Pleco needs help!

Question
QUESTION: I have a pleco about eight inches in length. Recently the 55 gal he resided in with some cats and two red hooks sprung a leak and had to be fixed. For almost a week and a half the pleco was forced to stay in a bucket with and air bubble hose. Over this time the cats unfortunately passed one by one. (there were three of them) now the tank is fixed and back up and running. However the pleco looks absolutely terrible. Her eyes are completely clouded over. She has red raw spots on te ends of her fins( which are all flattened) she also has a general grey tinge, as though she saw a ghost and has lost her color. I'm incredibly concerned and am not sure how to help! I dot know if she has a disease or if she got way too cold. I'm also concerned that if this is a disease should I cure the tank before other fish go back in? I'm lost at what to do and am tortured by the thought of this poor pleco suffering. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Ayla,  I would treat this quickly and aggressively. He is also going to have to go through the tank cycling out again also. I recommend Tetracycline. Add the packets as directions say. Do not forget to remove your carbon from the filter but, keep it running. These are very tough fish with heavy plate. Turn your temp up to around 78 degrees. Do not add any new fish until he is better. You will not want to add any more ammonia than necessary. This is why he is in the shape he is in. If they had been in a larger container and regular water changes this probably wouldn't have happened. The cats and him are not real temperature affected but, ammonia, burns. I hope he recovers. Please let me know how he is doing. Good Luck, Tina

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your response. Unfortunately last night the Pleco was found dead in the tank. I would estimate that she was dead for abOut six hours before I fOund her. The 55gal tank is a live plant tank. The water upon removig the pleco was clouded and smelled rancid. The freshwater plants have lost their color and seem to be dying. What should I do from here? Drain the tank and take the filter media out? Or drain the tank and leave the filter? There is also a plant substraight in the gravel that was brand new, is all of this affected and needing to just be trashed or can I save it? Any advice would be helpful. This has turned into a terrible catastrophe.

Answer
Ayla,    I had no idea your tank was planted. I am sorry you lost him. I had a similar situation when a seam went in my 180 tank...omgoodness. I had rubbermaid bins all over my living room full of fish. Ok, definitely change your filter media and do at least a 75% water change. Since you just set this back up some of that bacteria is going to be beneficial to cycling your tank abit faster. I would however, go and get a supplement for your plants from the pet shop. You have his decay plus a bacteria bloom happening at the same time. You are going to get some cloudiness here and there but, not like you have now. I would definitely go and get either root tabs or a product called flourish by seachem. You should be able to get them from a pet smart or petco. This will give them the Iron especially they are in so desperate need of right now and the trace elements and minerals also. Hopefully that will bring them back. Everything is in such a delicate state right now and going through the cycling again and have been through a couple traumatic events all you can do is feed them and hope for the best. I don't know if you use rock or dirt but, subflora has the best substrate it is a prefed mix. Its like miracle grow for your tank. You will syphon some of it out with each cleaning but not much and maybe replace some every few months or so. Do not waste your money on crystal clear the bacteria is going to bloom no matter what and this will not help that. I really hope you can save your plants Ayla. Please keep me updated. If you think you forgot something just ask. Good Luck, Tina