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Post by lihairden on Apr 13, 2004 0:02:57 GMT -5
I've said before that I've got guppies and a pleco in a 10g. Well, we're down to 3 males and 1 female (the remaining two original females passed on).
After the last of the guppies pass I want to get some tetras and a ghost fish. Just have to decide on what tetras I want.
I need to know how to restart the tank setup with the pleco involved. I don't want to put him with the new fish when they're being quarantined, but I don't want to take him out of his home.
So basically my question is....how can I cycle the tank with the pleco in it? He's pretty hardy and has survived the tank being cleaned in and out. Would cycling hurt him?
P.S. We are planning on getting a bigger tank in future when the pleco gets bigger. Right now he's got a lot of room to move around.
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Post by Jenny on Apr 13, 2004 10:56:27 GMT -5
I would think that it would be okay to cycle the tank with him in there as long as you keep up on water changes and don't let the chemicals spike too badly. However, I have not had a pleco, so I'm not sure exactly how hardy they are.
Do you have another tank you could keep the tetras in while they are in quarantine. If so you could keep them in that, and there would be no need to move the pleco or re-cycle the tank, unless you feel it needs to be cleaned from the guppies, but I don't see why.
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Post by lihairden on Apr 16, 2004 1:57:40 GMT -5
We've got a 2g tank that we put the guppies and pleco in when we're cleaning the tank. I'm going to quarantine the tetras in it for...how long should I quarantine them? We'll have to put something on top of the tank to keep the cats out as well. The 10g will need a cleaning since the pleco poops a lot and leaves it everywhere  . We've got a testing kit, water conditioner and food so all we'll need is the tetra and ghost shrimp...if I can find any ghost shrimp. |
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Post by BettaBGood on Apr 20, 2004 13:01:16 GMT -5
lihairden,
If your pleco is as hardy as you say, he will likely survive cycling. Small, frequent water changes will delay the cycling process, but will be much easier on the pleco. (What is his estimated length at maturity?)
Have you decided on tetra type? They're as common as they are "popular," but I highly recommend neons. They are peaceful & cool to watch. Mine are extremely hardy. They thrive in water with a lower pH, however, so I'm not sure how that would agree w/the pleco. Also, I read another post somewhere (on a different board) where a guy said that his neons kept mysteriously disappering, and it was his pleco that was nabbing them!...
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Post by lihairden on Apr 28, 2004 2:09:05 GMT -5
lihairden, If your pleco is as hardy as you say, he will likely survive cycling. Small, frequent water changes will delay the cycling process, but will be much easier on the pleco. (What is his estimated length at maturity?) Have you decided on tetra type? They're as common as they are "popular," but I highly recommend neons. They are peaceful & cool to watch. Mine are extremely hardy. They thrive in water with a lower pH, however, so I'm not sure how that would agree w/the pleco. Also, I read another post somewhere (on a different board) where a guy said that his neons kept mysteriously disappering, and it was his pleco that was nabbing them!... Taking into consideration that the temp's 80 I'm looking at Black or Red Phantoms, Silver Tip, Penguin, Black/Black Skirt, Bleeding Heart, Bloodfin, Lemon/Redhook. I read that they all can stand temps up to 82 and figure they'd be the best bet. I haven't decided which kind to get yet....I'm wondering if different types of tetras can still school...that way I could get one of each and not have to decide lol. I'm not sure how big the pleco can get. If he ends up getting too big for the tank, we'll get a bigger one...right now he's happy lying among the plants. |
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Post by Jenny on May 2, 2004 13:49:25 GMT -5
I'm wondering if different types of tetras can still school...that way I could get one of each and not have to decide lol. I'm afraid this won't work very well. I did the same thing and got a pengiun, a bleeding heart, a rummy nosed, and a red-eye, and put them in a ten gal with two female bettas. They do not school, and I eventually lost the rummy nose, I think due to stress from moving, but he never seemed happy in the tank in the first place either. My other three seem fine, but they don't seem to school at all. |
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Post by opendestiny on Jul 8, 2004 6:35:51 GMT -5
We had lemon tetras (I'd forogotten what kind they are until you mentioned lemons.. heh), and they didn't last very long. However, that might be because my mom knocked the heater when she was dusting and turned it up to 90ºF. She doesn't dust the tank anymore.  Our last pleco was fairly hardy... he survived three of his tankmates dying (we had two gouramis and a betta before we got the tetras), and three new tankmates (the tetraas). He finally kicked the can when the tetras got fried.... |
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Post by mandymarie on Jul 9, 2004 21:20:14 GMT -5
Pleco's are very hardy...I once had a friend that had one and it somehow jumped out of his tank he doesnt know how long for sure he was out but somewhere no shorter than three hours no longer than eight and he's still alive now!!! ;D However I wouldn't recomend it
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Post by opendestiny on Jul 24, 2004 16:42:26 GMT -5
Plecos can jump???  |
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