Suggestions: Introducing New & Rare Pl*cos to the Aquari

mokmu · Post by **mokmu** » 01 Jan 2003, 08:51

This is my attempt to replicate what someone I know once did for me. Thanks Cartman. This will be suggestions on how to introduce rare pl*cs to the aquaria. Please add whatever I may miss.

Before acquiring fish:
1)Always research on your desired target
2)Make sure that you get your pl*cs from reputable sources
3)Check for sunken eyes or belly. If this is what you see, don't get them. Chances are that you may have a hard time rehabilitating that fish.
4)Pick an active fish with bright colors.
5)Do not get fish who hang around the corners of the tank and are lethargic.

Quarantine and the Tank:
1) Quarantine pl*cs, if possible alone, once they get to your home.
2) Whenever it is possible to introduce into the aquaria, do it in the "dark: or at night. Keep the tank in a dark area of the house. In my case I cover the sides of the tank with a dark piece of cloth. This lessens the stress to the fish.
3) Make sure that the tank is well established, can handle the bioload and has good filtration. Check sources on fish or fishless cycling. I personally do fishless cycling and am an evangelist on the subject.
4) Use little or no substrate.
5) Keep to the proper temperature for the specie that you intend to get.

Feeding:
1) Make sure that the fish get used to eating immediately.
2) Feed at night with more natural foods like bloodworms, spinach leaves, maybe spirulina flakes will do fine. It is a rare sight to see a piece of cucumber or a slice of squash rolling down the river in South America. Do not over feed the fish.
3) Have driftwood in the tank. Studies have proven that rarer pl*cs truly have driftwood in their diet.
4) Check for poop. It is a good sign that they are eating.
5) Be patient.

Once in the Tank:
It is but natural that as soon as the fish comes in he/she shall most likely attach itself to the tank walls and will not eat right away. It will try to get used to the surroundings first. Once it has gotten used to the surroundings, it will most likely hide. Once it has really gotten used to ints new home will the cat come out and eat in from of you.
Make sure that when you introduce your quarantined fish into the community to again do this before lights out and to make sure that your pl*cs are compatible with each other.

If possible have the LFS condition the pl*cs for you. I have been lucky enough that my LFS is willing to keep my pl*cs a bit longer to make sure that I get the strongest fish.

These are all the tips that I have received over the course of my learnings about this catfish family. I am still learning till now. If anyone can keep this thread "on-line" and can add or "subract" anything that I have discussed, please do so. This shall ensure that everyone shall enter the hobby with successful, live and happy fish. Thanks and more power to this forum. It is a great forum.

Easy · Post by **Easy** » 01 Jan 2003, 10:09

and be sure to register and be a stalwart member of the http://www.planetcatfish.com FORUM....

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 01 Jan 2003, 13:15

Hi!
I would say one more thing!!!
Make sure to get all the iinformation about your fish 's need before buying him...
I know it is sometime very tempting to buy a great looking fish...but better qet some info on him before. Check with the shop if they can reserve it for you...most of them don't mind doing this!!!
Cheers
Yann

Post by **Shane** » 01 Jan 2003, 15:29

Mokmu,
Good advice! The only thing that I would add is to cover the quarentine tank VERY well. Loricariids usually exit the tank in their first week if they are going to do it. They need a few days to learn their boundries. It is a real shame to find your recently collected or purchased pleco on the floor in the morning.

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 01 Jan 2003, 22:42

Hi!
Yeap it happen once to me... a mouse hole and one splendide full grown L260 male on the floor all dry out!!!!
I would never forgive me on not having better check that the tank was full covered...
It happened only once... I learn quickly!

Cheers
Yann

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 02 Jan 2003, 16:01

Hi!

>>3) Have driftwood in the tank. Studies have proven that rarer pl*cs truly have driftwood in their diet. <<

This might be right but i wouldnt say that as a general rule...rare pleco=needs driftwood that is

greetings
C

ClayT101 · Post by **ClayT101** » 03 Jan 2003, 23:41

Very nicely done, Mokmu

mokmu · Post by **mokmu** » 04 Jan 2003, 05:04

Hey Clayt101! I'm sorry. I saw your post in the other PC site too late. I had already posted this before I read your post. My apologies again.

Steen · Post by **Steen** » 04 Jan 2003, 21:27

Hi
...like the part about covering the holes, I learned it the hard way: one of my, at that time, new Bary's, L177, jumped out one nigth but luckyly i was sleeping right next to it and woke up and "he" went back into the tank and are doing fine.

T · Post by T » 06 Jan 2003, 16:49

Its the eating part that I really have problems with.My mango pl*co would not eat anything for weeks even if the food was right under his nose.He still goes through phases of not eating much and the only foods he really seems to like are frozen peas and zuccini, he will sometimes eat sinking catfish pellets(the kind that look like compacted flake tablets).Any ideas on how I could get him on a better diet?

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 06 Jan 2003, 20:56

Hi T!

even if Baryancistrus spp are known to be mainly vegetarian , try feeding him some bloodworms or gammarus...
But when a fish is not accepting food , the problem can be with the water parameters, the tanks mates, the setup, the light that is too bright... always try feeding when the light are out, it usually take some time to adjust them to feed themself by day time!

I ll say you should stick with the type of food he likes but you shall try to feed him other stuff before putting what he like or also try to mix both...

He also can be infested with internal parasits, was he quarantine correctly, quarantine are not only made for preventing disease outbreak but also to getting use to his new food...and this way he also can have a taste at it before everything has been clean out by the others!

If you have other fish with him, try the same thing that cichilds maniac use when introducing a new cichlid in an establish tank, change the set-up, so the hierarchy has to be start over...

cheers
Yann

T · Post by T » 06 Jan 2003, 21:32

I have to say that I didnt quarentine him but the only fish in the tank at the time were 2 clown pl*cos.He was in good condition and according to the people in the shop he had been in the discus display tank for at least a month.

He does eat and for a while was eating quite regularly.He wont eat bloodworm or shrimp though but loves peas and zuccini.Also the catfish tabs seem to be on the menu.He hides a lot now which has me a bit worried(especially because the gold nugget is so active).When he does come out though he seems healthy enough and not hollow bellied/sunken eyes.

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 06 Jan 2003, 21:37

Hi!

Well that is good news, if he is eating something, of course if you would like to change his menu a bit, it can be difficult, i would suggest to drop sometimes a different type of food and see if he eat it, he may refuse it several times but after a few try might accept it!
Cheers
Yann

Cartman · Post by **Cartman** » 11 Feb 2003, 00:21

I realize I'm a little late on this, but Mike D. has asked me to add to this, as much of this came about due to a need to centralize what myself and others recomended as starting points for general loricariid purchasing, acclimating and husbandry. I also saw a recent post about deworming and strongly feel that is a part of the initial Quarentine. While my best made intentions, I do not always follow, I feel I'd be a better fish keeper if I did.

Essentially Mike has layed out the foundation and i'll just fill in some of the logic behind the thoughts.

Before Acquiring
1. Really no explanation is needed, researching prior to buying, will save more headaches than can be counted. It will keep you away from that gorgeous 5" Black w/ White polka dot Lyretailed pleco (Adonis) that the LFS' assures you will look great in your 55 with that pair of Umbee's in the next tank over.
2. This was referring to giving business to LFS', wholesalers etc. that properly keep there Loricariids thus increasing the odds that your fish will be healthy.
3. This was to warn off the inexperienced from "special needs" fish. And under most circumstances I'd rarely take home a fish w/ sunken belly and never w/ sunken eyes. I know a distributor that refers to the ones w/ sunken eyes as "fish that are already dead, that just don't know it yet." While it is possible to rehabilitate the sunken stomach one's and I have some gorgeous Lori's that prove this, I've found it very frustrating and disheartening to attempt this w/ plecos who have sunken eyes.
4 & 5. The active (don't confuse hiding in a cave as in activity, inactivity would be not trying to escape a net) and colorful part is often another health check, but I also use it as a sort of way of hand selecting which pleco "I feel" will look the best (It took me nearly an hour to pick out my L273 out of 6,

I'm a lost cause though!).

Quarentine- I'm just going to lay out how I currently do it. I have 2 fish empty 10 gallons one heavily planted, w/ Java Ferns and Anubias v. Nana; Driftwood and slate. This tank is rarely used for a Q-tank but I have found that by consistantly adding flake(my wife refers to it as feeding the snails) I can keep the tank cycled and ready for any short term Quarentine candidate. These are generally fish that I have deemed not necessary to medicate due to there source (IE. captive bred, ect) The other tank, my long-term Q tank is lightly sand bottomed w/ a piece of driftwood and a couple caves. It is not kept cycled but does have a sponge filter running in it at all times that gets swapped out w/ a seeded sponge filter from a differnt tank when a long term Quarentine is necessary. During Long term Q, I generally will medicate and would highly recomend at the minimum at least using a dip method if not long run treatment. I don't feel comfortable recomending medications for Quarentine to people because I'm not there to judge dosing and fish condition (or readiness for meds) but I have used Levimasol and Formalin and will continue to do so. I've also recently found out that RidIch contains Formalin and Malachite Green which are a good broad based combination (I don't think it will help for nematodes though). Before I forget, there was another great low budget sugestion made by Melanie during the time this was initially brought up @ AqC. She used a large opaque rubbermaid tub as she didn't have the room ofr an extra tank. Ever since I've kept an empty 35 gallon @ my house just in case I find a large Pseudo that I need

Feeding in Q(quick overview as this post is getting too long!)- Since you most likely know their natural diet because you followed #1 right! you shouldn't have to much problem, but there will be times when nothing loogical seems to work, this is where i always switch to worms, preferably live. There's very few pleco's that won't eat a wiggler placed right in front of them IME.

Acclimitizing to the new home- lights out, rearrange some furniture but not any of the possible aggressors caves if the new addition is weaker than them. Many times I will just simply take the wood or the cave that was used in Q'ing and put it in the new home w/ the pleco in it. This gives it an established territory and a sense of security. And crap my tanks have wood eaters in almost every one, so it will probably be needed anyway.

I suppose I could get a lot more detailed (as the post this was adapted from was eons long), but really I don't think that is needed here as many of you are specialists and very advanced hobbyists and have experienced far more than myself.

Mike did I miss anything?

T · Post by T » 11 Feb 2003, 15:24

Thats some excellent info cartman, it could save a lot of problems, especially about not buying weak fish.I did this with my second mango and payed the price.I will never fall into that trap again, even if the lfs do drop the price.

I didnt realise that live worms would appeal to pl*co's, I should have tried this when attemping to get my first mango to eat(thankfully most foods are on the menu now).I was wondering, would chopped cleaned earthworms be a good spurce of food for my mango and gold nugget?My cichlids love them but so far I have not tried any of my pl*cos with them.

Thanks.

INXS · Post by **INXS** » 20 Jul 2003, 13:08

Hmmm, I haven't noticed my plecos eating live food - they do seem to like to suck on shrimp though.