FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have no idea what type it is, She has had it for about two years, She is a good friend but not really in to the fish.

All the guppies I gave her have died, I have been over and done water changes - her water is generally not good, for some reason there it never exactly cycles. There is always NO2 and high levels of NO3 present. she tried plants but they died.

the problem is this.

the pleco is the only fish left in the tank which she wants to get rid of.

I will have to take it, she wants to get rid this weekend.

How long should I acclimate it for?

my water parameters are all at 0. this may be a shock to him - there is a lot of aglae in her tank and no light any more.

so I should mix the water leave him in the bag in the dark for how long?

I know there will be people who think I shouldn't do this but I can't let him be flushed.

thanks

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

the smart thning for you to do is to set up a small hospital tank for a few weeks to make sure the fish is not ill. for acclimating him i would spend and hour slowly adding water from your tank to a bucket that the fish in already in, sitting in it's old water. this is what i do with most of my fish.


chris

yeah, that's good, and make sure you have a good cycle, and none of the fish are sick from the tank you are adding water in. And, you are now named, Goldifshgeek, Pleco Saver!

~Andy~

Never mind her water perameters, make sure that fish goes into proper quarantine for at least 3 weeks before it goes near one of your tanks. I should think that plec will gratefully accept any water quality that doesnt have detectable levels of nitrite and ammonia. Try to match the acidity and hardness and temperature if you can, but dont ever worry about the lack of the toxins.

In case anyone is interested I got him, still don't know what "he" is but he is very pretty, dark brown with orangey stripes. Have called him Tiger. I acclimated him TWO hours, adding abit of my water to his water(floating in a plastic cot off coke bottle) every 15 minutes or so.

My tank looks sparkling he has done an AMAZING job on the aglae - he even ate the black stuff off the apple snails who look great now.

so far so good (which probably means i shall go downstairs and find him dead)

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Sounds like an interesting fish. Do you have any pictures of him?

How big is it?



55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

In my article on Otocinclus, I described something called the "Otocinclus Pet Rock" method of cultivating algae, which if your Plec munches algae at a rate of knots, will serve you well too!

Step 1 : Get some jars, and fill with old aquarium water.

Step 2 : Gather together an assortment of objects - small bits of bogwood, small rocks, even garish plastic aquarium ornaments will do!

Step 3 : Put the objects in the jars, and leave on a windowsill where they will receive direct sunlight or at least a good dose of natural daylight. I also find that desk lamps illuminating them produce good results.

Step 4 : When the objects are coated in a nice coat of green fur, pop them in with your algae eating fishes, in your case, your newly rescued Plec. Watch him munch away happily!

Step 5 : When he's cleaned one object, pop it back in the jar and let it grow a new coat, and pick another. In effect, perform "crop rotation" on your "pet rocks"

This should keep your Plec happily fed with lots of algae.






Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Chances are, if it's orange and stripey, it's going to need more than alage to survive off of. In fact, algal growth tends to be the "last source" of nutrients these fish will exploit, even ancistrus, in their foraging.

hmmm, am adding aglae wafers now as well, and these things called Novo tab tablet food fro all tropical fish( made by JBL)

will also do the pet rock thing too!

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

I'd go for something a little meatier as well; shrimp pellets etc.