Uhm, I Don't Think I Like the Way My Friend, "JB," Looks At My Plecos. . .

Any hobbyist worth his salt knows the advantage of possessing the time honored classic working fish, good ole "Hypostomus Plecostomus" (pretty sure Dr. Seuss had something to do with this nomenclature),more commonly know as the Sucker Catfish or Plecos......to say this fish is hard worker would be like saying James Brown was merely a guy who spoke badly and liked to dance! 

This champion of algae eaters has the unique ability to suck every inch of unsightly algae from every rock, ornament and even live plants in a tank,without ever harming a single leaf....Be careful though...they can easily outgrow the wrong size tank and produce more turds than Florida State, so proper filtration is key!

My friend JB bore witness to the marvel of my first plecos, when he saw how vigorously it sucked all of "brown stuff" (more formally known as silica algae) from the panes and rocks in my aquarium.  It did SO well at sucking off this brown goo, that we were both convinced it was a former lead actor in a German "shizer fetish" video!  Herein lies the problem......in that JB has become recently single and has had a difficult time finding a woman and seems a tad bit preoccupied with my fully grown plecos and is "overly" enthusiastic to "fish sit" while I am away next week on business....

I think I'll pass on his "generous" offer.......

Soooo....My Rainbow Shark (Leroy)'s Mouth Looks Like a Veneral Disease.....

If you happen to own one of these delightful and splendid creatures, you'd know that the Rainbow Shark, (Epalzeorhynchos Frenatus...look at me being fancy) - tends to be a bottom dwelling cohabitant of the aquarium,...keeping to itself for the most part, grazing on the occasional excrement, left over food, algae, vegetation etc. 

Known for it's "Ike Turner-esque" temperament whenever another fish happens to be in its immediate territory - God FORBID there is another of its own kind - the rainbow shark (which is actually a minnow) can grow to become a beautiful specimen and easily the center of attraction in the tank with its sleek black body and vibrant red fins (kinda like, minus the fins).  Imagine my surprise and utter dismay when my favorite rainbow shark (Leroy) looked as though he'd gone down on a slutty mermaid!

As it turns out, Leroy was suffering from a known condition known as mouth fungus (although it is actually a bacterial disease). It's most often found in tanks that have high bacterial loads and need require frrequent water changes and gravel vacs, overfeeding can lead to this nasty looking fungal infection as well. The disease is Flexibacter columnaris (so by now you realize I am a show off nerd).  You will have most "experts" advise that a quick cure all like "Melafix" will solve the problem...and assuming you can even catch the bastard, it may.  However, since Melafix is a crapshoot, it may not entirely resolve the issue.

Leory's Treatment:  Isolation, treatment with an antibiotic (same as if he had actually hooked up with that slutty mermaid) and lower water temp (between 74-76 degrees (the bacteria actually thrives on higher in higher temps.

Today's PSA:  If you have a fish that is exhibiting the same traits as Leroy, DON'T ' consider doing an intervention on his sexual addiction.  DO however, act fast and treat this deadly condition....