Plecos and the Cardinal sin

dark_jedi_ire

Hi all.
yup me again,



At the moment I have two plecos and when Starting ages back had an idea they would get big but having recently seen ( little gits )and read About them sometimes attaching themselves to Discus (even When feed correctly) and destroying the plants that Are in my tank, they have to go, but where And how,????

Asked local fish Shop they said no, (some policy they have, even with getting them there, )

Any ideas? on What to Do and Im not flushing them , (ones to big anyway haha )

Common Pleco nearly 8 inchs and a sailfin pleco nearly 5 inchs.

fred funk }{

Where abouts are you?

FishFX in Dun laoghaire will take them off you, just bring them down in a bag and if your lucky they might give you something for them but probably not.:D

dark_jedi_ire

Thanks Silver

Im in Clondalkin and With no real transport its a bit of a catch 22 as fishFX are in Dun laoghaire, I think,

Don`t mind getting something for them or not, its just the hassle there causing really,

Want to go for a zebra pleco as they only grow a few inches so,

Cheers

Rob

Shelli

Barts in Cabra would probably be closer to you, he'd take them i'd say.

fred funk }{

dark_jedi_ire wrote:

Thanks Silver

Im in Clondalkin and With no real transport its a bit of a catch 22 as fishFX are in Dun laoghaire, I think,

Don`t mind getting something for them or not, its just the hassle there causing really,

Want to go for a zebra pleco as they only grow a few inches so,

Cheers

Rob

Try petstop superstore in Blanch, I dont know what their policies are regarding accepting fish back in but give them a ring and check it out.

Large pleco's are very hard to sell and maybe that will hamper you a little.

The Zebra pleco is beautiful and best of luck with it.:D

LegacyUser

Oh the BIG PLECO SYNDROME. I have two of them in my 180 litre tank.

But I like them .. I love it when they stand up with their little fat bellys facing out of the tank .. sucking like 90 on the glass (MWWWAAA MWWWAA) .. two little arms (well ok .. fins then) hanging down at the side.

:v: :v: :v: :v: :v:

Shelli

I have a softshell turtle who has no intrest in feeder fish and refuses to eat them, he will only eat ghost shrimp. Do you think a small pleco would do well in his tank? I'd be a bit wary of it attaching itself to his back and doing some damage.

What do you guys think?

tallus

how big is the tank? and what's the latin name of the turtle?
it might eat the pleco...turtles tend to grow quite a lot

Shelli

Apalone spinifera, i'm not sure of the sub-species yet, he's too small to tell (approx 3inches). He's in a 20gallon with a sand substrate. He's (when I say he, i'm hoping for a male obviously I cant tell just yet) expected to grow to about 8"-9", unless it's a female, then I could be looking at up to 18".

He will at some stage probably kill/eat whatever is in has tank, at the moment he refuses all live feed, but I would be worried about his shell being damaged as he is so small at the moment.

Wibbs

Apalone spinifera? I've not seen them fellas too often. The usual soft shell is the chinese type. With regard to the pleco doing damage, I'd be surprised TBH. Softshells are very mobile and would likely agressively react if the fish tried that.

The bigger worry would be a fungal infection as they're very prone to that. As an aside I found that a small dose of marine salt in the water helps stop the fungal problem. Be careful with substrate as well. Make sure the sand isn't too "sharp".

They also have quite high UV requirements as well. I would also advise a basking area(doesn't need to be big either). Most petshops tell you they don't need one but they do prefer it and will live longer. You would be surprised how often they use it(they look cool when they do it too, stretch the neck and limbs all the way out). I've had two over the years and one is with somebody else doing fine(12" Male). In fact he's about 16yrs old by now. It's better to keep them on their own as well. You're going to need a bigger tank sooner than you think as they do grow quicker than you think.

Shelli

I was very lucky to come by him. He's lookin like an Eastern Spiny but I don't wanna say for certain until he gets a bit bigger.

I have a 400 ltr tank waitin on him when he's ready for it, they stress out very easily if the tank is way too big for them.

He has a turtle dock at the moment with a heat bulb over it, loves to bask when he thinks no-one is looking! LOL

He also has a full tank length UV bulb. The sand is reptisand with added calcium.

I've been keeping turtles for nearly 13 years now, love the little buggers, I've mostly had RES and YBS, this is my second softie. If I ever have the space I'd love a snapper.

dark_jedi_ire

Yup big pleco sydrome indeed,

there in a 260 litre at the moment and any plants I add usually get trashed pretty fast and uprooted

Dont get me wrong there loverly fish and I love the way the move around and such,. my own fault really for givin in to the girlfriends addiction to plecos,

what to Do, what to do?

petshop Superstore I might give them a shout,

Or just get another big tank,


hahaha here We go Again )

Wibbs

Shelli wrote:

I've been keeping turtles for nearly 13 years now, love the little buggers, I've mostly had RES and YBS, this is my second softie. If I ever have the space I'd love a snapper.

Cool they are. I got one (res) when I was 4. He only died two yrs ago so he lived for over 30yrs(wish I kept records though as that's the oldest I've heard of). I've a couple of amboinas, mud turtles and a 3 keeled coara. I've lost interest in the slider types so I'm after a european pond now(or something similar, like a long neck). Hard to get sadly. Snappers are cool but as you say you need big enclosures. I had one years back but passed him on after he got too big for me(he's doin fine but a foot long now).

.....as we go of topic slightly. I'll just say Pleco to even things up.:D

dark_jedi_ire

Scared me there I thought you were talking about a pleco at 30 years

jezz,

looks like We going to go for another tank, its seems,

Sigh,

Wet suits is what we should be getting at this stage.;

Anyone deal with this crowd
http://www.petshoponline.ie


have Fluval Duo Deep 1000 Aquarium Set for 299 if thats correct or am I seeing things as pet-bliss have the same tank for 484
odd

Rob

The_Conductor

I have a Pleco which is almost 20 inches in length and also have no idea what to do with the bugger. I don't even know what species he/she is- its a green to mottled brown colour with markings like a leopard. Extremely healthy and active bugger.....
So- I have to clean the tank almost every second day- you would not believe the amount of waste this thing generates. Its like a string too- and it gets tied around everything..... Also- every last plant in the place has been dug up and whoever said the fish was a herbivore was lying- mine quite enjoys chasing its platty and guppy tank mates. I have swordtails in there too- they try taking a nip out of his dorsal fin every now and then- to no effect. I have a pair of 12" airstones- Plecco (or Uggy as I call him) loves to sit on them and have the bubbles do whatever they do......

So- all my other fish are terrorised, my plants are all dug up, its creating unbelievable quantities of manure and generally is being a total wanker to the other fish......

Boardwalk Petshop and the Petshop superstore have refused to take him- so I'm not sure what to do......

Suggestions anyone?

CJhaughey

Grilled with a slice of lemon;)
thats what the Amazon Indians do with them although they wrap the fish in clay first.

LegacyUser

I've two Plecos .. getting big now. Better make a move before they get too big.

20'' is pretty big for a pleco. Thought they only went to about 14''. What do you feed him Shane? Algae tabs and flake food??

The_Conductor

No flake food at all- just the tablets. I've over 200 fish in the tank now- between them they get enough tablet food to last about 10 minutes, once a day. I feed them with the light on- so the Pleco keeps away (as he hates bright light). The Pleco gets whatever is over from the rest of the fish. I should also point out that the tank is a forest of Elodea- its really really thick- and all the fish eat this too. Its quite amusing watching all the baby fish hiding in the Elodea- there are hundreds of the things! That and the external water filter- its full of baby fish too- I took loads out and put them in a seperate nursery tank- but they just keep procreating- the numbers of them are startling..... (Platties, Guppies, Mollies and Sword tails btw.....)

CasimiR

I've over 200 fish in the tank now

200 fish in a 260L ... is it only me or does that sound like you need a bigger tank ????

dark_jedi_ire

200 fish in a 200l tank

?????

What kinda fish?

Jezz thats What 44 gallons , and going by inch of fish to gallon

You have some load in that tank,

how many filters?

thats insane

LegacyUser

sounds like they are all small enough fish. Lots of babies.

dark_jedi_ire

Ah right seen the guppies platies sword tails end of the post, Thanks Buddy

thats would explain it, but going to run out of room fast , Either that or Someone lend em an oscar or two For a week,

)

Buddy, I know you don`t want to give away the Name of the pet shop in another post would it be possible to get it in a pm , Im looking to get a new tank ( african chiclids ) and a tank for a friend and everywhere I go its just juwels etc,

The_Conductor

They're mostly baby fish- the vast bulk of them are less than a quarter inch in length. As for a filter- I have an external filter with a 2,000 litre per hour throughput- the water is crystal clear. Have to remember to change the carbon tonight- I keep forgetting.....

LegacyUser

Shane, I'm actually really interested in the live plants you were talking about earlier in this post. I have only plastic plants in my tank. I had "a" plant once and it lasted for a fair while, but got nibbled.

Where is a good place to buy plants? Any tips for cultivating them?

The_Conductor

The plant I use for the most part is an oxygenating pond weed called Elodea Dendrans. You can get a few sprigs of it in most shops that have a semi decent aquarium setup. Unfortunately there does seem to be a difficulty sourcing it here in Ireland though- The pet superstore in Blanch never ever have it (they do have some other plants, but to be honest from trial and error I'd not recommend any of them at all. The best bet is the likes of the Boardwalk petshop on the quays- they don't tend to have it, but are quite amenable to ordering it in (from England....) If you order it- it tends to be delivered just before lunch on Thursdays (and its better if you collect it fairly immediately as it will go stale sitting around in a bucket of water if you don't).

As for cultivating them- the main thing they need is a minor amount of nitrate (they will quite happily clear your nitrates in the tank) along with a small amount of CO2 and a small amount of light. The overhead aquarium light is more than sufficient. I would not recommend using any of the aquarium fertilisers- if you use the biological agent for breaking down waste, the plants will happily use the constituent waste as fertiliser (kills two birds with the one stone and keeps chemicals out of your tank to boot.....)

They grow like wildfire in a situation like this- but will eventually (after a few weeks) get nibbled to bits. At that stage simply replant it in the gravel and get another clump from whoever your supplier is. It costs next to nothing- about Euro 1.00-1.50 for a small bunch, and the fish adore it (both as cover for small fish along with nibble food).

Ps- keep away from the small potted plants- the weird purple and other odd ones- some of them are poisonous to fish (and also may deplete oxygen levels- bizzarely enough).

LegacyUser

Excellent tips thanks Shane. I must go into that petshop on the boardwalk in town. I have driven up and down the quays so many times but not gone in. I think I will this weekend, have heard a lot of good things about it.

I really need to lay out this new tank properly. At the moment I have, to pick what I can see.

1 Parrot Fsh
1 Angel fish
2 Plecos (have to think of getting rid of one of them).
5 rosy barbs
6 Tiger barbs
3 New Guinea Rainbows
1 other rainbow, don't know what type
1 Molly
1 Black Knife Ghost Fish (@ 5inches now - can get to 20 so need to be careful)
1 red tailed shark
1 Picktus catfish
1 Glass Cat fish (should have more than one).
1 armoured shrimp
1 female siamese fighter
1 Perl Gourami
1 sword tail
3 bleeding heart tetras?
7 tetra yokeys
1 borneo sucker
3 danios

I think thats it.

Need to get it sorted. The cost of the new tank set me back a bit. The filter I have does 1200 litres an hour .. its pretty good. Had some trouble getting a gravel cleaner long enough to reach the bottom of the tank. Only place I could find was the Pet shop in Windy Arbour Dundrum (very nice there - know their stuff).

Oh .. 2 Black Widow tetras which Dark Jedi gave me some time ago. Originally there was 3 but me thinks the 3rd got muched a few months ago in the Rio125.

The most agressive fish I have are the Parrot Fish and the Angel - Cichlids of course. The Black Knife Ghostfish is supposed to be agressive but I reckon that all happens when the lights go out becuase he hides in the rocks all the time. Its great watching them, the tiger barbs swim around together as do the Black Widows and the 7 Tetra yokes.

Oh .. and theres a silver dollar too.

They are all pretty small fish, just about enough for the 180 litres.

ohhh .. two banjo catfish ..

The_Conductor

Little bit of bad news for you- its not worth your while getting real plants if you have cichlids of any nature at all. They will shred them in no time flat (overnight even). Also- are all of those fish fairly placid community fish? The collection sounds lovely- but if they are anything like mine I'd be more than a little suspicious of a few of them.....

I've given up feeding mine flake altogether- I just buy the massive 1kg tubs of JMC catfish pellets and they all tuck in. I have a large flat shell which I use as a feeding trough nearby the filter intake- which means all the babies in the filter get well fed too.

I had cichlids for a while, I had no vegetation for the time I had them..... I tried about 15 or 20 plant types, to no avail. Their speciality was nibbling the stalks off at the base- so irrespective of how they were planted- they were floating around in the current almost immediately before phase two- the shredding- commenced......

My cichlids were casualties of the unfortunate cucumber incident- the pleco was unphased as were the platties and swordtails. The mollies and guppies were later additions.

Speaking of swordtails- how big do they grow out of curiousity? Mine are a little over 3 inches long (and looking a little too longingly at the platties). Also- would I be correct in guessing that those with the black dorsal stripes are a different sex?

The_Conductor

Pps- I'm jealous of your fish! They sound gorgeous..... I love to sit and watch my own- I find it great fun watching their antics. I guess yours must be so much more spectacular than mine. It is fun watching those that hate the light running for cover when you switch on the overhead light Ok maybe thats evil......

LegacyUser

Yeah, its a bit of a mad mixture alright. When I moved to the bigger tank there was literally nothing in the mid to top region. All I had at the top was a "Half Beak". That actually died last week, pity. He used to eat blood worm, Not sure what happened to him, had him for a good while in the Rio 125 without any problems.

The new fish I added since then were the rainbows, rosy barbs, silver dollar, siamese fighter, tiger barbs and pictus catfish and a baby flying fox.

I don't notice any fish with tail nips, and there is no sign of stress related disease like white spot. Hopefully, touch wood {bang, bang, bang} that they will continue to get on.

I used to have an entire tank of ciclids and traded them all for much smaller fish from my boyfriend (gave the lucky bugger a 400 litre tank for his birthday last March). My 125 had too may big fish and I also had a smaller 35 litre tank with neons etc. So I moved into smaller fishing!

Cichlids are really agressive fish, I'm not really fond of them at all. You'd want to see my boyfriend's tank. The fish he has are massive. He got an Oscar off Frankenfurter on boards and it is probably about 10'' so far, then theres the Asian Shark, Moray Eel, Lung fish. Loads of Ciclids I gave him. A lot of fish, to capacity for sure. There is one fish I wish I never gave him, a flying fox and it is now about 6'' and its great. Would munch in my tank, but it looks spectacular.

When I first got the bigger tank I didn't turn on the telly for days. I just grabbed a book, sat down beside the tank and tried to read. Alas, with the activity in there it was a lot more interesting that the book!! The armoured shrimp shed its skin .. haven't seem him since .. but last time he did that he returned a few months later, much bigger!

Fun fish in the tank are the danios, they are always flying around the tank. Then the Parrot Fish with its puffed out cheeks comes up the the front of the tank, you'd swear he was looking at ye!

Its a great hobby isn't it? Hours of pleasure, lots of work but really really relaxing to sit watching all the activity.

Pity about the plants, I might try a few anyways and see what happens. At any rate it would be a treat for them to nibble the plants.

Not sure about the swordtails. I have read mixed stories on the size they grow to. I was under the impression that they would only get to @ 3'' or so, no bigger than a platty.
According to this site its 4'' http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/swordtal.htm
According to this site its 4'' http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile27.html

The picture on the second site is more like the one I have than the first site! I reckon there are different varieties of them, but looks like a solid 4'' for max size.

CasimiR

Have to agree with previous posts .. i also have a chiclid tank .. forget the plants, they ll just eat/destroy them.
They love rocks tho

dark_jedi_ire

PLants

I have found the best place to buy plants is Online direct for the uk,
( I would wait until After crimbo with the postal crap going on At the moment)

If anyone is interested let me know And I Will put up links to the Sites

I have used in the past and found them great And much cheaper than any of the Shops,

Noticed a Few weeks back that aquatic Village have opened up another room with tanks and plants , they had a Really good selection at very good prices,

Rob