety of raw veggies every night now.

Also, make sure u have more than just 2 hidey places, she may not like the one the male left vacant.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[t.doyle]

Thanks for your replies guys well so far I still haven't seen the male but trust he's doing OK so far as he must have found some sort of hidey hole somewhere.. The female is still sat in the exact same place. I offer a mix of bloodworm, beef heart with garlic, new era pleco pellets, nt labs plec wafers and hikari seaweed extreme. I had a feeling she had a tiny peck at a couple pieces of seaweed extreme but not 100% certain. Her face is starting to look very bony with her belly also very thin. I know she doesn't have much energy as even if I touch her to check she's still alive she doesn't budge... Only her odontodes flare up slightly to 'warn' me off.

My routine ATM is feed in the morning, check throughout the day, feed again in the evening, check in the night (to try and get a glimpse of the male too), then take out any leftovers in the morning.

 

[t.doyle]

Also I have plenty of wood that create many natural caves, I also have two savu pods. My temperature if the tank is currently 26-28 degrees, should I turn it up to 30?

 

[zeebo]

Hi again, is her belly sunken in ? Sorry that is not a good sign, as even if they want to eat , at this point they can't ,usually. However, if you are going to turn the heat up, you will need an extra air stone to add oxygen--also good to do when medicating.

Lastly, there is a thread here, on same site ''feeding plecs'' , page 2 , scroll down to almost the bottom , to ''gold nugget'' and read that thread . Seems to have pulled through.

Also, plecs are nocturnal and they eat at night , lights off.

Please check out that thread, it may be helpful.

Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Lornek8]

What I'd do:
1) Up temp a few degrees.
2) Add additional aeration.
3) Worm with something like Hilarious Prazipro if you can get it.
4) Feed high quality Frozen bloodline/chironomid larvae or live brine shrimp. Stay away from things like sweetheart which can be tough to digest.
5) Try not to disturb them any more than possible. Maybe even leave the tank lights off all day.

Good luck.