100% honest info needed

[WhiteDevil]

I got a 55 gallon planted tank, has flourite and play sand as a substrate, what I am asking is how many should I get?


Oto's?
MTS's

I need functional fish that will not harm the plants yet eat all the algae and crud off as well as turning the sand,

I hear OTO's are great with live plants

I hear MTS's turn the sand great however are worse then jackrabbits when it comes to multiplication of the snail


thanks in advance.

If so how many should I get?

I am thinking 2 each of MTS for now, maybe 5 OTO's ?

Id like to keep these particular fish very happy, they are a very important members of my aquarium, well will be, they have a function id love to utilize, I promise to pay them in food.

 

[mgamer20o0]

nothing is going to live up to your expectations. otos shouldnt be added to a new tank they only eat some kinds of algae. mts wont really eat poo. they will breed as long as their is food source such as fish food or dead plants.

 

[black hills tj]

Whether you get 2 MTS or 20 MTS, they are going to reproduce as long as they find food.

MG hit the nail on the head about otos. They are pretty picky fish and shouldn't be added to a newer tank.

 

[WhiteDevil]

OK, then what are some options, I dont want to plants to get eaten and I like the sand to be stirred, I am open to ell like loaches ect that do infact burrow( my kuhlis would rather swim UP and into a hollow tree root( resin, real one is soaking) then burrow in the sand.

As long as its not a predator fish I am open to it.

I just need some options, Its still early in the game on this tank.

I for some reason havnt been able to locate a poo sausage on the sand, its brown/tan play sand so maybe the camo effect is happening, and I doubt the cories are eating the poo. I do vacuum the sand every water change the right way.

Is there a pleco that doesnt eat the plants or am I dreaming too big?

 

[black hills tj]

OK, then what are some options, I dont want to plants to get eaten and I like the sand to be stirred, I am open to ell like loaches ect that do infact burrow( my kuhlis would rather swim UP and into a hollow tree root( resin, real one is soaking) then burrow in the sand.

As long as its not a predator fish I am open to it.

I just need some options, Its still early in the game on this tank.

I for some reason havnt been able to locate a poo sausage on the sand, its brown/tan play sand so maybe the camo effect is happening, and I doubt the cories are eating the poo. I do vacuum the sand every water change the right way.

Is there a pleco that doesnt eat the plants or am I dreaming too big?

The bristlenose plecos that I breed don't eat plants

 

[WhiteDevil]

Hmmmmm.....wonder how I can do this without the wife finding out.

How are the bristles? nice and long on the parents?

 

[mgamer20o0]

most plecos dont eat plants and many dont eat algae. really there is nothing that will take care of all algae. prob the two best algae eaters are nerite snails or amano shrimp. SAE will also eat some algae better then most plecos. though the best way to get rid of algae is figure out the problem and fix it. most fish that can burrow into the sand would just knock up all the plants. mts and chop sticks as you wc/gravel vac is your best option.

 

[black hills tj]

Hmmmmm.....wonder how I can do this without the wife finding out.

How are the bristles? nice and long on the parents?

Both the male and female are barely old enough to spawn, but they have spawned once a month for the past few months now. Fry aren't quite old enough that I'd feel comfortable shipping them, yet.

most plecos dont eat plants and many dont eat algae. really there is nothing that will take care of all algae. prob the two best algae eaters are nerite snails or amano shrimp. SAE will also eat some algae better then most plecos. though the best way to get rid of algae is figure out the problem and fix it. most fish that can burrow into the sand would just knock up all the plants. mts and chop sticks as you wc/gravel vac is your best option.

^
Listen to this man.

 

[WhiteDevil]

Thats fine, I got nothing but time, the gups are eating on some of the algae as well as the angels so I figure I got some time still. Ill just wipe the front glasses off.

 

[joy13]

I have a bristlenose that likes to up root plants in a certain area of the tank. He does an ok job eating algae but will eat anything that falls to the bottom. Once your tanks is well established then think about getting the otos. You can at the MTS right away.

 

[kangster]

i have ABN pleco that used to algae but he stopped for a long time
i think he knows that if he waits long enough a big hand drops a nice piece of algae wafer and he doesnt have to work so hard...
as for MTS i got 4 initially and after a month i already started catching a glimps of little babies at nights when the lights are off

joy and i have the plecos with the same personalities...mine kind of burrows and digs a hole in my sand kind of making a cave for himself to hide during the day and by doing so he uproots the sword plants i have

 

[WhiteDevil]

I use a hair pik instead of a chopstick, figure more is easier.

I will get two mts's tomorrow to start, since I know they are ALL female and ALL ASEXUAL I know they will multiply, I got a trap already incase they get overpopulated.

I dont know where the algae is coming from, I have some light on the tank( 67w to be exact@ 6500K) and a little CO2 , water is well aerated from the filters, however I am going to a canister filter to get more flow( aqua-tech filters, penguin 330 for marineland fans) into the tank, I changed the filter cartridges and the water flow slowed way down.

 

[kangster]

there are male MTS...but most are females...i have been told

 

[gzeiger]

The usual questions you should be asking to sort out the algae question are as follows:
1. How much light (answered, and it isn't excessive)?
2. How long do you keep the lights on?
3. Nitrate level?
4. Frequency of water changes? If none of those seem to be the answer, you might test for phosphate, but that should generally track water changes.

 

[WhiteDevil]

light is 67watts on a 55 gallon planted tank
10-12 hours a day usually from 8am central time to around 6 or 8pm central time

Nitrate im unsure will do a test this morning

water change is null right now, I usually do WC's every 35-50 days.

Ive never EVER had to keep up on tanks like this before. I mean I am not losing ANY fish at all, no deaths for months due to anything in the tank( been atleast 10 months since a fish died in a tank of mine.

 

[Sicklid]

My plecos never left the chunk of driftwood I had... It was pretty much their home base.

 

[black hills tj]

light is 67watts on a 55 gallon planted tank
10-12 hours a day usually from 8am central time to around 6 or 8pm central time

Nitrate im unsure will do a test this morning

water change is null right now, I usually do WC's every 35-50 days.

Ive never EVER had to keep up on tanks like this before. I mean I am not losing ANY fish at all, no deaths for months due to anything in the tank( been atleast 10 months since a fish died in a tank of mine.

You should do a waterchange at least ever other week. I do mine AT LEAST once a week. It seems like a lot of work, but it becomes habit real quick. You can do a 50% PWC on a 55 in no time. Right now I have a 75, 29, 10, and 2.5 setup, and I do a PWC on all of them on Sunday afternoon. I used to have a 20g and a 30g setup, but I emptied them to work on my other projects.

 

[joy13]

If you don't like water changes you should check out NPT get Diana Walstad's book Ecology of the Planted Aquarium.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I sent Walstad an email eariler on my situation. I dont mind doing the WC's but its my job and family life that prohibit a habitual schedule right now. I am however going to do one tonight when the kids go down, I already got my 30 jugs filled and have been gassing off for over a week now.

 

[mgamer20o0]

no reason to be hostage by the tank...

pythons speed up the water changes a lot.