My pleco floats!!! is it normal??

Question

my fish is a pleco (algae eater) and used to act pretty normal. my sister has a huge goldfish. he used to knock my pleco off the wall while he was sleeping and my pleco would float to the top. i took him out and put him into his own tank, but he still floats to the top. he stays upside down, just below the surface of the water, and it seems kinda like he's relaxing or he's dead. i looked it up and it said it's toxins in the water, but that's impossible. it's fresh water with some kinda cleaning/conditioning stuff in it. i definitely put the right amount and the water is definitely good. i don't think he has a disease, so i guess it's normal???

Answer 1

its probably swim bladder disease feed him cooked peeled peas then mash them then feed it to him

Answer 2

Fresh water+conditioner? Do you have active filtration? If not then it definitely does have to do with toxins.

What are you feeding it?

How large is it?

What size tank is it currently living in?

These are all things that are pretty pertinent when diagnosing your fish issue.

Answer 3

This is not normal pleco behavior.  Your pleco is either sick, weak, or very stressed.  It may very well be poor water quality.  Just because the water is "fresh" and "clear" and has conditioner in it doesn't mean that it is not full of toxins.  Fish pee in the water and their poo also breaks down and creates ammonia.  A goldfish is a very messy fish that creates a lot of waste and therefore a lot of ammonia in the water.  This is all invisible, so water that looks perfectly clean and clear may be poisoning your fish.  That's why you need a test kit so you can test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.  He may also be in PH shock from moving from tank to tank.  A fish that has been in toxic water may have suffered permanent damage.

Answer 4

It's diseased most probably.  I had a pleco in my tank and it did the same thing.....though mine was unable to suck to the side of the tank.  It's probably fatal too.

There might be some problems with nitrates or other chemicals in the water.  Just because it's got conditioning in the water doesn't mean it's absolutely clean.  

Next time I would try to avoid putting pleco's or any kind of algae eaters with goldfish.  The only thing that seem to get along with goldfish.....are other goldfish because they are dirty and produce twice the amount of waste that other fish do.

Answer 5

It is not disease. You pleco is not being fed regularly, thus, it lost weight. To feed pleco, drop pellets and turn light off at night, thats when pleco starts to get active.

To treat disease, use stress coat + stress zyme. On the description, it says stress zyme must be used with stress coat together.