Expert: Jamie Jackson - 1/1/2009

Question
My sucker fish has been acting strange. Instead of laying flat along the bottom or the sides, he's been curling into a C-shape where ever he goes. I think it might be how unsteady the water temp has been since I moved him from my steady temp dorm room to my house which the heaters aren't always on the same temperature. I've noticed the water to been cold in the 10 gallon tank, but I try to add warmer water to it since I don't have a heater. He never had any problems in the past when he was here. However, there has been plenty of tank problems in the last few months. When I added two new fish, they brought a fungus and two bacterias with them, killing off 4 of my 5 goldfish. The sucker never seemed affected. It's been a month and I added two more goldfish, a week apart or so. Any idea what is wrong with him or if there is medicine to help?
(Sorry the question was so long, just wanted to make sure you had any important background information)

Answer
Hi Shannon

I see quite a few problems right off the bat.  
1.  You have a 10 gallon aquarium and even without the sucker fish, a 10 gallon aquarium is not suitable for even 1 goldfish.  
2.  I'm assuming (and please correct me if I am wrong) that your sucker fish is a pleco.  If so, a regular pleco should not be in anything less than at bare minimum a 55 (and even that some would say is too small) gallon tank.
3.  Goldfish are cold water fish and plecos are tropical fish, and thus are not compatible with each other.

With the types of fish (both are very messy species), the sheer overstocking of fish, and the fact that I'm guessing the tank was not cycled before the fish were added, I am guessing that your tank has very high levels of at the very least nitrate, and most likely nitrates and ammonia.  The best thing to do in this situation would be to rehome your fish and replace them with species suitable to a 10 gallon tank (goldfish should be in a 50 gallon minimum with 15 gallons per fish).  Please look up "stunting of fish" if you need to know why.  If you choose not to re home the fish or upgrade to a larger tank, then water changes will be very important (and your fish will still likely have very short lives).  I would suggest with the stock that you have at least 50% water changes every single day.


Sorry for the bad news and if you have other questions, feel free to respond,

Jamie