• IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! This concerns the future of this site.

    =====================
    Posted 07/14/2025
    =====================


    Putting this at the top so it will more likely be read rather than skipped over.

    If you read below, you will see that I disabled the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025 in the hopes that I could get you all to donate AT LEAST $25 per day to make up the shortfall such an action would entail to financially support this site. I just got finished checking the stats through PayPal of the previous 6 months, and I plainly see that this did not happen. Yes, some people donated more that the bottom level Contributor Membership, but equally plain is that most people don't give a crap as long as they get a place to advertise their animals and merchandise for free. Well excuse me. I asked for help and apparently that fell on a lot of deaf and uncaring ears. Do you feel it unfair of me to want to make some money from this site, just as YOU are apparently wishing to do? I sure do hope that concept doesn't shock and offend you. But it is what it is. As such I will be reinstating that Google Adsense Ads as soon as I get around to it .

    Burdensome are they? Well, I don't like them either, but I gave you the opportunity to show me they weren't needed to keep this site financially solvent. You blew it. Don't like the ads and want to go elsewhere? Sorry about that. Bye bye. Good luck to you. You left me no choice if this site is going to remain alive. It is either that or I just pull the plug on this site and you all will HAVE to go elsewhere. Yes, I know some people will be overjoyed by such a move, and personally I really don't care about that. I have done my part as best I can. I really don't need to be doing this AT ALL.

    And please, don't come to me asking me to donate this site to you. Screw that. I didn't go through all the headaches running this site for decades to just GIVE it to someone. I would just as soon see it become just a footnote in the history books.

    Do I sound angry? Sorry if I come across this way. In reality, I am just VERY disappointed in the whole herp industry in how they treated this site. Snubbed it, really. Oh well. I guess it was my fault for expecting (hoping?) for more out of people.

    =====================
    Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================


    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big of a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Pleco acting weird...

anolelover

Resident Demon
Resident Demon
Joined
Jan 9, 2013
Messages
55
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
summerdale, alabama united states
My common pleco usually just swims around, eats my goldfish's food, and gives them a hard time, but for like the last three days, all he's done is go to the back wall and just slide down and come up to the surface and slide back down, etc. Well, at first, I thought it was really cute so I wasn't too worried. Rarely is he ever in his right mind since he's started to do that, and algae is going crazy, and my pleco needs to get in his right mind and start sucking, and I'm pretty worried about him, tbh. Just need to know why he acts this way, and why he does this. Oh, forgot to mention, whenever he did finally suck last night for about 30 minutes, he never pooped. Attached (I hope) is a video of what my pleco has been doing.
 

Attachments

  • IMGP1261.MOV
    112.2 KB
I wasn't able to see the file, but it sounds as if it could be a lack of oxygen in the water.
 
My tank has two working HOB filters, no hood, 29 gallon. Two filters, a Fluvial 10-20 gallon, and a Tetra Whisper 20-40 gallon. I rinse them fairly often, and Bog (my pleco, yes, I know) just started sliding over the weekend.
 
Also, goldfish seem to be acting fine. My calico fantail seemed to have knocked some sense into Bog last night when he nipped him. Bog seems to be a little more flighty and jumpy, at the slightest thing he bolts. He freaked out y'day, but was on the corner, so he hit the other wall so hard I could hear his nose hit the wall all the way across the room. Comet, a common comet I have in there, when I come near the tank, he sticks his face out of the water so far if you were at water level instead of above the tank, his eyes would be halfway out of the water! Also if I come near the tank, Comet takes aim and shoots water over the edge of the tank. This morning he got a drop in my stuff, and a drop on my shoulder, and almost got my face! Is Comet just so social he shows his love by shooting water at me? I know Archerfish shoot water at their prey, and I do drop food straight into Comet's mouth at feeding time, but still.
 
Maybe do a water test, check for ammonia and nitrates; if you don't have a test kit think about getting one. I'd do a 50% water change today. Algae should not be flourishing like that even if he is slacking off for a few days, it sounds like the underlying problem is causing both his behavior and the algae flourishing.
 
He freaked out y'day, but was on the corner, so he hit the other wall so hard I could hear his nose hit the wall all the way across the room.

How's your pl*co doing now? Did a water change help?

I had a red devil that got spooked or something and bounced really hard against the tank where I heard it from the other room, he ended up hurting himself so badly that he was swimming sideways and wasn't able to recover. I had to put him down. I hope your guy is okay!
 
It's worth noting that a lot of plecos go through ontogenetic changes. While baby plecos are usually omnivorous and will often eat algae, a lot of them switch to just meat and a little herbacious stuff as they get big.
 
*Groans* got another medical fish problem. Got this oranda/fantail mutt, underside of his chin and bottom of gill covers are bloodshot. Not bleeding. Looks kinda ragged under there, like maybe the dead skin or whatever's peeling off. Is it a bacterial infection of a sort or just an old fashioned cut?
 
*URGENT* PLEASE HELP! My goldfish I mentioned above, I found has mouth rot, his condition is deteriorating very very rapidly, it has already eaten a hole in his throat. He ate for the first time in six days last night. I am very concerned for my fish's life and the other fish in the tank. I am having to go an hour away tonight for the medicine because it's really small down here. A couple of questions: When (if) he recovers, will the hole heal (he can open his mouth literally half a millimeter to snuffle a few tiny flakes.) Please help! I don't want my fish to die!
 
I wish I could help you Lilly. I don't know anything about treating mouth rot past what I can google.
 
Back
Top