Cons of a Pleco? (help save an innocent pleco!)

[Bettababe1011]

Yeah. I really want the smaller species if I can get it. I DON'T want to put a fish through stunting.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[severum mama]

There are thought to be hundreds (perhaps thousands) of different types of Plecos in the wild. Although I think it is illegal to export wild fish now, there are a lot of different Plecos all sold under the wrong description. You sometimes don't know what you're going to get (it depends on the supplier stock).

I think my Zebra Pleco is absolutely awesome. You should get one of those. I have seen them at Petco, too. You can find where there is a petco on their store locator on their site. It's pretty simple. Normally if there is a petsmart, there won't be a petco far away...

Not illegal.
The vast majority of plecos, otos, loaches, etc. are wild caught.
It may be illegal to export the actual zebra pleco... that's one you'll never find at a store.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Just one more question. Do the bristlenose plecs need driftwood? And is there anything I need to do to it to prepare it for my tank?

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

As far as I know all Plecos need driftwood, it plays a part in their digestion process.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay. Where is a good place to get the driftwood, like buying I mean, not just going outside. And what do I do to prepare the wood?

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Well you need to make sure you buy Malaysian driftwood because it sinks straight away (it's a hardwood). I bought all mine from a seller called Mike online... He sells on both aquabid.com and ebay.com, here's one of his items:
AquaBid.com - Your Aquatic Auction Website

He also sells very nice Amazon Sword plants. My tanks are full of his stuff and I'm very pleased with them.

If you can find it at Petsmart, look for a hard, heavy wood. There may be one labelled as "Mopani"

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay, I have a few places other than petsmart too. Thanks. I've been looking it up online about curing it and boiling and stuff.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

With his stuff I have just rinsed it. With a piece of Mopani I bought from Petsmart years ago I boiled it (a lot) and it still turned the water brown for a few months.

It's a bit of an unknown what you'll get and what you'll have to do. I don't mind the tannins (what makes the water brown) at all as it doesn't harm the fish. But the ones I bought recently from Mike didn't release any.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Okay, I'll see what I end up finding.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Amicus]

There are Chinese Algae Eaters too, much smaller and thinner profile. They are cleaner and attractive too.

 

[Bettababe1011]

And very aggressive when older. They are not an option for me.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Emi929]

I just got a nice piece of Mopani, and the tannins weren't bad at all, it's only been two days of soaking in water, and it takes the whole day to turn the water tea color. Tannins DO lower pH though, so be careful if you get a super dark piece with a ton of tannins. I have the golden algae eater if you want to trade like a plant or something for it. He's super efficient and docile. I would love for you to have him. if you get a bristle nose too, he can help out in getting the smaller places. Would you be interested?

 

[severum mama]

CAE's grow too large for a 25 gallon, and are aggressive when they get larger. Speaking from experience here.

 

[Bettababe1011]

I don't have any real plants. Just fakey plastic or feltish ones. I'm pretty set on getting the bristlenose now. But thanks for offering.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Bettababe1011]

And also one extra is about all I have room for. The bristlenose being the extra.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[meegosh]

And what do I do to prepare the wood?

Boil it, boil it some more, then boil it again. Then let it soak for weeks/months - changing the water occasionally. Seriously though, some people have pieces of driftwood in their tanks that still float after years of being in a tank. It all depends on how dense the wood is and if there are any hollow spots.

Some people that don't mind tannins will just bolt new pieces to slate and bury the slate in the substrate and call it a day.

 

[Bettababe1011]

With the tannins lowering ph I want to be careful, and brown water doesn't appeal to me. I want a clear blue aquarium. I realize that the water might tint a little anyway, but I want as little tint as possible.

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Emi929]

I've had experience from the tannins lowering the pH from 7.2 down to 6.8 then once the tannins subsided, it went back to about 7.1

Running carbon in your filter will keep your water clear from some of the tint.

 

[Bettababe1011]

Aren't some filter cartons prefilled with carbon?

I looked on the petsmart website. It listed rubberlips there as growing to ten inches? Is this tue or are they confused? If it is true then a rubberlip would never fit in my aquarium. People were suggesting those...

In loving memory of Pansa Princess, the greatest horse who ever lived. May you rest in peace.

 

[Homedog98]

I wouldn't trust petsmart. Rubber lips are about the same size as the bristle-nose. Maybe a bit bigger, but not much.