Lake Malawi Species • Did they eat my pleco??

[lilcountrygal]

...... I just did a 50% water change. I've been keeping an eye out for the pleco. He was small (about 1 1/2 inches-2?). I havent seen him since yesterday. Its uncommon for me to go that long without a single sighting. During the water change, I moved some rocks around to see if I can find a carcass and... nothing. Granted, I didnt lift them ALL completely out of the tank, but I lifted them up to look underneath, etc.

Would they eat the pleco.... the entire pleco? I cant find any part of any thing.

Tankmates... 5 labs, 2 Cobue's, 2 OBs, Rusty. All of the mbuna are fairy small, the Cobue and OBs are the biggest at around 2 inches (give or take). I've never seen the fish picking at it, maybe the Cobue once. I just cant figure it out.... I would think I'd find at least a part of the pleco?

[Sparrk]

at that size they are very good to hide, they normaly come out at night so maybe that is why you dont see it. You seem to have a fairly non-agressive stocking so I dont think they would attack and kill the pleco, and most of all eat him afterward... I already had a dead pleco in my tank and they wouldnt touch it, if I have a dead fish, I find the body or at least the rest(already had a kill due to agression and I found a rest in the morning). Lately I found a dead syno in my tank and it was untouched( I was freaking out but finally found out there was nothing wrong wth my water, really dont know why he died).
If you are really worried, try searching very well for him. Sometimes I completely empty my tank to make a water change and.... catfish... they hide VERY well... I already took one out of my tank by accident cause he was hiding so well in a decoration, luckily he fell right in a bucket of water I prepared to fill up the tank .. Since that, I check everything very carefully when I make a water change

[lilcountrygal]

I've been looking for him since yesterday. I even had one of my kids help search the tank for about half hour. I dunno... I'm not thinking he's in there anywhere. I'll keep searching tho.

My guys arent very aggressive... the Cobue's seem the meanest in the tank, but they dont nip fins, only chase. I saw a Cobue take a swipe at him once, but that was it.

Hope I find him. My 5 year old will be devastated if someone ate "Sucky".

[DJRansome]

Plecos have a challenge when starting out in a Malawi tank...I have about a 60% survival rate. They could have eaten most and the rest disintegrated depending on how long it has been.

You would have to remove everything and check filters and floors to be sure.

I had yellow lab fry kill a pleco that was 4X bigger than them once.

[lilcountrygal]

Mine had an uphill battle too. The LFS only had two sizes pleco, the $3.99 size, and the $30 size. I went with the $3.99. He lived for a while, even started to get bigger. I'm pretty sure he's gone. I dont think he would have disintegrated, I saw him the day before yesterday, but I seriously cant find any sign of him. Would I look in where the carbon is for the filter? I'm just stumped. If he did die, I would wager it was one of the Cobues.

[DJRansome]

You would take the filter apart. I found the remains of a carcass under a rock in the lab fry tank.

[13razorbackfan]

Did you check behind the heater? That is where mine love to hide.

[ndblaikie]

I lost one of mine for about a week....checked and checked again both day and night...NOTHING.

One day I was cleaning my sump out and found the poor little fella in my bioball chamber..to this day I have no idea how he managed to get under the foam prefilter ,into the bioball chamber...didnt seem too worse for wear and is currently as of 5 minutes ago, with the other 2 BN in my 75g on the back of the overflow pipe.

[lilcountrygal]

Did you check behind the heater? That is where mine love to hide.

thats the first place I looked, mine loved it there too. I'll be pulling the filters apart this evening. I'm okay if he's gone (wont replace him, thats for sure. I'm 0 for 2 on plecos with cichlids), I just want to know that he IS gone. I just cant imagine them eating the whole thing. Its driving me nuts trying to find him (or whatever is left of him).

[13razorbackfan]

Did you check behind the heater? That is where mine love to hide.

thats the first place I looked, mine loved it there too. I'll be pulling the filters apart this evening. I'm okay if he's gone (wont replace him, thats for sure. I'm 0 for 2 on plecos with cichlids), I just want to know that he IS gone. I just cant imagine them eating the whole thing. Its driving me nuts trying to find him (or whatever is left of him).

Yeah...you need to find him. Look under rocks....

[Jammos]

one of my bushynose got eaten; another jumped out the tank and was found later welded to the floor. I still keep em though.

[lilcountrygal]

6 days later, guess who I found.... SUCKY!

No clue where she's been. I have moved rocks. I have uprooted plants. During water changes, I even dug my hands through the sand in case she got buried. Tore apart my filters. No luck.

Staring at the tank tonight, I found found her suctioned to a rock in one of my tunnels. She looks like she's been through WWIII, but she's alive and kicking. Fins look a little nipped (well, more than a little I guess), but shes alive nonetheless. I would love to know what that little guy has been through in the past 6 days (we search daily for her). Glad to see her alive tho.

[Sparrk]

told you, they are amazing at hide and seek glad Sucky is alive!

[leftieaz]

I find it's best to checkup on my pleco at night when he's awake.. He's almost impossible to find during the day time.