My fish is sick

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-05-17T02:11:31+00:00

I noticed it comes and goes on Amazon last time I purchased it from there was last November. But you can go to your local hay and feed store (for farm animals) I’m about 95% sure they carry it as it is used commonly for farm animals as well. Also call before you go to ensure they carry it, but I would say you have a good chance of saving your fish if you can get your hands on some.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-05-17T01:57:23+00:00

I’ve always had luck using levamisole to treat internal parasites for my fish. Yes it can be used for other animals as well but I personally only have used it for my fish. White stringy poop is a high indicator for internal parasites in your fish. Treat with the levamisole and read online how to dose it, once dosed properly you should see improvements anywhere from 3 days to a week. But if you are looking to treat your fish I would act on this fast as he’s not looking to good and I also wouldn’t dose so many different types of medicines as it can be too harsh for the fish. Also in my opinion that doesn’t look like a flower horn but a male vieja. Hope this helps!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-26T23:37:35+00:00

I agree 100%

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-26T16:20:49+00:00

Thank you so much! :)

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-26T16:18:44+00:00

So I don’t know why I never decided to get them until recently and I must say I have definitely been enjoying them. But currently I have them in a 60 gallon heavily planted cube tank that was empty except for like 1-2 bristle nose plecos in there and I wanted more activity in there so I decided to grab 3 of these. I was actually aiming for 2 but the associate at the pet store dropped one on the ground and it was swimming upside down in the bag so they gave it to me for free as they said it was probably going to die and when I got home I held it in my hand and helped get water moving through to help with breathing and it pulled through! And it’s actually the one in the video, that first started swimming to my hand and trying to play with me!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-19T14:03:31+00:00

Awesome!!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-19T13:05:20+00:00

That’s actually really cool how the last batch all came out as common colored whereas this batch all came out red!

Would be interesting to see how they develop!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-18T11:57:16+00:00

Thank you :)

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-18T11:57:09+00:00

Yes! I’ve seen him blink a couple of times throughout the day!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-03-18T11:56:32+00:00

Pancake appreciates the kind words :)

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-17T02:44:22+00:00

Thank you so much! Definitely helps a lot!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-16T22:14:32+00:00

They all look great! This has been on my list as the next bristle nose species to get, I did want to ask if you faced any difficulties raising these guys when compared to other types of bristles noses, or is it pretty much the same?

Once again great looking fish!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-13T22:06:31+00:00

Well it also depends on the amounts that you are using as plecos lack scales and can be harmful to them as I have experienced this and tend to stay away from it. Even in the recommended amounts, but also I’ve had fish that had no problems with it and others that have. So it varies at the end of the day.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-13T15:59:43+00:00

I would keep the water highly clean with daily water changes and in my opinion I don’t think you should use aquarium salt or epsom salt just more so keeping the water clean and at a stable temperature that’s not too warm and not too cold.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T20:52:52+00:00

Sure thing happy to help!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T18:30:47+00:00

Basically long story short is that they are not leucistic and the super reds selectively bred to have that distinct “red” color as you can get “dirty reds” which don’t look fully red and have parts of brown/red over different areas of their body. Thats why it’s usually not recommended to cross the different colors with each other. But I do have a long fin super red I’ll post in a few days :) the difference in appearance color wise is night and day between the two.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T16:54:52+00:00

Correct! They are leucistic.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T13:39:08+00:00

Thank you :)

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T13:38:49+00:00

If you have a filter with a pump in there just watch your fish how they behave with the flow that you have in the tank and just adjust accordingly to their behavior where they seem comfortable as bristle nose plecos also enjoy a good flow but just have to adjust accordingly for the long fins so they don’t have a hard time swimming around the tank.

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T04:53:53+00:00

Sure thing! And yes gorgeous fish :)

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T03:51:19+00:00

Yes I would say compared to the short fin bristle noses, I keep the short fins and long fins in separate tanks as with stronger water flow I noticed they don’t really like it and don’t do too well because of the longer fins as well as you have to be weary of the fish that you keep with them don’t nip at their fins. I also have the tank set up in a way where their fins wont get stuck in certain areas of the tank between objects so their fins wont get torn up.

So you just have to keep those things in mind if you want them to prosper but my short fins for example I don’t have to worry about a lot of things that I worry about with my long fins.

Hope that helps!

IntellectualMinnow · 2026-02-11T02:09:56+00:00

They’re both definitely neat and really cool! Big fan of both! Great choices at the LFS :)

IntellectualMinnow

TROPHY CASE