Sooner or later, fish keepers will need to find a way to battle with algae that grow anywhere in the fish tank. Some fish keepers had kept pleco to help with the algae overgrowth.
How many of you would think that algae-eating pleco is the hard-core fish that would never die on you as long as they have water? But to tell the truth, the impression people had against pleco is wrong. A lot of plecos would die half a year later if you don’t keep them properly.
So in today’s article, we are going to talk about the causes of pleco’s death. 
Why do Plecos always die strangely and violently?
- The bigger the pleco, the more it can eat – they can starve to death.
Has anyone seen the poop of a pleco? I haven’t seen them. This is the reason– the pleco has not eaten enough and starved to death. As for why they have not eaten enough, one is that the wall of the fish tank is too clean and there are no algae. The second reason is not enough feeding, so there are no excess food residues, live food, or food that sinks to feed pleco. Turn off the lights and feed it every three nights, and the pleco will eat it secretly.
- Pleco are afraid of salt
Many aquarists are accustomed to throwing a handful of salt when changing water. Plecos are keeping freshwater fish and do not need to add salt. The salt is only used for emergency treatment when the fish are sick. The pleco is a scaleless fish and is very afraid of salt.
- “poison” to death
Although the pleco is a “garbage fish”, it is not an all-purpose trash can. After all, it is also a fish. The medicine used to treat fish diseases is too strong, and it will damage its skin and internal organs.
- The PH of the water is too high
Arowanas can still be leveraged as long as they are stable in water with a pH as high as 8.5. Plecos are only suitable for survival in weakly acidic and neutral water. Therefore, when the PH is too high or severely turbulent, the plecos will be more vulnerable than other fish.
- Too cold
People always have the illusion that the pleco is not afraid of anything. Sometimes the pleco is mixed with cold-water fish, such as koi. Have you neglected the fact that the pleco is also a tropical fish that is from Brazil and Venezuela?
- Eat deteriorated food
The pleco’s stomach and intestines may not be able to bear food residues that deteriorate over time or extremely poor water quality which can result in disease and death.
- Killed by a fish
When pleco is polycultures with Arowana, it may be bitten to death within a few days, a half month, or a month.
For so many reasons that can kill a pleco, do you still think that the pleco is tough?
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My pleco is in his/her 20’s and has always seemed in good health. Lately I’ve noticed a round almost black mark or sore on its belly. I’m worried. What could it be?
It may be a fish dropsy or bloating, you can visit a vet or try to cure it, the guide here – How to Treat Dropsy or Bloating in Fish
My pleco died suddenly after appearing brighter in colour and floating about and not hiding as much the last day of 3 his eyes looked a little cloudy but the night before he was gulping at the surface 3 times then was dead in the morning. No obvious other marks or abrasions
Sorry to hear that.
We suggest you test the water in schedule, generally pleco live in water, but it lives better in slightly acidic soft water or neutral water.
Helpful article. Thanks. My pleco is about 15 inches long. He lives with other tropical fish in a 50 gallon tank. We had a couple of black molley breeding a while back but some are disappearing. My question is, could My place be eating them?
Yep, pleco will eat the fish fry, please isolate the fry into the other tank.