is my pleco sick/dying

Question
I have my pleco for a few years now. He has always been very active until yesterday. We noticed him kind of floating on its side, with sporadic breathing. He would always eat the algae even the algae wafers. Now all of the sudden he has stopped. He floats in the corner of the tank, with very minimal movement. If he does move, it seems he is trying to latch onto the window, but it just does not work. He stomach seems to be sunken in and we noticed red spots on his side and the end of his tail. Can you help please?

Answer
Wayne,

Sorry to hear your pleco is ill. What are your water perimeters? It sounds like your ammonia is very high. Your nitrites are probably up as well. Test the water and then depending on the readings do a large water change. Then do 25% water change every day until the reading are back to zero. Hope this helps. If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.