I need a new catfish what should i get?

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 25 Mar 2006, 02:30

i want a few small pleaco's to hang around my tank but i dont know which to pick!

i fancy a few Golden Nuggets as i realy like them, i have seen a pleco with a red tailfin,

Also i am after somthing that will breed,

Big problem i can think about is my 7" sailfin Pleco getting angree!!! i have been told plecos fight like mad so i am reluctant to get some new tank mates,

Anyone know of anything, i realy want some Golden Nuggets though they are realy nice!

Thank guys

pictus_man_77 · Post by **pictus_man_77** » 25 Mar 2006, 19:12

obviously, an easily bred plec is the common BN. They do look kinda boring in some pics, but mine is a wealth of activity, and a real joy to watch.
go for the common BN

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 27 Mar 2006, 12:03

I agree that common plecos are territorial, like most other plecos - so it's probably not a great idea to go for something expensive - at least not until you've seen it's temper. Small plecos may not be seen as threats.

Also, I wonder what the temperature is in your tank, as you have goldfish and eartheaters in the same tank, I presume the temperature is above the lower regions used for goldfish... Such things as Gold Nugget plecos require the upper end of tropical fish water, near 30'C, which is certainly not what your goldfish will like.

I'm not sure exactly what to recommend - Bristlenose pleco's are an obvious suggestion, they are relatively small, usually easy to find [except if you're Pictus-man

], relatively hardy, and tolerate a relatively wide range of temperature, so should be OK as long as you don't go mad with the controls on your heater.

--
Mats

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 28 Mar 2006, 02:35

The temp of my tank is 28deg the gold fish has been in that temp range for around 2 years, any less than 22deg and he sits on the bottom and does not move take it back to 28 and hes fine,

i am not sure about the bristle nose as i am undecided on there looks, i could warm up to them though,

what is the mose colourfull pleco?

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 28 Mar 2006, 09:00

With that stocking in that tank I would think you run the risk of having too much nitrate to support any wild "exotic" plec.

I would also try to figure out what is wrong with your Pangasius before you buy any more fish.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... ght=#86312

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 29 Mar 2006, 01:25

With that stocking in that tank I would think you run the risk of having too much nitrate to support any wild "exotic" plec

I only have 3 big fish and 1 tiny one with 2 frogs! surly my tank can have a few little inhabatents? i mean if i get it at 2" long i will have moved and got my big big tank by then.

I honestly thought my tank would take more!

I would also try to figure out what is wrong with your Pangasius before you buy any more fish

I have sorted this out, my PH dropped from 7 to 4.2 in 5 days. i have got it back to PH7 over 5 days, i am gunna take my water to my LFS to be tested and then go from there, but the little fello seems happy now.

He just gets on with his life, to say i have a 6", 7" and 11" fish he is not skitty at all he ofter feeds around them without any fuss. he is kind'a cute as well.

I was thinking about 4 or 5 of the roal pleco, (Looks like a Zebra and gets to around 80mm)???

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 Mar 2006, 09:32

Well, you have a "big" tank, but it's still quite a few BIG fish in there. The general rule is something like 1" per gallon. Your tank is 37 US Gal (30 UK gal). You have 6 + 7 + 11 => 26 inches, and another 4 inches of forgs.

However, this rule applies to relatively small fish - not almost a foot-long goldfish or half a foot of pleco.

I think your tank is quite well-stocked as it is.

If by "Roal pleco" you mean , Royal Pleco, you can forget 80mm as max length and think more along the lines of 500mm as max length. Even your planned 84 inch tank is hardly big enough for them. They are also territorial, but you may be able to keep a group if you have a big enough tank with plenty of hiding spaces. They do grow quite slowly, but you still need to plan for when they are big... And I certainly wouldn't recommend adding any of these to your current tank - it's well full as it is.

--
Mats

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 30 Mar 2006, 02:02

I think your tank is quite well-stocked as it is

It just looks so empty

If by "Roal pl*co" you mean Panaque nigrolineatus, Royal pl*co, you can forget 80mm

Nope thats not it this is the little guy
Hypancistrus zebra

I want somthing more going on, i used to have 60 little fish, shrimps, frogs, and other little critters, including 3 Apple snails (always laying millions of eggs) scurrying around the bottom,

I had a load of hatchets at the top, and only a few middle dwellers, so everyone had there own room to swim and the hatchets stayed together and the bottom dwellers never moved anyway, and i kept the middle layers free,

Granted it was overstocked but i had a rigurous maintnence shedule and i kept everything bob-on, untill i had to sell them as i was moving, i just like things happening, my old tank was so busy i could sit for hours.

I was thinking of some
trophius http://www.isabi.de/tropheus_sp_ikola.jpg
Hypancistrus zebra http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/lo ... /168_F.PHP
And some other colourfull active tank mates, i love the e bannana shrimp, as they clean vry well with there fans (claws turned into sifting fans) http://www.molluscan.com/fish/explorati ... shop12.jpg

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 30 Mar 2006, 06:34

NO Tropheus!

not only are they completely unsuitable to that tanksize for a speciestank, they have a few other very important issues:

-Strickt shoaler! in groups less than, say 12-15 or so the agression goes through the roof and you end up with 1 very unhappy fish. they should be kept in groups of 18-25 fish, they reach at least 5" and are hyperactive as well; you need a big tank. 100G or so or more.

-They are from Lake Tanganyika in Afrika wich has unique water, it's hard (GH at least 10 but higher is better) and alcalic (pH 8 and up!). as a result they don't accept the "regular" water used for South American/African riverine/Asian fish, like the bulk of pet-fish and almost all of the catfishes kept by people here.

-they are EXTREMELY prone to stress- and foodrelated lethal diseases!!!

lethal here means: make a big mistake on this issue and you loose your fish within the next 24-48 hours

they'll develop massive internal gutproblem and die. just like that. to keep Tropheus healthy, a very special high fiberdiet is needed with only "veggy-based" flakes or pellets. dump in artemia or bloodworms only once and it's over, period......

-and last: these are NO sissy fish

hyperactive, fight very often, nip longfinned fish continuously, chase each other and others around the tank.....Tropheus are the gangster-rappers of the fishworld, they're always on the move, messing with each other and with other fish, they don't back down from other fish (not even bigger ones), they can and do gang up in numbers on nonsuspecting victims and they are basically shaped from compressed attitude molded in a fishy shape.

my kind of fish

kept and bred them for years

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 30 Mar 2006, 09:29

Well, if you've got someone that can supply you with for less than 150 quid each, then I'd say go for it - but get another tank set up first. They are probably better off in their own tank - you definitely don't want to loose 600 quids worth of fish because your pH goes from 7 to 4 in a matter of two days...

The cost of another tank is much less than that...

--
Mats

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 30 Mar 2006, 13:06

If you're not happy with the tank, ditch the lot (not literally) except the Geophagus, and have a community of smaller fish.

troi · Post by **troi** » 08 Apr 2006, 02:13

Iporangensis Headach wrote:... my PH dropped from 7 to 4.2 in 5 days. i have got it back to PH7 over 5 days, i am gunna take my water to my LFS to be tested and then go from there, but the little fello seems happy now.

Did you get your water sorted out? I would suggest a GH and a KH test kit. That is a big drop; if you are not seriously overstocked, which it doesn't seem you are, yet,the water may be on the soft side. I suspect the water needs a bit of buffering--KH at a level all with tolerate well but still offers some buffering capacity.

Did you get hardness readings yet?

troi

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 08 Apr 2006, 02:26

I have had this sorted now!!!

My KH should be 120 (what ever the 120 means) and it will go down over time as the filter uses it for the bacteria and other things use it as well (thatâ??s what i am told) BUT my KH is 0

Even worse my tap water PH is 6.3! so it comes out low and takes a dive strait away, i now use a KH buffer and its been at PH7 for the past week nice and stable!

Happy Fish

troi · Post by **troi** » 08 Apr 2006, 02:45

Iporangensis Headach wrote:Even worse my tap water PH is 6.3! so it comes out low and takes a dive strait away, i now use a KH buffer and its been at PH7 for the past week nice and stable!

Be careful wiht buffers, some have a tendency to work just fine then wear out with no notice. You don't say what kind of buffer you are using, "store bought" or natural.

I find that a little media bag of calcium carbonate or fine aragonite in the filter seems to last. Just replace it when the stuff in the bag is gone or nearly gone. It will dissolve slowly when needed, the finer the faster, of course.

troi

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 08 Apr 2006, 15:19

Even worse my tap water PH is 6.3

A pH of 6.3 is perfect for all your fish, except the goldfish, which prefers about 7.5.

My KH should be 120 (what ever the 120 means)

120 refers to 120mg/l CaCO3. This is calcium carbonate or KH.

it will go down over time as the filter uses it for the bacteria and other things use it as well

It can go down over time, but this is caused by acids that are produced by rotting bogwood etc, and CO2 from your fish eating the KH away.

i now use a KH buffer

Never add buffers direct to the tank, as they can cause violent pH swings. Make up your water change water to between 80 and 120mg/l CaCO3, and add this water gradually.

Better still, follow Troi's advice and add some aragonite or coral sand to your filter, as this will be a more natural gradual release

What is the KH of your tapwater by the way?

Iporangensis Headach · Post by **Iporangensis Headach** » 10 Apr 2006, 01:04

When my Ph was at 4.2 i added the KH buffer over 7 days to a cup full of water and added that bit by bit to the water change bucket so i added a total of 0.2PH increase perday and that was spred over 5 buckets of water,

i am still having a problem with fin rot though!!! its getting on my nearvs ill put up a post about it,