Pleco... chatting... Referral please, PLEASE!  2/17/08 Hi Neale, I went into the fish shop today and saw a 30cm Pleco and just had to get it - now it's in my 10 gallon (just for today quarantine) as when I was going to put it in the 200 I saw a few white spots on it. Do you think it will be ok for today in the 10 gallon, I only put it in there because I wanted to watch it to see if it showed any signs of distress and if those white spot grow, or if it's just because when the lady was putting it in the bag it got tangled in her net and she pulled it out of the net rather then cut it out. She was also handling it roughly, so I put it in the 10 gallon just to make sure it doesn't any infections. Will be moving it out of there tomorrow morning. Do you think it will be ok in there for tonight. Also, it's HUGE so how many wafers do I feed it? Thanks, Neervana <I'd put a fish this size into a bigger tank than 10 gallons, even for quarantining. If that means putting it with the Pictus and the Bala Sharks, then so be it, but have Whitespot medication to hand and treat at the first sign of disease. If you put it in the small, immature tank you may end up poisoning the fish (ammonia, nitrite) and having to deal with Finrot/Fungus. Don't see any advantage to that. As for food, the golden rule with all Plecs is to focus on the vegetables rather than pellets. I'd stick in sliced carrot, sweet potato, potato, courgette, or cucumber as often as required. Soft vegetables usually go overnight, but carrots often take a few nights. Save the algae wafers for 1-2 nights per week, and provide 3-4 of them. Once every couple of weeks add a nice little bit of seafood: maybe a prawn, shelled mussel, or piece of white fish. Common Plecs are omnivores, and the more varied the diet, the better. The main thing is that they always have some vegetables to eat at night. A bit of bogwood is also useful as a source of fibre. Cheers, Neale.> Re: Pleco 2/17/08 Hi Neale, I did as you said and put the Plec in with the Bala sharks and the pictus. Good thing I did it early because after him being in the tank for so many hours he has defecated everywhere and I couldn't even see the water clearly, it was really messy! <Yikes!> So now he is in the 200 gallon tank, he looks fine - He is still a dark black colour which is a good sign, right? I read on one of your FAQs that their colour changes from darker to paler when they are stressed and don't like the water quality. <Perhaps; does rather depend on the species though.> I think that it wasn't Whitespot, but just some prickly things on his back, the armour maybe? Because it looks like a stripy pattern of dots all over his body, in lines. Anyway, the pictus loves him and will lie down beside him, and when he moves, the pictus moves as well!!! It looks like they are schooling together! He keeps on chasing the sharks really frantically, and the pictus is behind him as well. <Sounds like they're happy.> I'm getting a bit worried as the sharks keep jumping out of the water and I can hear them hitting the hood of the tank and then thumping back down again. I hope he settles in, the sharks look really scared. <Getting more Bala Shark specimens might help. Also try adding floating plastic plants. There are some excellent ones out at the moment for about £12 that are 3 feet long. The leaves float along the top. Fish are less likely to jump out of tanks with plants at the top.> I was reading about Discus fish online, and I was wondering how many I could put in that 640 litre tank I ordered? <A school of at least half a dozen specimens would work well in there.> Also, would not mind buying a pair of the blue Discus. I would like to buy them as I have never had them in an aquarium before. Would they be able to live with Silver Dollars? <Discus are best kept alone, or failing that, with very peaceful tankmates. Cardinal tetras work well, and as far as catfish go, *the* Corydoras for the Discus tank is the warm water-tolerant species Corydoras sterbai. But I'd get a bit more experienced under your belt with your new catfish first. Also consider carefully whether you have the right water chemistry, and also if the nitrate level is sufficiently low (20 mg/l or less) out of the tap. Discus are sensitive to high-nitrate, high-hardness water. Cheers, Neale.>

Pleco with weird spots 10/30/2007 Hello, <Hello.> I have, what I assume, is a common Pleco (Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus). He looks like the picture that appears with this name. <Also check Pterygoplichthys pardalis; the two species are sold interchangeably as "Common Pleco" and are easily confused. There are other Pterygoplichthys that might be traded too. All very similar.> He is approximately 4 years old and 13 inches long. <Ah, still a young 'un! Maximum size of Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus is 50 cm. These are BIG fish.> I got him when he was less than 2 inches long and started in a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank and now in a 55 gallon tank. <Yes, they grow fast!> The tank has good filtration, 2 bubble curtains for aeration and is sparsely decorated so he has room to move around with ease but he can hide. Although, he likes to be out in the open and comes up to the front of the tank to see me. His only tank mates are a pair of zebra Danios. <Sounds fine. But you might want to add some more Danios.> I feed him: algae tabs, veggie tabs, cucumbers, occasionally water melon, he cleans up any left over fish flakes and he keeps the tank algae free.? <All good. But do also try carrot, sweet potato, Sushi Nori and courgette. Cucumber is 99% water, so not really good for anything much, though I agree that all Plecs seem to love it. Do also add some bogwood, which Plecs seem to use as a source of fibre. The odd prawn or mussel will also be welcomed, maybe once a week. Pterygoplichthys is an omnivore rather than a strict herbivore.> I was having a hard time keeping the tank water clean and water conditions stable. <No surprise. Welcome to the Big Catfish = Dirty Tank club. I was thinking of having some jackets made up.> He was producing a lot of waste. <You're effectively keeping a cow in an aquarium. So expect masses of faeces. On the plus side, there's hardly any ammonia in them, so the ammonia and nitrite will stay low. It's more a cosmetic problem, though obviously a clogged-up filter is a Bad Thing.> My filters were constantly dirty regardless of how often I rinsed them out or put a clean one in. <Normal. That's why you need something around 6 times the volume of the tank in turnover, and ideally 10 times. In other words, in a 55 gallon tank, you need filters with ~ 300 to 500 gallons per hour turnover.> It was suggested to me, to add "Waste Control Organic Waste Eliminator" by Nutrafin and "Nutrafin Cycle Biological Filter Supplement" to help break down my Plecos waste and any left over food. This has solved my water condition problems. <Can't think why. Neither product sounds magical, especially the latter, which is basically unnecessary in a healthy aquarium. The solid waste produced by your catfish is mostly cellulose. It will break down over time, but it is messy. Because it contains minimal nitrogen, its effect on water quality is virtually zero. Here's my strategy: arrange your gravel so one of the corners is shallower than in the rest of the tank. The filter current should push the faeces into this "crater" over time. Each day, you can siphon out the unsightly waste.> I noticed he had a round brownish looking spot on the side of his head towards the top. I actually thought he had gotten a burn from the heater. He likes to get close and suck on the heater at times. Today, I noticed he has several spots that are roundish in shape, brownish in color and have a light white fuzz like coating on top of the spots. I had to use a magnifying glass to see the white fuzz. I do not recall these spots before I added the "Waste Control Organic Waste Eliminator" by Nutrafin and "Nutrafin Cycle Biological Filter Supplement". <Hmm... the fuzz is fungus and needs to be treated immediately. The heater MUST have a "heater guard" around it. These are plastic tube-shaped grills. Some heaters come with them anyway. If yours doesn't, go buy a heater guard. Put it over the heater. That will prevent heater burns. What you are describing is quite common, and easily prevented.> His overall color is good, he is eating and moving around the tank as normal. Do you have a suggestion of what these spots are and what I should do? <The fungus is eating up dead skin caused by heater burns.> Thanks, Julie <Good luck, Neale>

How much to feed a Plecostomus  7/29/07 Hello, <Hail and well met.> I have read/written to your site and found it very informative and helpful before.? My question - I have a 12.5 inch Plecostomus. I bought him when he was one inch long and I had a 10 gallon tank. <Almost certainly not a Hypostomus plecostomus but something like Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus or Pterygoplichthys pardalis, the two "common plecs" of the trade right now. Easily get to around 45 cm long, potentially significantly more, up to 70 cm being the record.> Since then, he has moved from the 10 gal to a 20 gal and now a 55 gallon tank. <Very good. A 55 gallon tank is about right for one of these fish: they grow very fast.> He is about 4 years old. <Four down, another twenty to go. These catfish live a long time if properly cared for. Most *aren't* properly cared for, though.> I think I have him with an appropriate amount of fish (calculating by fish inch per gallon of water) in the 55 gallon tank. <Inch-per-gallon estimates are rubbish. If I lined up 200 inch-long guppies that would be about the length of a Great White Shark. Do you think a tank big enough for 200 guppies would house a Great White Shark? Me neither. What matters is a bunch of factors as well as length: things like the mass ("weight") of the fish, its activity level, its territoriality, etc. As it happens, your catfish is fine in a 55 gallon tank.> He has quite the personality and moves all around the tank. <Yep, they're nice fish.> I enjoy watching him. <That's the basic idea of the hobby! Otherwise it's just work...> At 12.5 inches in length, he appears very large to me. <Then you should see how big they get in the wild! Your specimen is about half the size of the largest specimens. In an aquarium, it'll get a little larger, but 18"/45 cm is about the tops for a tank-reared specimen.> My tank is algae free. <I bet.> How do I know he is getting a sufficient amount of food? <A healthy Plec should have a gently convex stomach and the eyes should be bulging out of the skull. A starving Plec will have a concave stomach and sunken eyes.> I feed him algae wafers and give him cucumbers once or twice a week. <That's pretty good. But try different green foods. Lettuce, melon rind, spinach are all good. Something with some protein, like tinned peas, are also worth adding. Once or twice a week put a whole prawn or mussel in the tank; they'll latch onto these and scrape them away to nothing by morning. They also love rooting about for small invertebrates like bloodworms and krill, but faster-moving fish will generally eat these before the plecs get a chance.> Is there any basic "rule" to follow on the amount of food to supplement him with due to his size? <Not really, no. You have to go by instinct. Pterygoplichthys are omnivores, so you want to vary the diet as much as possible. There should always be some greens in the tank and also some bogwood (they seem to use wood as a source of fibre) but portions of meaty foods should be used once or twice a week, no more. The algae wafers are a good staple, but relatively expensive. Greens and seafood make a cheaper and just as good staple for these fish.> Thanks, Julie <Hope this helps, Neale>