Am I cursed with pl*cos?

Okay... so I had a pl*co in my 30G for almost a year before he died.. I
waited a few weeks, changed some water and got a new one.. he died after 5
days.. took him back to LFS, they tested my water (fine) and gave me another
one... who died... ::sigh:: No more pl*cos for that tank.
Recently I set my 10G back up.. currently I have 6 Serpae Tetras, 2 albino
Cories and today I added 2 emerald Cories and, yes, a pl*co. That was at
3:30.. I checked on the newbies at 6 and the pl*co was, once again, dead.
Before I even picked the fish I had LFS check water just for giggles.. they
said it is fine.. So am I just cursed??? ALL my other fish are/were/have
always been fine.
So when I go back to LFS should I even risk another pl*co death or maybe
just get a chinese algae eater..? I need an algae eater and I also have a
hand of death when it comes to snails..

Oh, and I have a question that should be easy to answer... Recommend any
good sites on different filters..? Thinking of maybe adding/changing filters
in the 10...

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

More info please..

Filters?
Cycled?
Heat?
Method of transport?
Water treated?
TOO many fish for that lil tank!

Trina
Yukon, Canada
44gal/tall/pent/fresh
10gal/planted/fresh

On Wed, 4 Feb 2004 21:18:26 -0800, "MarAzul"
wrote:

Okay... so I had a pl*co in my 30G for almost a year before he died.. I
waited a few weeks, changed some water and got a new one.. he died after 5
days.. took him back to LFS, they tested my water (fine) and gave me another
one... who died... ::sigh:: No more pl*cos for that tank.
Recently I set my 10G back up.. currently I have 6 Serpae Tetras, 2 albino
Cories and today I added 2 emerald Cories and, yes, a pl*co. That was at
3:30.. I checked on the newbies at 6 and the pl*co was, once again, dead.
Before I even picked the fish I had LFS check water just for giggles.. they
said it is fine.. So am I just cursed??? ALL my other fish are/were/have
always been fine.
So when I go back to LFS should I even risk another pl*co death or maybe
just get a chinese algae eater..? I need an algae eater and I also have a
hand of death when it comes to snails..

Oh, and I have a question that should be easy to answer... Recommend any
good sites on different filters..? Thinking of maybe adding/changing filters
in the 10...

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

Misery loves company, I have lost two Plecos and have two that look
so,so, and 3 that are doing great. I am beginning to think the breed
is weak. The two that died looked sickly for weeks and they were both
in 10 gallon tanks (not the same tank).

Siamese Algae Eaters are very hearty. My only fear with them is how
large they may become. I gave away two that were getting too large
for one of my ten gallon tanks.

On Wed, 4 Feb 2004 21:18:26 -0800, "MarAzul"
wrote:

Okay... so I had a pl*co in my 30G for almost a year before he died.. I
waited a few weeks, changed some water and got a new one.. he died after 5
days.. took him back to LFS, they tested my water (fine) and gave me another
one... who died... ::sigh:: No more pl*cos for that tank.
Recently I set my 10G back up.. currently I have 6 Serpae Tetras, 2 albino
Cories and today I added 2 emerald Cories and, yes, a pl*co. That was at
3:30.. I checked on the newbies at 6 and the pl*co was, once again, dead.
Before I even picked the fish I had LFS check water just for giggles.. they
said it is fine.. So am I just cursed??? ALL my other fish are/were/have
always been fine.
So when I go back to LFS should I even risk another pl*co death or maybe
just get a chinese algae eater..? I need an algae eater and I also have a
hand of death when it comes to snails..

Oh, and I have a question that should be easy to answer... Recommend any
good sites on different filters..? Thinking of maybe adding/changing filters
in the 10...

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

"MarAzul" wrote in message
Okay... so I had a pl*co in my 30G for almost a year before he died.. I
waited a few weeks, changed some water and got a new one.. he died after 5
days.. took him back to LFS, they tested my water (fine) and gave me
another
one... who died... ::sigh:: No more pl*cos for that tank.
Recently I set my 10G back up.. currently I have 6 Serpae Tetras, 2 albino
Cories and today I added 2 emerald Cories and, yes, a pl*co. That was at
3:30.. I checked on the newbies at 6 and the pl*co was, once again, dead.
Before I even picked the fish I had LFS check water just for giggles..
they
said it is fine.. So am I just cursed??? ALL my other fish are/were/have
always been fine.
So when I go back to LFS should I even risk another pl*co death or maybe
just get a chinese algae eater..? I need an algae eater and I also have a
hand of death when it comes to snails..

Oh, and I have a question that should be easy to answer... Recommend any
good sites on different filters..? Thinking of maybe adding/changing
filters
in the 10...


I think everyone goes thru a spurt of losing 50% of all the fish they buy,
even after quite a while after purchasing... sometimes it poor choice,
getting the cute fish, versus the healthy fish.... why?because newbies dont'
know what a healthy fish looks like versus a sick or unhealthy one....

After initial shipping most fish don't look well, but what do we know? we
walk in 4 hrs after they've been taken out of the bags, buy and take pl*co
home, and then he dies, either 4 days or 4 months later... we ask why? did I
do something?

Most, if not many fish deaths are no more than bad handling, or bad outcomes
from shipping... either they didn't get the inflight dinner or just were
weak...

Next time, get one a bit bigger, but maybe a dwarf species, like
bristlenoses that only get 4-5 inches, or whatever....

--
RedForeman ©®

"Dick" wrote in message
...
Misery loves company, I have lost two Plecos and have two that look
so,so, and 3 that are doing great. I am beginning to think the breed
is weak. The two that died looked sickly for weeks and they were both
in 10 gallon tanks (not the same tank).

Siamese Algae Eaters are very hearty. My only fear with them is how
large they may become. I gave away two that were getting too large
for one of my ten gallon tanks.

You have 5 plecos and your worried about how big SAEs get?!?!
I'd be worried about housing the 75-100" of mature plec you'll
have in the near future. LOL.

-coelacanth

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
After initial shipping most fish don't look well, but what do we know? we
walk in 4 hrs after they've been taken out of the bags, buy and take pl*co
home, and then he dies, either 4 days or 4 months later... we ask why? did
I
do something?

Okay, I know fish can 'just' up and die.. I've had fish for 2-3 years
this time around (won't get into when I was a kid... didnt know nuthin bout
no fishes!) but (and maybe I'm over thinking) isn't it an odd coincidence
that only the pl*cos die? I would think if it was a problem with the
handling, the other fish introduced at the exact same time and in the exact
same manner would have the exact same problem. And if it was an issue with
something in the tank itself, why would it happen in both.. the only thing
the 2 tanks have in common is the water source (which has been tested).

Next time, get one a bit bigger, but maybe a dwarf species, like
bristlenoses that only get 4-5 inches, or whatever....


How big are you thinking?? The problem fish in the 30G were all 2-2.5"ish..
The one that just died was in a 10G and was about..... 1.5" or so..


RedForeman ©®



::sigh:: Just all so frustrating though..... ya know? (if I seem to come off
as argumentative, I don't mean to, I just want to try and figure out whats
going on!)

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

"Trina" wrote in message
...
More info please..

Filters?
Cycled?
Heat?
Method of transport?
Water treated?
TOO many fish for that lil tank!

Trina
Yukon, Canada
44gal/tall/pent/fresh
10gal/planted/fresh

Heh.. more info on which tank, please..?

Filters:
Both have power filters for/above their size capacity.. (does that make
sense?)
Don't remember the manufacturers cause I bought them a while aqo.
Cycled?:
On the 30G I would hope so as it has been up and running for 1-1.5 years..
10G is about 1 month+ old but is cycled. I and LFS have tested water over
past few weeks.
Heat:
Both between 78-80F
Method of transport:
I'm assuming you mean the baggies LFS put them in...??
Water treated:
before it goes in tank it gets dechlorinated.. otherwise nothing added..

And to your last question/observation..... ("TOO many fish for that lil
tank!")

The 30G at the time of deaths (several months ago) had about 10-12 fish in
it.
The 10G currently has 10 fish, majority about 1/2 inch, 2 or 3 are *maybe*
3/4 inch.

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

smaller fish, pl*cos, Otos, and Neons, seem to not transfer well... I've
heard it before, that some fish like these mentioned, are just not good
acclimaters... They don't adjust well... shipping, seems to be a simple
enough excuse, but there isn't nothing definate about it...

I've had Otos that should die, I can't kill my pl*co, I can't keep Blue Rams
alive for more than a week, so as the fish hobby goes, YMMV....

and no, you're not over thinking it, if you are, we all are...

--
RedForeman ©®




"MarAzul" wrote in message
news:BwxUb.25170$QJ3.8974@fed1read04...

"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
After initial shipping most fish don't look well, but what do we know?
we
walk in 4 hrs after they've been taken out of the bags, buy and take
pl*co
home, and then he dies, either 4 days or 4 months later... we ask why?
did
I
do something?

Okay, I know fish can 'just' up and die.. I've had fish for 2-3 years
this time around (won't get into when I was a kid... didnt know nuthin
bout
no fishes!) but (and maybe I'm over thinking) isn't it an odd coincidence
that only the pl*cos die? I would think if it was a problem with the
handling, the other fish introduced at the exact same time and in the
exact
same manner would have the exact same problem. And if it was an issue with
something in the tank itself, why would it happen in both.. the only thing
the 2 tanks have in common is the water source (which has been tested).

Next time, get one a bit bigger, but maybe a dwarf species, like
bristlenoses that only get 4-5 inches, or whatever....


How big are you thinking?? The problem fish in the 30G were all
2-2.5"ish..
The one that just died was in a 10G and was about..... 1.5" or so..


RedForeman ©®



::sigh:: Just all so frustrating though..... ya know? (if I seem to come
off
as argumentative, I don't mean to, I just want to try and figure out whats
going on!)

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

I can't stop my bristlenoses from spawning, if you live near Dallas
you can have some. I also keep the more exotic species from the Amazon
and they are wild caught. It is not uncommon to lose half or more of
them, they will just never eat and can last for a pretty good while.
Since you don't say what the fish was it is hard to know if that may
be your problem.



On Wed, 04 Feb 2004 22:28:40 -0800, Trina
wrote:

More info please..

Filters?
Cycled?
Heat?
Method of transport?
Water treated?
TOO many fish for that lil tank!

Trina
Yukon, Canada
44gal/tall/pent/fresh
10gal/planted/fresh

On Wed, 4 Feb 2004 21:18:26 -0800, "MarAzul"
wrote:

Okay... so I had a pl*co in my 30G for almost a year before he died.. I
waited a few weeks, changed some water and got a new one.. he died after 5
days.. took him back to LFS, they tested my water (fine) and gave me another
one... who died... ::sigh:: No more pl*cos for that tank.
Recently I set my 10G back up.. currently I have 6 Serpae Tetras, 2 albino
Cories and today I added 2 emerald Cories and, yes, a pl*co. That was at
3:30.. I checked on the newbies at 6 and the pl*co was, once again, dead.
Before I even picked the fish I had LFS check water just for giggles.. they
said it is fine.. So am I just cursed??? ALL my other fish are/were/have
always been fine.
So when I go back to LFS should I even risk another pl*co death or maybe
just get a chinese algae eater..? I need an algae eater and I also have a
hand of death when it comes to snails..

Oh, and I have a question that should be easy to answer... Recommend any
good sites on different filters..? Thinking of maybe adding/changing filters
in the 10...

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

Yes, you are cursed not only with pl*cos but with ne*ns, pl*tys, di*cus, and
all fi*sh.