broken tail? help!!!

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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Madison, AL
So I think my common pleco has broken his tail and I don't know what I should do. :( I guess I'll start from the beginning....

First a few weeks ago we upgraded to a bigger tank...from 29 gal to 120 gal. I found a good deal on Craig's list! Anyway, i found this large neat looking piece of wood at a fish store and put it in there. Well Mr. Pleco found a cave with 3 entry holes in the wood and got himself stuck sometime between last Sunday nights feeding and Monday afternoon. Monday after I got home from work, my husband and I couldn't find him. We looked all over but he is very good at hiding sometimes so we gave up and went on. Tuesday when I got home from work, my husband had found him in the cave. We thought he had just found himself a new place to hide so we left him alone. A few hours later after periodic checking on him we decided he was either dead or stuck. So we did some poking around and figured out he had gotten stuck. My husband had to poke around in there and push him back out with his fingers. Mr. Pleco came out all slimy and his fins looked all ragged and torn up. The worst part though was his tail was all bent and it was discolored (kinda cloudy white...similar coloring to when he has those "mood swings" and changes color). the bending starts pretty much right behind the second set of side fins (whatever you call those). he also wouldn't raise his dorsal fin so I had no idea how torn up it might be.

over the next few days, other than looking terrible, he seemed to be doing okay. swimming around some and whenever I would check on him he would be somewhere else in the tank sucking on something. still not raising his dorsal fin to let me see. the tail also remained discolored and sometimes looked better but that could have just been how he was positioned. then we had to go out of town yesterday morning and came back this evening. when we got home, he was just laying on the bottom on the rock substrate which is very unusual for him. he wasn't moving at all. his tail looked even worse (more white and looking like maybe it is starting to atrophy). his dorsal fin was partly raised so i finally got to see that it was pretty raggedy just like the rest of his fins.

With no movement I really thought he had died, so I nudged him a little and he did move, but not much though. Usually if I even get close to him, he swims away. But at least I knew he was alive. I got an algae wafer and dropped it right next him to see if he would eat. I knew if he wouldn't eat, then I might as well put him out of his misery. A few minutes later he moved over a little bit and got over the algae wafer so I think he is eating. He is not munching vigorously like usual, but he is on top of it. When he moved over, his tail just stayed where it was and bent more, it didn't turn with him and straighten out behind him like it should. I really think that his tail is broken and I'm afraid it my have atrophied. If it did, can he live with a tail that doesn't work? Is it better to put him out of his misery? If he's eating, then he has a desire to live so I hate to put him down but I also hate to see him suffer. I did some internet searches for a pleco with a broken tail and i read about someone whose plecos' tail was torn completely off and the pleco lived through it. No telling what his quality of life was though.

The rest of my fish are tetras and harlequin rasboras so they don't bother him at all. He had a pretty stress free life before this.

Any help anybody can give would be greatly appreciated! I will try to take some pictures of him tomorrow to share. the tank lights are already out for tonight. sorry for the long post but I thought the more information given the better. oh, and he's not very big...only about a year and a half old and 5" long.
 

bigbird

Pleco Profiles Moderator - RIP FRIEND
Sep 9, 2010
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i would place him in a fry saver in the tank if you have one. Then you can observe him better. Put a cave in there and watch him. There have bee cases where the whole tail is missing and the pleco has a normal life. It is a good sign that he is eating. any chance of a photo ? Also any other markings like bruising or blood etc ? I would then also watch bacteria infection setting in. Since he is the only one in the tank, he will not be harrased. but try to place him in a fry saver. rgds jk :thumbup:
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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Madison, AL
I dont have a fry saver, but i have an empty 10 gal quarantine tank i can move him to tonight. i'll work on getting a photo this afternoon.

i checked on him before work this morning. he was still in the exact same spot that he was last night...still laying on the bottom on the rock substrate.
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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Madison, AL
Well nevermind. He didn't make it. I started to setup a quarantine tank for him. When I went to get him to move him, he was already gone.


***EDIT*** He's still alive! He was totally faking me out. I had him in a gallon jug to move him and I was trying to decide how to dispose of him when he started moving again. I just put him in the quarantine tank. He swam around for a second to find him a new spot and is now just lying there again.
 
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ccole

Member
Jan 15, 2011
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norfolk
hi there
i am no expert but that tail looks like he is getting no circulation to it- like the othershave said fish have lived with such problems and lived happily.
Keep up water changes and make sure the sponge you are using for your hospital tank is fully matured- mr.pleco disent need the stress of a cycling tank to add to his worries.
I would add some primifix and melafix as it cant hurt and may calm him.
Did you say you added an airstone? If not make sure you do , even two woundnt hurt. Cant have to much oxygen!
If it wasnt already now is the time to make sure his diet is up to scratch - you are what you eat after all.
Take care of yourself and mr.pleco

cc
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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Madison, AL
for the quarantine tank's filter, i used some biological media out of the sump from the big tank. i filled it with the water from the big tank. i also brought over a cave, his favorite small piece of wood that he likes to rasp on, and a fake plant that has a bunch of algae on it. he usually enjoys eating the algae off of the fake plants. with all of that brought from the regular tank, a cycle shouldn't occur. i will still check the ammonia and nitrates daily just to be sure.

yes, i grabbed an air pump to push some air into there. i also put some stress coat in there after i moved him. i just bought some of that melafix and primafix today. hopefully that will help him.

for his diet, i usually rotate between veggies, algae wafers, and shrimp pellets.
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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0
1
Madison, AL
thanks! i just wish it had occurred to me that the cave in the big piece of wood might be a danger zone for my little pleco. then none of this would have happened! i'm going to figure a way to plug it up.

i try to do whats best for my little fish. i always try to do as much research as i can before doing anything for them... you gotta love the internet.

wow, i just read that other post. i'm glad he survived. if a little guy can make it with no tail, hopefully mine will pull through too. :) i read in there that people also recommended keeping the lights low. my quarantine tank has daytime and nighttime lights. so i guess during the day, ill run the night lights and then keep them off at night. i think that would be better than the full light during the day while i try to nurse him back to health.
 

ccole

Member
Jan 15, 2011
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norfolk
I totally forgot about the lights - you could just leave them off completly as they dont need for anything!

My first thought to plug it with was aquarium sealent but with a common im not sure they wouldnt try to eat it!

I had a search on the net and coudn't find anymore info for you- think it is just a waiting game.The worst kind of game.

respects
cc
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
8
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1
Madison, AL
gotcha. I'll probably just leave them off then as long as he looks like he is at the brink of death. Just like today, I really thought he was dead there for a little bit.

yeah, don't need something that he could potentially eat that would be harmful! i haven't come up with really any ideas yet for plugging the hole. right now im just concerned with him pulling through. it looks like i'll have some time to come up with something while he is in quarantine if he does pull through.

i hate the waiting game. i could hardly concentrate on work today. my mind just kept wandering back to worrying about him.
 

bigbird

Pleco Profiles Moderator - RIP FRIEND
Sep 9, 2010
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Sydney, AUSTRALIA
ok, the other option to plug the hole in the wood is to fill it up with sponge material and squish this in. That should save a lot of hassles. The other option is to get a power drill and wood drill and make the hole large.
good luck woth him. cheers jk :thumbup:
 

haley

Member
Jul 4, 2012
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Madison, AL
I guess it just wasn't meant to be. He died today. He really is gone this time. I guess I was just too late with the meds and all.

The problem is making the hole bigger is a bigger fish could still get stuck. I like the sponge idea for the hole. I think that would work to keep future fish safe.
 

ccole

Member
Jan 15, 2011
1,163
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norfolk
So sorry to hear he passed on, that really does suck big time. I hope you give him a burial worthy of the love you have for it. My thoughts are with you cc