Pleco disease/condition

Hi, ive a question regarding a couple of sick plecos.

I only purchased them 6 days ago. One was about 8cm in length and the other a little larger. 1 died 5 days after i got it, the other was on his way out when i returned to the place of purchase today to ask some questions. I was in the very place the week before i purchased them looking for plecos but they said the last few they got in were not in great condition and were being treated(as i remember back, there was one tank with maybe 7 or 8 plecos in it covered with white spots, looking quite poorly) and that i should come back again the following week if i wanted any. Anway needless to say i did. I got two (one for both of my tanks). I placed them in a cycled 30L tank for starters (parameters all seem perfect). When i had them in the tank i noticed the larger one had a grey stripe/patch running from the base of the dorsal fin, back along one side of his tail, but it didnt look like an infection (fungus/bacteria), i thought it might be colouration or maybe he was one of the sick ones and just needed a bit of a feed and tlc to get back fighting fit. The smaller one didnt seem to have much wrong except the edge of his dorsal and the end of his tail were a bit frayed, and a couple of bits were hanging off (but only small bits) i thought the same for him.

Anyway, ill cut to the chase, over the next few days the plecos seemed happy as larry, eating away, they got a bit of fresh veg, a little algae wafer, (small portions)and they seemed to be happy sucking on the tank glass, plants etc. I came home yesterday from work and the smaller one was belly up on the bottom, and the larger one, still alive but not doing much. I inspected the smaller corpse, in a net and then a glass bowl, and there was skin (scales etc) floating everywhere And his dorsal fin looked as if it had undergone some rapid degredation of some kind (although when i think about it, he hadnt it raised much over the last few days so it could have been slower). I looked then at the bigger one, and he too had skin peeling off, revealing a grey like flesh (almost going transparent)of his tail. It was quite upsetting. I thought i had done something badly wrong.

When i went to have a chat to the guy who sold them to me i brought the small one (i had refrigerated him) and the still alive bigger one, he took one look at them, said that hed never seen that before, rang someone on the phone, and said to me that it was acidic water conditions. I wasnt convinced at all, but i wasnt going to have an arguement, and he agreed he would replace them both. Anyway i bought a master kit, brought it home, tested the water 3 times, same result each time, water seems grand, and the pH is at 7.5 approx.

Now my question, does anyone here know of a disease/condition that makes skin come off like they had bad sun-burn or something? I'll just throw this out there, but is there anyway UV system might do this?

(also bare in mind i had a couple of cory's & a couple of blackskirts in the tank before, during and after and they are still healthy as a horse)

with a ph of 7.5 thats neutral to slightly alkaline so couldnt be acidic burn... a uv system wouldnt do this either to my knowledge, had this happen my clown royal panaques a few years ago, did a 20% water change treated with easylife and a week later they were fine again, dont know what happened, never happened again.. one of those weird things i guess... check this link, might help www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseases/skin_disorders.html
Seamus

Sweet, cheers for the reply, will take a look!!

there are several possibilities such as acid burn or heater burn, either in the shop or home tank. but the most likely cause is down to the way these fish are packed for export. because they are cheap (assuming they are common plecs) too many are crammed into a small bag to save money on freight. this causes shocking problems and bacterial infections for the lucky/unlucky survivors. by the time the customer gets them the immune system is shattered and they will struggle. its testament to their natural toughness, that any survive at all.

derek wrote:

there are several possibilities such as acid burn or heater burn, either in the shop or home tank. but the most likely cause is down to the way these fish are packed for export. because they are cheap (assuming they are common plecs) too many are crammed into a small bag to save money on freight. this causes shocking problems and bacterial infections for the lucky/unlucky survivors. by the time the customer gets them the immune system is shattered and they will struggle. its testament to their natural toughness, that any survive at all.

Yea derek, they are common plec's, ive been reading similar things to what your saying all eve. Ah well, i thought there might be some simple answer that i'd missed.

Well, i'll have to ask him the next time i'm down, as to what it actually was he was using, although, i'd imagine he wouldnt take too kindly to the question, well see anyway. Ill post his answer when i get it. Thanks for the reply.

I have seen what you describe once before when some pleco's where in water to hot for them with high nitrates. The skin just peeled off them.
Probably not the cause here but worth mentioning.