Question
Bloated Fish
I have an albino plecostomus fish thats roughly 7 years old. He's about 3 inches long and I keep him in a 10 gallon fresh water tank with a few other small fish & a dwarf frog. I noticed about a week ago that one of the smaller fish was missing (normally meaning the plecostomus ate him, which is fairly common in my aquarium) but I also noticed that the plecostomus had enlarged belly area. It almost resembled a pregnant fish but that's impossible in my tank. He's been getting mush larger. It looks like he swallowed a ping pong ball. I feel like if he gets any bigger he'll explode which is a mess i don't want to clean up. Not only that but it would probably put my other fish at risk. I don't know if I should leave him alone, take him out, take the other fish out...I'm not sure what to do, help!
AnswerHi Kaitlyn,
I doubt that your Plec has eaten the missing fish. Plecs are, of course, omnivourous but they don't outwardly hunt prey. The only carnivorous Plectosmus I can think of is L97 (Zebra Plec). I should think the fish died, oxygen left the body and it sank to the bottom. Once dead fish reach the bottom Plecs usually attach themselves and eat everything they can. Plecs are cleaners by trade, they can be dangerous when attacked but they're more than placid if left unprovoked.
At this moment in time I wouldn't worry too much. Plecs inhabit all kinds of weird and wonderful places in the wild. They can be found in patches of shallow and stagnant water. They have an oxygen chamber which allows them to breathe on dry land should the situation call for it. All this makes them considerably more sturdy in a domestic tank than other fish. I think your other fish would be struck down if anything contagious was floating around the tank.
I assume he's not floating, otherwise his intestines could be blocked and full of air. At the moment it just sounds like it's a touch of constipation. Try switching him onto peas and Daphnia. Medication may help, try going to a local fish store and see if they have anything to move the blockage. Plecs will go for any vegetation you put in the tank, see if he takes to a piece of cucumber or carrot.
For the time being don't interrupt the community, Plecs are pretty tough and in time, he'll be fine.
Tom
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