Unfortunate Incident. :(

[absolutangel04]

So, my bf dumped me and I have 2 of my 5 tanks at his house. I am working on getting them, but that has proven to be more difficult than I thought. I have trying to get over there to at least do my pwc, but that is hard too. The whole thing is aweful, but thats not the point of this thread.
When I was finally able to do a pwc, I found both my pitbull plecos dead and a Bolivian ram and my darling keyhole cichlid are not doing well at all. I am pretty devastated. I am not asking why they died, it was water quality.
Anyway, does anybody have an idea of a smallish pleco that would be ok in a 40 tall. I love the pitties, and I might just get more, but I they seem to not love my water, so I thinking about getting something else. Not a big fan of bnp, although I may go that route. Maybe a rubberlip instead? Zebra?
Also, I have corys, kuhlis, and one healthy Bolivian ram. So, do you think a single apisto would be ok, or should I just try to get another ram? I am pretty upset about my keyhole. I hope he pulls through. It took me awhile to find him though, and I am afraid it may be hard to find another one. Maybe I will get another keyhole and throw the apisto idea out.
I am going back tonight to do more pwc and check in on my poor sweeties.
Oddly enough, my rummies all look great. No issues there at all.

 

[Scouser]

First of all sorry to hear that, but I'm sure it's his LOSS

And I have seen recommended a bristle nose, from what I've read they only keep to around 6"

I'm sure someone with a lot more knowledge is gonna be more help.

 

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I know I have the space for a bnp. I had one for awhile, but I am not crazy about their appearance. Maybe I will try to find a female. I think the young calicos and albinos are sort of cool, just not a fan of all the bristles....
Of course, I won't get anything until I get my tank back so that no more issues like this pop up and I can make sure my params are solid.

 

[Morgie]

Aw, I'm so sorry about that, but I agree with Scouser. His loss!
I had a rubberlip pleco for a while. They're fairly inexpensive and relatively small for a plec. Mine unfortunately only lasted about six months, I'm unsure why he died, but he was very fun while he was around. The only plecos I've had personal experience with are rubberlip, bristlenose, and highfin plecos (which I unfortunately have to keep in my 55 right now because it's gotten to cold for him to stay in the pond. SO MANY WATERCHANGES )
Other options that aren't CRAZY expensive are whiptails and clowns.

 

[absolutangel04]

Aw, I'm so sorry about that, but I agree with Scouser. His loss!
I had a rubberlip pleco for a while. They're fairly inexpensive and relatively small for a plec. Mine unfortunately only lasted about six months, I'm unsure why he died, but he was very fun while he was around. The only plecos I've had personal experience with are rubberlip, bristlenose, and highfin plecos (which I unfortunately have to keep in my 55 right now because it's gotten to cold for him to stay in the pond. SO MANY WATERCHANGES )
Other options that aren't CRAZY expensive are whiptails and clowns.

I have never seen a whiptail before. I can look into it. I am not crazy about the clown because I keep hearing that they hide all the time and just eat driftwood. My lfs has them though, so its a possibility.

 

[tmfish]

Try a columbian zebra pleco. L129 one of my favorites. only grows to 3 to 4 inches.

 

[jetajockey]

leopard frog peckoltia is one of my favs, or maybe a starlight ancistrus, another awesome one. Leave the bottom open with lots of hiding places and get a pair to breed out, they fetch a good dollar. win win.

p.s. keep your head up, dedicated fishkeepers are one in a million, enjoy being special.

 

[absolutangel04]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will do some research on those guys.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I guess I will just give you some info on the plecos I have had.
1) common - got to big and re homed it.
2) BN - still have him. A really good clearner at first but ever scince I got driftwood it hasn't left it.
3) rubber lip - still have him too, more active then the BN but still spends most of his time in the dw, but comes out when the moonlight it on.
4) albino - the most active but the least effective cleaner. But didn't just sit on dw either.
5) royal - too expensive like 40 bucks didn't act much diff then the albino re homed because he just wasn't cutting it.
6) whiptail - died after maybe a week. He was someone elses and I was fostering but he didn't last long

Hope that helps

 

[nanofish]

First off sorry to hear about all your troubles. Hopefully your our ichlids get better.

I was given a whiptail when I was a kid. I didn't have much better luck than NYgiantsRP with it though. I think mine only lived a couple of weeks. I love the look of them though and wouldn't minding trying again. I definitely want to second jetajockey on the stralight ancistrus. It's a bristlenose yeah but very pretty. It's definitely near the top of my wishlist.

 

[siva]

I love my farowella cat. He seriously keeps algae in check in my 55. I hate the bnp. Hideous. LOL If I did get one I would go for the starlight or long fin green ones. They aren't so bad..I guess. I don't think the rubberlips are paticularly cute either. I love my clown pleco but he's really for looks, not aglae. I want a zebra pleco L46 soooo bad, but not sure I'll ever come to terms with handing that much $$ over for one fish.

If your ram is pretty mellow I think an apisto will be fine. Mine are doing well together. If ordering is an option keyholes shouldn't be hard to find. severum often has them. Hope yours pulls through!

 

[brry]

Why can't the jerk do a water change? Would it break his arms? If he agreed to having the tanks there in his place, doesn't that imply some responsibility to the fish? I can't imagine letting any creature in my care, or in my house, just die.

He just sits there watching them get sicker and sicker and does nothing?

If this is the kind of person he is without sympathy for a helpless creature, not changing water out of either laziness or spite, then it's good you are no longer with him.

 

[skiweeangel]

I think you have dodge a bullet with that guy. If he is too shallow to do a water change just because the two of you are no longer together and it says something about him as a person.

 

[LyndaB]

He doesn't deserve you..... or fish.....

 

[Convict2161]

He doesn't deserve you..... or fish.....

x2 on that!!

 

[absolutangel04]

Lol, thanks guys. Honestly, to be fair, he just doesn't know how. I have explained it to him, so hopefully he can do it now. But, I should get the tanks out pretty soon (this weekend), so that will be good. He felt bad when I cried about the fish, so he offered to buy me new ones. And he agreed to be more careful about the fish care until I get the tanks back. So, hopefully that works out until I get my babies back.
@siva, I got my last keyhole from severum mama, so if mine doesn't pull through, I can probably wait until they get more. Good to know about the apisto. My current healthy ram is pretty chill. He doesn't care about the corys or keyhole, or even the other male ram. So, I am hoping they can all pull through, and if not, I will decide between another keyhole or an apisto.
I have had a hard time finding much decent info on farowella. Do you think one could work in my 40, or is it too big? I agree about the zebra pleco. I am going to start looking around for one to see what ind of prices I can find.

 

[jetajockey]

real zebras are really expensive but a good investment IMO, especially if you plan to breed them, they are becoming more and more rare because of development in the region they are found in.

 

[absolutangel04]

Are there fake zebras?

 

[jetajockey]

well the l-46 is the one I'm talking about but there are a few other kinds, like chocolate zebra l-270 and some others I think. They are much less expensive, but still nice. Zebra pleco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[absolutangel04]

Ok. Thanks. I did not know there was others. Curse those overlapping common names! The L46 was the one I was aware of, but I know lots of stores tend to just use common names.