Plecostomous

Question
My Plecos had a white edge now to his fins and the bottom of his tail fin, and seems to be losing weight. I have had him and my tank (30 gallons) for about 4 years. I just put in three river snails this summer and now have about 30 in my tank.  Is that making my plecostomous sick?  I feed an algae disk to him every day because I have so many snails now.  Live in Maine so can't put snails in river until June or so.

Answer
Hi Tammy,
  That is a tough one to answer.  Some pleocostomus naturally get a colored (gold or white) edging to their fins as they mature, so there might be nothing wrong.  If the edge looks at all frayed, then I would worry more.   

  Have you tried feeding him some zucchini?  If not, get a zucchini
squash at the store, cut it lengthwise into four "strips" and then "tie" these to a piece of slate or wood or something else that sinks
using an elastic band.  Most plecostomus LOVE zucchini.  Be sure to
remove the uneaten skin after a day or two, before it starts to rot.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>