It is definitely why I keep coming, time after time. Working retail tends to suck a lot of the enjoyment out of it all. I do think we need to find a way to have a larger room available for some kind of pleco discussion forum again, one of these times. More of a true roundtable sort of affair. I hav...

Every time the convention ends, I think I can't possibly wait to see all of these fantastic friends with so much in common! I never get to spend anywhere near enough time with any one person. I never remember all of the things I want to ask. I also learn all sorts of nifty tricks and tips to things...

The odds are good they have a parasite. I'm sorry, I was away at CatCon and didn't take my laptop. If the parameters are good and you're doing water changes regularly, you definitely need to treat them. I prefer ProFormC for external parasites (or in their gills), but if you don't have access to it...

I didn't want to put up a list too early or anything, so now that I'm in the process of packing... ;) I'l be bringing L180 breeder sized and fry L262 breeder sized trio Ancistrus sp. super red breeder sized trio Ancistrus sp. "Rio Tocantins" breeder sized and fry Brochis splendens fry Ass...

While I agree that any ammonia at all is going to be very stressful to a fish in 7.5 pH water, I do not agree that you should lower the temperature. IME, L260 thrive and are happiest above 84, so 81 is plenty low to give them enough dissolved oxygen to work with. The picture shows frayed fins. Are ...

On my personal rearing system? No. On the system for the shop, yes. I just treat the fish in the rearing system before they went in. A couple times, actually. If there are any strange fry losses I treat them again. Dale just sent me a bunch more fish than I could handle anywhere else so the system ...

I set up a rearing system like this at my shop for my more common types of ancistrus and growing out fry. It's about 700 gallons and can be "flow through" water changed. Basically it allows the water to be kept absolutely pristine. Quarantine and aggressive treatment of any potential para...

It is entirely possible that the cause for mine was not dissolved oxygen, but something else I didn't realize. I just know that when I changed the way the water flow through the condo was generated, so it didn't slowly reduce over time, the bubble bellies stopped. The yolk actually turns more opaqu...

I agree that you can't change too much water, at least here locally. I've been places that you CAN due to chloramines or fluctuating dissolved gasses. Here, I am blessed with water that allows me to change 90% of the water in tanks with Ancistrus fry and it doesn't stress them and they grow like wi...

As long as changing your water doesn't cause some sort of fluctuation in the tank, you can change at least 50% weekly with absolutely no problem. You don't mention the temperature, but I guarantee that the Hypancistrus will condition much faster if the tank is warmed up. The problem with that will ...