Bought very injured pleco, need advice

[DivineBoredom]

My common pleco passed away recently and I was feeling the loss pretty hard today so I went to my LFS to look at all the fish. I wasn’t going to buy anything today as we will be moving soon and I wanted to wait until after the move.

Well long story short I came home with a pleco (probably 6-7 inches long) that was in a tank with 30-40 cichlids. Its fins are torn to shreds from being nibbled at and it has no eyes. It can swim and gets around fine. The employee said it had been living like that with no eyes for a couple of months, but I’m skeptical. We do not have any vets around that do fish so that’s not an option for me. It is alone in a tank with about 50-60 gallons of water. I’ve never had any fish in such rough shape. I know it is possible my new buddy won’t make it, but I wanted to give it a fighting chance.

Is there a way to tell if the eye loss is recent or if it is healed up? On the likelihood that I was lied to and the eye loss is more recent what do I do to prevent infection while it heals? How long does it take to heal? Also no worries on future safety this guy will have its own tank for as long as it lives.

 

[danotaylor]

It was compassionate that you have offered this guy a home...but they made you pay for an eye-less battered pleco? It should have been given to you as a rescue. SMH

Anyhoo, the sockets actually look pretty clean, no swollen or protruding membranes. I would just use a little salt, like 1tbsp/5gal, and keep the water clean with decent weekly water changes.

 

[AR1]

kno4te

 

[DivineBoredom]

It was compassionate that you have offered this guy a home...but they made you pay for an eye-less battered pleco? It should have been given to you as a rescue. SMH

Anyhoo, the sockets actually look pretty clean, no swollen or protruding membranes. I would just use a little salt, like 1tbsp/5gal, and keep the water clean with decent weekly water changes.

I absolutely appreciate the advice. I keep looking at those pink eye sockets thinking those can’t be healed enough to be safe from infection. But I’ve never had one injured like this so I really have no idea. Will they heal to a point of not having to worry as much about infection? Or will they always be at risk?

They sold it to me as a “rescue” for 75% off the original price. It was awful of them to leave that fish in there knowing it was being bullied. They acted like it was no big deal. It was also definitely less than scrupulous for them to charge me, but if I can save the poor thing and give it a safe place to live for the rest of its days then it was worth it to me.

 

[danotaylor]

I absolutely appreciate the advice. I keep looking at those pink eye sockets thinking those can’t be healed enough to be safe from infection. But I’ve never had one injured like this so I really have no idea. Will they heal to a point of not having to worry as much about infection? Or will they always be at risk?

They sold it to me as a “rescue” for 75% off the original price. It was awful of them to leave that fish in there knowing it was being bullied. They acted like it was no big deal. It was also definitely less than scrupulous for them to charge me, but if I can save the poor thing and give it a safe place to live for the rest of its days then it was worth it to me.

You're a kind & benevolent soul! Good onya mate.
TBH there's always a measure of risk, but if you keep the water clean, and watch the pleco closely I think you'll be ok. In addition to nitrates, bacterial counts multiply more rapidly in water that is not changed frequently. If he's on his own and you keep his habitat clean I think he can expect a decently long life in your care, certainly longer than his expectancy at the store!

 

[Midwater]

They sold it to me as a “rescue” for 75% off the original price. It was awful of them to leave that fish in there knowing it was being bullied.

It was awful of them to allow that fish to be injured, and it was worse of them to sell it to you.

Please don't go to that shop again.

You're a kind & benevolent soul! Good onya mate.

Yeah.

 

[DawnMichele]

I hope he does well.

 

[kno4te]

Clean water and make sure it’s feeding. Can add some salt to the tank 1 tsp per g. Quarantine the pleco if able.

 

[phreeflow]

Can’t believe they charged you for it. Unreal.
Those look like fresh wounds to me. Apart from the eyes, the fins don’t look too bad and it should recover. Just monitor and keep the water clean as everyone mentioned.

 

[DivineBoredom]

It was awful of them to allow that fish to be injured, and it was worse of them to sell it to you.

Please don't go to that shop again.



Yeah.

I don’t intend to. I had never been in that one before yesterday. I saw it being bullied notified staff and their answer was “oh we know but we don’t decide how the fish are distributed through the tanks.” I felt awful and could not leave it there.