# Pleco ID and help with fin rot and possible mouth rot/fungus?



## joe1992w (Apr 18, 2010)

Hi, i recently aquired this pleco from a person who had purchased it small and it outgrew his 30L boi orb :/
So first off i need an id if possible.


This fish has only been in my tank a day and is eating fine and seems to be doing well but i would like to see it make a full and speedy recovery so i have come here to the experts 

 Tail showing fin problems

 Hopefully good enough for id

 first one of mouth problem see the patch of mouldy stuff on the front of his/her face

 second picture of mouth problem see the growth thing on the undersid of her mouth, up close this looks like a sodden algea flake i use to feed them, but 100% is a apart of the fish

now hopefully in the pictures you can see the quite bad fin rot, aswell as this he is blotchy and pale in places and seems to be loosing the skin/scales and his pattern slightly, also he has a weird growth on his mouth that i am concerned about, 

i'm not too worried about it effecting the health of my other fish as fortunately he loves to sit next to the water intake for my filter which has 9W UV so hopefully will kill any bacteria, 
i have a tank with guppy's including fry, mollies, endlers, a sucking loach and this guy.

Can anyone recomend an attack stratergy that will hoopefully get this guy fighting fit?

Thanks in advanced, i live in the UK so if possible could suggestions on products be on ones that can be found here?

Thanks again

Joe


0 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite
nitrates are kept low with bi weekly 25% water changes


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

if it has fin rot you need to quarentine it as guppies are easilly susceptible to fin rot.this is the most common type of pleco.scientific name _*Hypostomus plecostomus*_
heres the usage of different antibiotics to treat the mouth fungus.
Mouth Fungus is so called because it looks like a fungus attack of the mouth. It is actually caused from the bacterium Chondrococcus columnaris. It shows up first as a gray or white line around the lips and later as short tufts sprouting from the mouth like fungus. The toxins produced and the inability to eat will be fatal unless treated at an early stage. This bacteria is often accompanied by a second infection of an Aeromonas bacteria.
Penicillin at 10,000 units per liter is a very effective treatment. Treat with a second dose in two days. Or use chloromycetin, 10 to 20 mg per liter, with a second dose in two days. Other antibiotics can also be effective. Kanacyn (kanamycin) will treat both bacteria at once. Maracyn (erythromycin) is effective against C. columnaris, and using Maracyn 2 (minocycline) in conjuntion with it will treat the Aeromonas bacteria as well.
Maracyn 2 contains Minocycline, Maracyn plus contains Sulfadimidine and Trimethoprim. you can use them both together at the same time.please remove the carbon filters in your tank before adding medication. the maracyn plus comes in a different dosages one is the 32oz and the other is 8 oz.
usage is as follows :


Shake well before using.
Add 2 capfuls (10 ml) per 10 gallons of water.
Treat on days 1, 3 and 5.
Use as soon as the first signs of disease are noted.
Treated water may appear cloudy at first due to the presence of the microscopic spheres; 30 minutes to 1 hour after treatment all cloudiness is gone.
Maintain normal filtration and air.


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## rosehower (Jan 18, 2010)

just wanted to add my 2cents.

hypostomus plecostomus is a very largew class of pleco. basically if the people cant identify it they call it hypostomus plecostomus. its a catchall name.
the Pleco worls is fairly new, and there is still a lot of clarifying of classes and names are changing frequently.

it is hard to tell if yours is a "common" pleco, one of many that make up hypostomus plecostomus, or indeed another pleco entirely.

i am no pleco expert, although i have a few myself. 
i'd like to refer you to one of the best pleco information sites out there today,
Planetcatfish.com

http://www.planetcatfish.com/

click on the tab at the top that says "*cat-e log*"
then it brings you to another page, click on the "*L numbers*"
(L is for loricarid, in other words 'pleco')
there will be lots of pictures and lots of *L numbers*, there are also *LDA numbers* also are plecos. *C numbers* are corydoras whcih are now called catfish but not long ago were called plecos.

or if its easier type in "*hypostomus plecostomus*" in the search box on the "home" page.

i hope that the information there will better help you identify yours.
my very fist was sold to me as a common pleco (hypostomus plecostomus) but is actually a beautiful snow king. (a slightly different pleco than the common.) from the first pic of your i though gibbiceps, but the rest his coloration is not clear enough, so i am unsure myself. it could be a common, and if so they are beautiful themselves, growing around 14 inches full grown (in aquaria, and around 2 and a half feet in the wild)


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