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Hello all, I've been browsing the forums for a few weeks and thought I'd join. About five years ago I started up a 7 gal. bowfront, doing absolutely no research, and filled it with 2 orandas, 1 black moore, and a common pleco. Surprisingly, it was about two years before I lost a fish, though after three all I had left was the pleco who had grown to about 8", and it was quite clear I had to provide him with a new home.
So, a few months ago I bought a 30 gallon tank (36x12x16), did a bunch of research (and became completely obsessed with the aquarium hobby in the process), and still managed to screw up insofar as I created a nicely planted tank complete with 4 wpg lights and diy CO2 that my pleco regularly thrashes through. The good news is that he's very happy in this tank, but my goal of a lovely planted tank with sparkling gouramis and corydoras just isn't going to happen as long as he's in there.
So, I've come up with a new plan!
I'll be getting a tall 65 gallon tank (36x18x24)that will only have a thin layer of pea-sized gravel for decorative purposes, and lots, and lots of branchy driftwood. This will create lots of caves and shade for the pleco, and there will be a canopy of anubias attached to the wood so that the pleco can't dislodge it. This should keep both of us happy.
Since it's a tall tank, I'd love to keep 4-6 angels, 3-4 SAEs to keep the anubias from succumbing to algae, and I'm wondering if I can keep a school of about 6 larger tetras (I'd love a set of congos, but that seems to not be recommended) or a few other fish to occupy the middle area of the water column and provide additional interest.

Last edited by illustrae at 04-May-2005 13:06

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Welcome to the site Glad you've been doing research...there's nothing like research to get you more addicted to a hobby :%)!.
One thing I did want to point out is that with tall tanks they cannot be as stocked as heavily as a long and shallow tank. Stocking should be done by surface area/footprint of the tank rathe than by how many gallons it has.

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Hi, and welcome to FP!

Yes, the old ever-growing pleco story. It happens all the time. I'm actually amazed he grew to 8 inches in that 7 gallon bowfront, but then again, they are built like tanks.

Anyway, I applaud your decision to upgrade your tank for your pleco's sake.

So let's see... anubias, good. SAEs, good. If you want to keep 6 congo tetras, I might suggest cutting back on the angel fish... say, 2 angels, 6 congos, 3 SAEs and the pleco, maybe? What do you think?

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Back in the saddle!

Thanks for the welcome.
I do realize that having a pleco that continually outgrows it's tank(s) is nothing new, and I appreciate the input. I've thought of giving him to my lfs, but after five+ years, I've grown rather attached to him and I simply don't trust the people at the lfs to care for him as I think he deserves (even though they have some huge display tanks that have great potential, but are always lacking good care, unfortunately).

I've been reading a few threads about keeping angels with tetras, and congos are generally disadvised because a) they belong in a completely different biotope, and b) they're likely to get nippy. I've also read, and seen firsthand, that angels kept in small groups of 2-3 will tend to be aggressive with each other and kill each other, but in a larger group of 4+ the agression gets dissapated and they do less damage.

I think I need to decide what is going to be the "star" species of the tank: the angels, or the congos. If I go with angels then I still need a few gentle mid-level companions that also won't be bullied by the angels, and if I go with the congos, then I want a few fish that will occupy the upper levels of the tank. Maybe a few dwarf gouramis.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

Fair enough, it's your tank

If you go with angels and you want a bio-tope set up, you can always go with a fairly large school of cardinal or black-neon tetras. If you put them all in while they're small you shouldn't have trouble with the angels eating them.

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Back in the saddle!

I've had no problems with nippy congos or the fact they come from a different region of the world. They are very adaptable to all water conditions, quite hardy, and wonderful schoolers. Mine are never far from each other. I've kept them with an angelfish and then gouramis. I would never call them nippy.
If you want more of a biotope tank then I would go with angels and black neons. They look great under any light, school pretty well, and are too big to potentially be angelfish lunch. If you don't want a biotope tank the congos and a pair of angels should work fine. I've never had any bad experience with them.

Babelfish, can you explain the surface area theory instead of Gallons please

Leon

Your new 65 Gallon isn't big enough for a fully grown common eirther. Why not get a 100 gal and save yourself upgrading again. I have a common that is 18 inches plus.

Wow, so many great ideas, and I appreciate the help. I would also love some more info on stocking based on surface area over gallon capacity.

I'm not planning to adhere to a strict biotope, so I guess I'll just have to try some things and hope for peaceful fish, and have contingency plans in place in case it doesn't work out. Additional planning will definitely be needed.

Can a common pleco grow more than 5 inches in a year? I would love to have some larger tanks since I love big fish and I'd like to try a Tanganyikan community (once the 65 is set up, my next project will probably be a 20 gal. with a pair of brevis). However, I may be moving in a year, and I can't imagine the hassle it will be to move the tanks I already to have (not to mention keeping the fish alive through the move), much less moving even bigger tanks. However, larger tanks are in my future, and I fully plan to keep accomodating my pleco for as long as he may live.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

It depends what species of "common" you have. There are several that get labelled this and often times a store may just call it a common for lack of anything else. They may know next to nothing about the pleco. So you can end up with a common that tops out at 10" or one that clears 2'. It's a bit of a gamble when you buy commons. If you want to try to identify your pleco you can try [link=http://planetcatfish.com/]http://planetcatfish.com/" style="COLOR: #00C0C0[/link] but there are 100s of species and photos to look through. I've spent hours looking before

Yes a common pleco can grow more then 5 inches in a year.
In fact about 10-12 inches would be average.

Glad you have joined the forum and it is great to see someone researching their fish!!!! My best advice would be for you to get the largest tank you can afford and have room for. A tall tank isn't the best for the pleco as he will need the length and width. If you could, go for a 75 or larger.

Again...welcome to the forums

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