New and Learning

[cgranola]

Hi,
Wanted to officially (resisted the urge to write "oh-fish-ally") introduce myself. I'm new to the forum, although, I have periodically read through a few of the threads to gather information about how to set up and cycle tanks. I have a 20 gallon which I cycled back in July. The 20 g is a fresh water tank that is stocked with a small dwarf frog, a guppy, a gourami, a cory cat, and a gold twinbar.

Oh, and a giant pleco.

The Pleco has been an accidental addition to the tank. I adopted him from a friend who had purchased him as a 1 inch baby and after a year no longer had room in his 10 gallon. I admittedly did not think through my decision as I assumed the pleco had reached maturity at a year. As it stands, my 20 gallon tank is barely sufficient and as a result I'm cycling a 55 gallon in order to move him to a larger space.

I fear for the day the 55g becomes too small for him. I have zero additional room for a larger tank.

I will say, though, for as big as he's getting. He's truly a fun fish to have and is a blast to watch. He dug up all of my plants in the 20 gallon and regularly rearranges the "furniture" so to speak as he pushes things around with his nose sniffing out new places to suck.

My long term goal is to get the pleco moved to the 55 gallon. Then I want to plant the 20 gallon. I'm open to suggestions for what to add to the 55 with the pleco. I'd like something a little showy that is reasonably sized and gets along well with others.

My Pleco, George: Why a planted tank wouldn't work for George. - YouTube

 

[Delapool]

Hi, welcome! That's a serious fish whatever he is up to

 

[Cactuspixie]

George is funny as!
He will eat a LOT so maybe increase his feed of algae wafers? My large plecos all live in planted tanks, and while one loves to dig in the sand, he doesn't harm the plants. Mind you, my plants tend to be mostly attached to wood or rocks or planted into largish terracotta pots.

 

[cgranola]

George is an odd fish. He gets algae wafers. (Maybe more often then he should? One in the a.m. and another at night.) He also loves zuchini, broccoli, and spinach (1x/week). He came to me from a ten gallon tank that was essentially just a tank with gravel. The 11 year old who gave him to me had never given him any food beyond allowing the pleco to scavenge for algae. The Pleco grew to over 10 inches on just tank algae alone. His first algae wafer/veggie happened after his adoption into our clan.

The moment he joined my 20 gallon he pulled up all of my plants. I switched the plants to the pots (as seen in the video) with the hopes that he'd leave them alone. Turns out he'd just bury his head down into the pots and pull the plants up. Now the only live plants left in the tank are those floating at the top. So far, he's left them alone. Although, I'm waiting for the day that he swims up there and realizes there's more plants to destroy.

My goal, once the 55 gallon is cycled, is to move the pleco to the 55 gallon. I want to temporarily also move all of the other guys and set up the 20 gallon as a planted tank.

The dwarf gourami, the gold twinbar, the guppy, cory cat, and the frog will return to the 20 gallon after the 20 gallon is ready again.

 

[cgranola]

An image of the 55 gallon I set up yesterday. I'm using some rocks and old filters as seed for the new tank. The filter is on the front for the time being because I'm waiting for paint to dry on the back of the tank. (Lights are on just for pictures sake.)

I ordered a test kit from Amazon. It won't be here until Thursday. Should I dose with ammonia even if I am not able to test water levels until then?

Also, I'm currently on the look out for some drift wood to add to the tank. I have a small piece that I've added since the image, but am hoping to get a big gnarly piece to set up for aesthetics and for the pleco to hang out under.

 

[Delapool]

Nice looking tank! I've not had much experience with fishless cycling so hopefully someone else can chime in. I would wait as the articles talk about dosing to certain ppm levels, but I guess the seed material will need a bit otherwise at best will go dormant.

 

[Cactuspixie]

That tank is going to look beautiful! George is gonna LOVE it!