Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

[Armadillo_Del_Rio]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Thanks for the info on breeding them.
Can you beyond that general statement.
Like how often for WCing what temp. what type of water,what type of foods ect..

Here is an extensive article on breeding albino, which would be the same for a non-albino BN.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=251

[Armadillo_Del_Rio]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

szidlon - I was wondering what those were, too! (the sponge-looking things in the bags) I've seen shrimps and other inverts shipped with stuff in the bag, but never fish. So, if anyone knows, tell us!

I am thinking those are bag buddies, a tablet that destresses the fish in shipping to and fro. it helps them relax.

[Ellen]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Maybe it was something like this Bio-Marine Poly Filter?

http://www.poly-bio-marine.com/polyprod.htm

Ellen

[szidlon]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

szidlon - I was wondering what those were, too! (the sponge-looking things in the bags) I've seen shrimps and other inverts shipped with stuff in the bag, but never fish. So, if anyone knows, tell us!

I am thinking those are bag buddies, a tablet that destresses the fish in shipping to and fro. it helps them relax.

This actually looks like a small cube of sponge.  At first I thought it was something coarse and soft for the pleco's to attach to in the bag, but I vaguely remember there being some in an angel bag as well.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who is wondering.   I was beginning to think I'd gone crazy (short trip) :crazy:

[Armadillo_Del_Rio]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

When a shippment comes into this one store, Fish-R-Fun on Eldridge and 529, they have sterofoam with a name on it to cordinated which fish go to which store or person...

[SCOTT]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Actually, the sponge material is used as a bacterial culture. Some shippers include these snippets as a means of ensuring that their customers have a stress free cycle if establishing a new tank. If setting up a new tank that is uncycled, or under cycled, you simply drop the sponge into your filter to seed the bacterial colony. Hope that clears that up for you.

[szidlon]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

:bsty: Scott

I will forever be indebted to you for solving my mystery, which is very good information as I have a tendency to buy fish without places for them.

[Ellen]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Now that's something I would have never thought of!

Ellen

[Mark]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

My dad asked the couple at Cichlids-n-such (szidlon these are probably the peaple you got your long finns from) and they said it absorbs the fish waste.

mark

[daisymac]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Okay Armadillo, I have pleco questions for you. My husband bought me 2  common plecos that I had to get rid of. They were just too big for my 55g, but I did like them. They were really cute and active, but man did they get big quick. Superior cleaners though!

Now I would like to get a smaller pleco that also cleans up things well. Also I don't want anything aggressive. What do you recommend?

Daisy

[guppymax]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

I think you over specified the problem. Pleco is a common term that means what ever you want it to so I am probably confused by what you mean. I bet the least agressive catfish are the Corydoras and smaller is less threatning so Corydoras habrosus or Corydoras hastatus (pigmy or dwarf cory). The best cleaners are probably the chinese algae eaters but they are big and fast for little livebearers. O well that my opinion. Now you may say none of these are Hypostomus or Ancistrus, lol.

max

[Ellen]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

*Butting in* I love my clown pleco, he's a hoot. Lots of people like bristlenosed catfish as well, I hear they clean the glass well when they're young. My clown doesn't clean the algae up well, but I've never had a catfish clean the tank very well unless it had just come from the store and was starving.... I prefer to do that task; if you want it done right, ya gotta do it yerself!  

Ellen

[Armadillo_Del_Rio]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

small and attractive and a good cleaner, a bristlenose pleco, they stay around 4-5 inches and make one of the best cleaners in the tank. all my aggressive cichlids leave him alone, he can just get as agressive as them if pushed to far, but he is very peaceful with other plecos.

if you have a good current in your tank, a rubbernose pleco - they sell them at petsmarts for 4 bucks and they clean with their big mouths, slow to grow but they stay around 5" max. mine is quite a character - racing around the tank, but i recommend him for more community fish, and sometimes they prefer cooler water(70 -75 deg.)

whiptails, not farrolows (they are a little more upkeeps for this one), are good not shy but peaceful and my cichlids don't bother him. and stay around 6 inches. they are different looking for sure - so to me they are attractive fish, you have to look for those though. i bought mine around 7 bucks.

but my money would go for an Ancistrus (group) - bristle noses, they stay small, come in red marble to mottled green coloration, and peaceful. - http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...php?genus_id=4


hope this all helps, if you have any more questions please ask.

[daisymac]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Armadillo,

I read somewhere that you should have some wood in the tank for the BN. Is this a necessity? I don't have any wood in there at all.

Thanks,
Daisy

[SCOTT]

Re: Plecos, can i give ppl the knowledge?

Yes Daisey, BN's need the wood to rasp. They actually grind off small bits of wood as a supplement to their diet.