hallo everyone! I am having real trouble in the last year getting my bristlenoses to stay alive, I have kept comunity tanks of angels and discus for 5 yrs or more and in the past my plecs were hardy, long lived and robust. I have a happy aquarium with all occupants regularly spawning. I have two established tanks....one is 130litres and the other is 520 litres. Water quality is good and well attended.....ammonia and nitrate are zero as you would expect from an established aquarium and nitrates are usually about 5ppm. Temp for the discus and angels is 29 celcius and all are thriving.
BUT.....in the last year....everytime I add a plec (bristle or rubber nose) they are dead with in 24hrs....sometimes a few days more.
I am tearing my hair out.....I just dont know what is going wrong....and I dont want to be a plec murder so I have stopped buying them......I wish I knew what the problem is, because I really would like plecs in my aquarium. I know how to aclimate properly.......I thought it might be the temperature....so I set the 130 litre tank up at 26 celcius with my baby angels and some neons ....no joy......I thought perhaps the discus and the angels were bullying......but watched for hours and no......I have heard that they find being transported very stressful and it can lead to a bacterial thing in their intestines....could this be the problem?....sometimes they twitch....like they have hiccups before they die.......can anyone help?:cry:
BUT.....in the last year....everytime I add a plec (bristle or rubber nose) they are dead with in 24hrs....sometimes a few days more.
I am tearing my hair out.....I just dont know what is going wrong....and I dont want to be a plec murder so I have stopped buying them......I wish I knew what the problem is, because I really would like plecs in my aquarium. I know how to aclimate properly.......I thought it might be the temperature....so I set the 130 litre tank up at 26 celcius with my baby angels and some neons ....no joy......I thought perhaps the discus and the angels were bullying......but watched for hours and no......I have heard that they find being transported very stressful and it can lead to a bacterial thing in their intestines....could this be the problem?....sometimes they twitch....like they have hiccups before they die.......can anyone help?:cry: