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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| whats so great about plecos?
I notice alot of people have common plecos, most of em in smaller tanks, I myself have never kept one, other than cleaning algae and what not, all I have read and researched is they produce alot of waste and ammonia and get huge...so why are they good to have? are they fun to watch? all i ever see them do is stick to the side of a tank or hang out on bottom. Just curious why alot of people choose to put them in there tanks | 
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Mentor
| they're huge once the reach full size! its very interesting to see that big of a catfish compared to the tiny pleco-juniors you see at the pet store. I personally find them fun to watch. THey have huge mouths that just suck. I think its cool. And alot of them have personality. Some pleco owners i know feed algae flakes at the top and the catfish comes to the surface, turn upside down, and suck the flakes off the surface of the water. I think they're just fun to have around. Especially the more expensive ones. | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I agree with you..ALOTof us have plecs just because and im not sure why either...a common plec especially doesnt belong in a tank smaller than 55 gals...and then, why have one if you dont have algae....I do have 3 and im not sure why as I dont have algae..I actually feed them wafers to keep them healthy..but I do love them....I love the varieties ..I have one common in my 75 gal..I have a royal in my 55 gal..and recently found out I have a chocolate (aka another common just a different color) in my 30 gal....so ill have to move him to a bigger tank or rehome him eventually...id love to have a huge tank with just a bunch of different varieties but I know thats an unreal dream.... | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| I have thought about getting a bristle nose pleco for my 55 gal, they seem to not get near as big, 3-5 inches or so? it would be a while down the road the tank isnt even cycled yet | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| an albino bn is soooooooo cool..love them! | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| yeah all three of the LFS's in my area never seem to carry bristle nose's. | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Clown plecos are also good lokking & stay small. | 
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Plecs are a very primordial fish, that are superbly adapted to their environment.
They make good alage eaters when they are small but not so great when they grow.
One of the big attaractions is watching a fish grow from the 2" tiddler you put in the tank to a true monster size yet it is easy to keep in a peaceful community.
I find them one of the more interesting fish and keep a common in my 60uk gal ( thats 72 US gals) with a couple of smaler varieties and a couple of albino BN's is my 20UK gal that 24gals to you US folks now they are awesome algae eaters.
The trick with keeping Plecos is to over filter, and then add some more filtration, and keep a close eye on your water.
But always have a plan for what you will do when they out grow the tank as its very hard to re-home bigger plecs as finding someone with 100gals+ is not always that easy.
think about it, if you have a fish in your tank thats somewhere between 18 and 24 inches long do you have enough space in the tank for it to turn around?
If you just want a good algae eater for a small tank try Otocinculus instead, they do a grand job and if you have a small school they are real fun to watch. Put them together with a few small Corys and you have a really entertaining 'clean up crew'. | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Plecos are so cool looking and there are a lot of them. That's why I like plecos. | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I so agree jonah!! most of us shouldnt have them to begin with!! and they are sooo tempting  | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| sonnyJ check out planet catfish:
[url="http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/numbers.php?mode=l&thumbs=16"]
I love Plecos - of all the freswater fish the coloration/pattern differences are numerous and amazing. Even body shape can be somewhat different. | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| i love the bristlenose plecos, i'll probably get one whenever i can finally get my 29 gallon set up (the way things are going that will be on the 12th of never  )
and THEN i saw this little guy and all i can say is I want him!!!!!! http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_A...s_blueseam.php | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| yeah i can understand the watching them grow up part, and thanks for the UK to US gallon conversions I gotta be honest I didnt know yalls gallon was different, isnt a gallon a gallon? and since were on that subject whats with your body weight being gauged by stones? | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Well Mine is cause I am an 'old fart' but my grandkids are all weighed in Kilo's these days | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonah  Well Mine is cause I am an 'old fart' but my grandkids are all weighed in Kilo's these days |
last few UFC fights Ive seen over in london they all weigh in as stone instead of LBs | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| well just think 1stone = 14lbs | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonah Well Mine is cause I am an 'old fart' but my grandkids are all weighed in Kilo's these days | wow you is dat old?  LOL ....I thought you was a young'en! | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie wow you is dat old? LOL ....I thought you was a young'en! |  I started young, I still cannot officially retire for a good few years yet! | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonah I started young, I still cannot officially retire for a good few years yet! | 
im there with ya @ starting young  | |
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February 25th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonah well just think 1stone = 14lbs |
got ya | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| I love my bristlenose, currently i have 4 albino, 110 commons (107 are very young) & 1 peppermint (soon to be 3)
I love the look of them and enjoy watching them go about their fishy business *L* | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| I too love to watch them grow  Some of them have a prehistoric look to them. Look at the breathing tubes on this P. scorphus (1) and the armor and fins.
Some of them only a mother could love LOL (2) Then they go and have babies and your hooked (3) Some are just downright pretty (4) ok those are some of the reasons I love plecos.
Carol | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Haha.. well its sort of the saying " they are so ugly, they're cute' kinda thing.
I always thought plecos were on the ugly side of cute til I brought home a BN. IMO it stayed ugly.. but it was the eyes of these guys that had me seeing them in a different light. They really do watch your movements and since they are so peaceful.. why not love them? If their bio load was not so large and messy I would try them again but it would be the more less common variety but unfortunately more expensive that I would try. The gold nugget, the royal, the Adonis, the Zebra.. all beautiful looking pleco's with great body patterns.
btw: Carol.. is that the albino pleco's in your last photo? wow.. they sure are gorgeous with those long fins. Beautiful!  | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by capekate btw: Carol.. is that the albino pleco's in your last photo? wow.. they sure are gorgeous with those long fins. Beautiful! | Those were 15 week old long fin albino bristlenose
Carol | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Butterfly Those were 15 week old long fin albino bristlenose
Carol | Hi Carol..
they really are adorable! Do they get as large as the common? | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| O... I just looked up a picture of the clown plec, they are cute! | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| No being bristlenose they only get 4-5 inches. Not a very good pic but here's mom to that batch of fry. she was very dainty looking, all fins Both parents were brown but carried the albino gene so fry were approx 3/4 brown/1/4 albino
Carol | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Butterfly No being bristlenose they only get 4-5 inches. Not a very good pic but here's mom to that batch of fry. she was very dainty looking, all fins Both parents were brown but carried the albino gene so fry were approx 3/4 brown/1/4 albino
Carol | That is interesting.. so that is basically how the albino gene is thrown in and not bred. Good mommy.... she gave you some very nice unusual pleco's!  | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Carol..I LOVE LOVE your baby Albino's...They are gorgeous..Good mama indeed. She is a dainty little thing..lol.. | |
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February 26th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| My king tiger was staring at me when I took this pic. They are still really shy but they are very fun to watch when they don't notice you. Since planting my tank yesterday, my peppermint(the one on the right) comes out all the time so far. he really likes having the extra plant cover. My clown pleco and spotted medusa are rarely ever seen. they are usually behind the HUGE wood pile sucking algae or chewin on wood.
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