Driftwood causing irritation?

[JenMac]

Hi,

I have one angelicus loach in my tank who started flashing a couple of days ago. His other tank mates (4 fellow angelicus loaches, two pepper corries, two upside down cats, two dwarf African frogs and a clown pleco) all seem fine, and there are no visible signs of parasites. The pleco is new to the tank, but he was in a hospital tank since I bought him a couple of weeks ago and has shown no signs of anything nasty. The only other addition to the tank is driftwood for the pleco (which was not in the hospital tank). Is there any chance that some chemical being released from the driftwood is the cause of the loach's irritation? Are there certain types of wood that should never be added to tanks? I did buy it from the pet shop, but of course that's no guarantee that it's suitable...

Thanks for your help.

[Diana]

It is possible that there is something in the wood. If you bought it in the reptile section, sometimes this wood is treated for certain parasites that reptiles can get and this should never be used in an aquarium. If you got it from the aquarium department it is more likely to be safe (unless some customer took it from the reptile department and abandoned it in the fish department)

There are other possibilities.
Several weeks in quarantine is a great way to make sure the new fish is not bringing in some new parasite or disease. But it is not 100% sure. Ich would grow really fast, and would make its presence known. Some other parasites grow and reproduce more slowly. There are some parasites that infest the gills, where you would not normally see them.
If you have done a water change and the new water was somewhat different this can irritate the fish. Perhaps the water company made some changes in their supply or how they treat the water.

[JenMac]

Thanks for your reply. I did indeed get it from the reptile department. Of course, the lady who worked there told me it was suitable... but I guess maybe not. I'll see if I can find some soon that's in the fish department - that store didn't have any. I hope my poor pleco won't get too hungry in the mean time. I've read conflicting information on whether or not clown plecos will eat other things, but he seems really happy with the sinking food the others get. He's pretty cool, crawling around on the floor, munching away...

There is different water in the tank too, as I used a tap from upstairs for the latest change, as the downstairs cold tap was at 86 degrees! I will get rid of the wood, do a couple of 50% water changes over the next week and monitor to see whether things calm down.

Thanks again.

[JenMac]

Hi,

Just to let you know, the loach seems to be back to full health. It stopped flashing within a couple of days of removing the wood, and has looked absolutely fine since.

I hope it's not famous last words, but my tank is looking really great at the moment - lots of happy fish, and their silly/strange/cool behaviour makes me laugh every day.

Thanks for the advice!

[Diana]

I am glad the answer was so easy to find. Too bad about the wood.
Keep looking to find some safe wood for this tank. Here is a listing of the most common of the Clown Plecos at a very good site. These fish need wood in their diet.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=734

Are there some healthy trees nearby that could donate a bit of wood?

[JenMac]

Hi,

That looks like the little guy. He's pretty cool.

I found plenty of wood already; it seems to be fine in there. The pleco seems happy hanging underneath one of the pieces, but he still comes out to eat when I feed the tank in the evenings. I've tried feeding him yam too, but he didn't seem too keen. I'll keep on trying, though. Maybe he just didn't realise it was food, or it was too far away from his territory for him to be comfortable.

Thanks again for your help.