Need advice
Need advice
I'm planning a 210 gallon to be up and running by the end of the week, and could use some advise from someone who has more experience than me. My favorite fish in my current tank is a synodontis eupterus (actually I have 2 now as I purchased a new one this morning!), and I'm wondering if they prefer to be with buddies or alone? Also, what are the coolest plecos you could suggest for the new tank? Do they typically get along with each other?? I'm planning on angels, rainbows, and blue rams as tank-mates. Any advise would be REALLY appreciated!!
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racoll
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Hi. welcome to the site anissa. 
Could you please change your "location" in your profile, even if it is just your country. It helps us create a more honest and serious discussion, and we can get an idea of the water type and available fish in your area.
There is a massive choice out there, and what you get will depend on a few factors such as...
1. Your experience. Species like gold nuggets and queen arabesques can be quite demanding and tricky, so stick to something easier if it's your first plec.
2. What you want the plec for. ie, eating algae or just looking nice. Some plecs eat algae, some don't.
3. What you can get hold of in your local store and what you like. Surf the Loricariidae section of the cat-elog and read up on the requirements of each genus. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/INDEX.PHP
4. Your water parameters, tank mates etc. For example with rams and angels you will need to be at about 28C, so this will rule out some plecs like Chaetostoma. What are the parameters of your tapwater? eg pH, hardness.
I hope this helps.
Could you please change your "location" in your profile, even if it is just your country. It helps us create a more honest and serious discussion, and we can get an idea of the water type and available fish in your area.
You are aware about cycling and how to get a tank up and running?I'm planning a 210 gallon to be up and running by the end of the week
Young tend to shoal, but they get more solitary as the get older. You will have enough room in a 210g for a group of five. Give them lots of hiding places.I'm wondering if they prefer to be with buddies or alone?
Also, what are the coolest pl*cos you could suggest for the new tank?
There is a massive choice out there, and what you get will depend on a few factors such as...
1. Your experience. Species like gold nuggets and queen arabesques can be quite demanding and tricky, so stick to something easier if it's your first plec.
2. What you want the plec for. ie, eating algae or just looking nice. Some plecs eat algae, some don't.
3. What you can get hold of in your local store and what you like. Surf the Loricariidae section of the cat-elog and read up on the requirements of each genus. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/INDEX.PHP
4. Your water parameters, tank mates etc. For example with rams and angels you will need to be at about 28C, so this will rule out some plecs like Chaetostoma. What are the parameters of your tapwater? eg pH, hardness.
Yes, if you choose the right species, and give them enough space, and places to hide. If you don't, they can easily kill each other.Do they typically get along with each other??
I hope this helps.
I have changed my "location"-I'm new to this...so please be patient with me. Thank you so much for the reply. Water parameters: pH 7.0-7.2, temp 82F, and have never checked hardness. (I was almost too embarrassed to tell that part, but I'm trying to learn all I can!!). Anyway, I will want algae eaters, and some just for their general coolness. I have never had a pl*co before, but have had a small 20 gallon tank (originally purchased for my little boys) for 5 years with great success(even though I have no idea about water hardness ). Thanks again for your time, and any further info/advise will be appreciated!-
MatsP
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Anissa,
A welcome to the site from me too.
The hardness of the water is not CRITICAL for most fish, but like all environmental factors that affect the fish, the more closely you match it to the natural environment of the fish, the better it will behave and live.
I have no idea what the water is like in Louisville, but according to this report, it's 144 ppm: http://www.lwcky.com/water_quality/ccr2005.pdf
144 * 0.056 -> 8.0 DH, so pretty much in the middle of the range. Of course, if you have a private well or some other supply that doesn't come from the Louisville Water Company, this may not be what you get in the tap at all [although likely, it's isn't very far different - but unless you test it, you won't know]. A DH of 8 is pretty much in the middle of the scale, so shouldn't really be a problem with most fish.
All fish are more or less capable of tolerating temperature, pH or hardness that is different from what it's natural environment is like. Some fish can tolerate a great variation, others are more sensitive and require "just right" environment to survive.
As to suggesting plecos for a large tank, it's very much a personal choice. I've previously described it as choosing curtains for your house: Some people like patterned ones, others "single colour", some like bright colours, others prefer bland colours, and some don't really care what they have in the window (some up our road have black plastic "binliners" across their windows to keep the light out for some reason - I'm not sure what they are up to, really).
I would think that the best thing you can do is look around the shops in your area, and then ask if X, Y or Z is suitable with your tank. You can also find out about a particular fish by looking in the Cat-eLog - there are LOTS of information there, how big it gets, what water it prefers, tankmates, etc, etc. One fish that I quite like, but can't keep due to lack of tank-space (I only have a 100+g tank), is (Sunshine pleco). They do grow fairly fast and will reach a good foot when fully grown - but it's not an algae eater as such.
I would also advice against keeping any of the Liposarcus/Glyptoperichtys "Common" pleco. Although they are great algae eaters, they do grow BIG, and produce an awfull lot of waste because of it. I'd recommend that you go for a set of smaller fish, such as - they stay down at around 4-6" in size, and are really efficient at keeping the algae at bay - and it leaves more space in your tank for other pleco's that may be more "interesting".
I'm not sure if Angels and Blue Rams will go well together. Both are excellent fish (I have both, but in separate tanks), but I think the Angels will bully the Rams a bit. This is one of the problems with ONE BIG tank instead of multiple small ones...
Rainbows are a great choice, easy to keep, active, non-agressive fish - great for almost any tank, you could probably keep a dozen or so of the bigger species (such as Boseman's Rainbow, M. Bosemanni). They do like quite warm water, and don't mind a bit of current. Again, I'm not sure if the Rams will go well with the Rainbows - the rainbows will be so much larger than the Rams and may disturb the Rams.
I'd be tempted to put the Rams in your 20g tank instead - that would be a much better place for them - they are small fish, but territorial, so they need to be able to "control" an area without being bullied and disturbed by bigger fish, so that would be a good way to get that working. Of course, that assumes you haven't got too many big fish in the 20g at the moment [and you haven't got rid of the 20g to make space of the 210g, of course].
I hope this helps.
[By the way, I haven't measured my hardness ever, either. I know from where I live and what the water in general here is like that it's hard as rock, so it makes no sense to measure it. It's not RIGHT for most of the fish I keep either, but they don't seem to suffer from any problems due to it, so I'm not worried about it. I will, hopefully, get some RO or DI equipment to be able to reduce the hardness in the future, but until then, I can't really do much other than avoid fish that are notorious for not tolerating hard water].
--
Mats
A welcome to the site from me too.
The hardness of the water is not CRITICAL for most fish, but like all environmental factors that affect the fish, the more closely you match it to the natural environment of the fish, the better it will behave and live.
I have no idea what the water is like in Louisville, but according to this report, it's 144 ppm: http://www.lwcky.com/water_quality/ccr2005.pdf
144 * 0.056 -> 8.0 DH, so pretty much in the middle of the range. Of course, if you have a private well or some other supply that doesn't come from the Louisville Water Company, this may not be what you get in the tap at all [although likely, it's isn't very far different - but unless you test it, you won't know]. A DH of 8 is pretty much in the middle of the scale, so shouldn't really be a problem with most fish.
All fish are more or less capable of tolerating temperature, pH or hardness that is different from what it's natural environment is like. Some fish can tolerate a great variation, others are more sensitive and require "just right" environment to survive.
As to suggesting plecos for a large tank, it's very much a personal choice. I've previously described it as choosing curtains for your house: Some people like patterned ones, others "single colour", some like bright colours, others prefer bland colours, and some don't really care what they have in the window (some up our road have black plastic "binliners" across their windows to keep the light out for some reason - I'm not sure what they are up to, really).
I would think that the best thing you can do is look around the shops in your area, and then ask if X, Y or Z is suitable with your tank. You can also find out about a particular fish by looking in the Cat-eLog - there are LOTS of information there, how big it gets, what water it prefers, tankmates, etc, etc. One fish that I quite like, but can't keep due to lack of tank-space (I only have a 100+g tank), is (Sunshine pleco). They do grow fairly fast and will reach a good foot when fully grown - but it's not an algae eater as such.
I would also advice against keeping any of the Liposarcus/Glyptoperichtys "Common" pleco. Although they are great algae eaters, they do grow BIG, and produce an awfull lot of waste because of it. I'd recommend that you go for a set of smaller fish, such as - they stay down at around 4-6" in size, and are really efficient at keeping the algae at bay - and it leaves more space in your tank for other pleco's that may be more "interesting".
/g/s/1.jpg)
I'm not sure if Angels and Blue Rams will go well together. Both are excellent fish (I have both, but in separate tanks), but I think the Angels will bully the Rams a bit. This is one of the problems with ONE BIG tank instead of multiple small ones...
Rainbows are a great choice, easy to keep, active, non-agressive fish - great for almost any tank, you could probably keep a dozen or so of the bigger species (such as Boseman's Rainbow, M. Bosemanni). They do like quite warm water, and don't mind a bit of current. Again, I'm not sure if the Rams will go well with the Rainbows - the rainbows will be so much larger than the Rams and may disturb the Rams.
I'd be tempted to put the Rams in your 20g tank instead - that would be a much better place for them - they are small fish, but territorial, so they need to be able to "control" an area without being bullied and disturbed by bigger fish, so that would be a good way to get that working. Of course, that assumes you haven't got too many big fish in the 20g at the moment [and you haven't got rid of the 20g to make space of the 210g, of course].
I hope this helps.
[By the way, I haven't measured my hardness ever, either. I know from where I live and what the water in general here is like that it's hard as rock, so it makes no sense to measure it. It's not RIGHT for most of the fish I keep either, but they don't seem to suffer from any problems due to it, so I'm not worried about it. I will, hopefully, get some RO or DI equipment to be able to reduce the hardness in the future, but until then, I can't really do much other than avoid fish that are notorious for not tolerating hard water].
--
Mats
-
racoll
- Posts: 5258
- Joined: 26 Jan 2004, 12:18
- My articles: 6
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- My cats species list: 2 (i:2, k:0)
- My aquaria list: 1 (i:0)
- Spotted: 238
- Location 1: London
- Location 2: UK
I would agree that to start you off on plecs, a small group of Ancistrus sp(3) would be best.
Once the tank is mature and everything's going well, maybe try some small Panaque like , or .
In a big tank like that, you could even keep...
Leporancanthicus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/G_64.PHP
or
Pseudancathicus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/G_40.PHP
Once the tank is mature and everything's going well, maybe try some small Panaque like , or .
/g/s/1.jpg)
/g/s/1.jpg)
In a big tank like that, you could even keep...
Leporancanthicus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/G_64.PHP
or
Pseudancathicus http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/G_40.PHP