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Gold Nugget just died

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by heatherine, Oct 12, 2010.

  1. heatherine

    heatherine Thread Starter Member

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    :( My gold nugget pleco just died last night. He was very young, only about 3"...and new to my tank... he seemed to be doing well then belly up. I'm pretty upset because he was so beautiful and not cheap.

    I read they don't always eat the algae off the sides of the tank, so I supplemented with algae pellets, however the catfish got them before the pleco could. I also had slices of zucchini positioned near the filter where he hung out, and on the floor where he also would hang out.

    My tank water is fine, and everyone else is healthy healthy healthy. Are gold nuggets harder keepers than other plecos? I've always had common plecos and never had any health issues. Any suggestions as to what went wrong, am I not feeding him right, etc? I would like to get another, but they are kind of expensive, and I don't want to risk it if they are usually so fragile.
     
    heatherine, Oct 12, 2010
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  2. WhiteGloveAquatics

    WhiteGloveAquatics New Member

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    how much driftwood is in the tank?

    here is a diet rundown from my archives

    Diet: Omnivorous - Feed with frozen blood worms, zucchini, and sinking vegetable-based pellet food. Driftwood is essential for maximum health and growth. The Gold Nugget Pleco will not usually eat algae from the glass. Plants are not eaten.

    I cant find a pic of your tank though and the avatar one looks less then adequate for a dwarf pleco.
     
    WhiteGloveAquatics, Oct 12, 2010
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  3. heatherine

    heatherine Thread Starter Member

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    Driftwood...ah! No I don't have any. The tank in my avatar is a 55 gal. Is that too small for a dwarf pleco?
     
    heatherine, Oct 12, 2010
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  4. heatherine

    heatherine Thread Starter Member

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    I will have to get some driftwood!
     
    heatherine, Oct 12, 2010
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  5. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    55 gallons is perfectly fine for a small pleco. As with most plecos, you'll want to have driftwood in the tank. If your tank doesn't have enough algae to sustain his diet you'll have to supplement it with what WhiteDevil said above.
     
    Anthony, Oct 12, 2010
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  6. WhiteGloveAquatics

    WhiteGloveAquatics New Member

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    Yup, dwarf plecos never lose their appetite for algae however driftwood is a major part of their diet.

    When selecting driftwood, get the hardest densest ones you can fine, basically hardwoods are optimal due to softwoods(pine,maple,ect) basically decomposing in water environments.

    I got 8 BNP fry in a 45, and 7 dwarf plecos in my 55,Those GN's are pricey, I have two LDA30's in my 55 and they carry a 40 dollar price tag, each.
     
    WhiteGloveAquatics, Oct 12, 2010
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  7. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    I remember when I was younger seeing a Gold Nugget Pleco for the first time and seeing it's price of about $75.00. I loved the fish, not the price. They're dropped in price over the years though, luckily.
     
    Anthony, Oct 13, 2010
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  8. James0816

    James0816 New Member

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    Well Poo! They are some absolutely beautiful fish. Sry bout the loss.
     
    James0816, Oct 14, 2010
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