Got new fish, got ick, 10 yr-old Pl*co dies

[Computer Prog]

I've had a Pl*co for 10 years in my 10G tank. Over all the years I
never really feed him anything special. He ate all my algea and some
fallen flakes and he always looked healthy & fat. When I first got
him he was about one inch long and he ended up growing to about 5
inches.

Over all the years he has survived everything. Two moves, dozens of
fish coming & going, hot summers with no A/C and high water temps, and
much more. He was the only fish left in the tank for about a month so
I went to Petco and bought 6 small fish. Some of the Petco fish
started to develop what looked like ick so I bought some Rid-Ick.

I raised the tank temp to about 79 degrees, removed my filter carbon,
and started to treat with the Rid-Ick. I did a 20% water change
before each daily treatment.

Most of the Petco fish ended up dying anyway and my 10-yr old Pl*co
just died. I am crushed. Is there any chance this Rid-ick crap kill
my Pl*co?

I am now reading that a Pl*co is supposed to have a special diet of
green & driftwood. How did mine live 10 years without that?

[Buckaroo]

You PLECO died because you kept up the silly superstition of ple*co, no
doubt.

[Racf]

"Computer Prog" > wrote in message
om...
> I've had a Pl*co for 10 years in my 10G tank. Over all the years I
> never really feed him anything special. He ate all my algea and some
> fallen flakes and he always looked healthy & fat. When I first got
> him he was about one inch long and he ended up growing to about 5
> inches.
>
> Over all the years he has survived everything. Two moves, dozens of
> fish coming & going, hot summers with no A/C and high water temps, and
> much more. He was the only fish left in the tank for about a month so
> I went to Petco and bought 6 small fish. Some of the Petco fish
> started to develop what looked like ick so I bought some Rid-Ick.
>
> I raised the tank temp to about 79 degrees, removed my filter carbon,
> and started to treat with the Rid-Ick. I did a 20% water change
> before each daily treatment.
>
> Most of the Petco fish ended up dying anyway and my 10-yr old Pl*co
> just died. I am crushed. Is there any chance this Rid-ick crap kill
> my Pl*co?
>
> I am now reading that a Pl*co is supposed to have a special diet of
> green & driftwood. How did mine live 10 years without that?

Ten years is a pretty good run with a Pleco. Sounds like you should
just get a new one and relax. Most medications for fish are used as
last ditch efforts to save them, and do not for a variety of reasons.
The best cure is to keep the water clean and the conditions stable.
Parasites are inevitable with preventive measures valuable in Quarantine
for new fish...

If I acquire new fish that show any illness, I cull them instantly. For
very expensive fish, I may make an exception. Illness in fish is
usually a sign that their immune system has shutdown due to out of
control stress. These stressed out fish that have zero immunity are
doomed no matter what you do...