FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / General Freshwater

A guide for purchasing plecos (and other loricariids)

plecodiscus — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:52:29 GMT

Well, i've decided to make a guide on plecos, because i think i've heard about too many common plecos being put in small tanks (though i have to admit, i am guilty of this myself, but i returned the fish to the store, i have learned from my mistake, and will never do it again)

This guide contains many species of loricariid (suckermouth catfish) that are commonly seen in pet stores.

So, let's start out with the loricariids that aren't really considered to be plecos.

Otocinclus- The smallest loricariid commonly seen in the hobby, the otocinclus is excellent for small aquariums. It can often be seen resting on top of broad plant leaves, which it will pick algae off of. It can reach a maximum size of 2", but is more commonly 1.5"-1.75". It will eat algae, fresh vegetables such as cucumber slices and luttuce leaves, and may eat algae wafers. It prefers to be kept in small groups, and requires a minimum tank size of 10 gallons.

Whiptail catfish- The whiptail catfish is an excellent algae eater and is very easy to care for. It is well siuted to the medium-sized aquarium, as it can reach a size of 6". There is a giant species of whiptail catfish that can reach 12", but it is less commonly encountered than the smaller species of whiptail catfish. The whiptail catfish will eat algae, algae wafers, and vegetables such as lettuce leaves or cucumber slices. It should be kept in an aquarium of no less than 20 gallons.

Twig catfish- The twig catfish (also called the farlowella catfish) is one of the stranger loricariids, because, as its name states, it looks very much like a twig. It has a long, slender snout. It is also one of the more reclusive loricariids, and requires hiding places. A piece of driftwood makes an excellent hiding place, as the twig catfish can hide under it or on it. Plants will also provide it with cover. There are several species of twig catfish, and they can vary in size from 6" to 9". A minimum tank size for the twig catfish would be 30 gallons. It will eat algae, algae wafers, and vegetables such as lettuce leaves and cucumber slices.

Royal whiptail- The royal whiptal is so called because of the male's tall dorsal fin. It can reach 8" to 12" in length, and can be bred rather easily. Eggs will be laid on a flat surface and the male will guard them until they hatch. The fry can be fed blanched spinach and will eat algae. Hiding places such as plants, rocks, and driftwood are appreciated. The royal whiptail will eat algae, algae wafers, and vegetables such as lettuce leaves or cucumber slices.

Now, on to the plecos.

Common pleco- The common pleco is, as its name says, one of the most common plecos seen in stores. It is often placed aquariums that are too small for it. It grows to a size of approximmately 12", and produces copious amounts of waste. For these reasons, it is best to house it in an aquarium of 75 gallons or more. It is peaceful, and even though it is large it will not harm its tankmates. It will eat almost any foods placed in its aquarium, including algae, flakes, sinking pellets, algae wafers, vegetables, such as lettuce leaves and cucumber slices, and other leftover foods. It is best to keep the common pleco without any other algae eating fish , due to the large amounts of waste it produces, as well as its large appetite and size.

Sailfin pleco- Also called the gibbiceps pleco or spotted columbian pleco, the sailfin pleco is another very large pleco that is commonly seen in stores. Like the common pleco, it is often placed in aquariums that are much too small for it. The sailfin pleco can reach a maximum size of 2', but it is more likely to reach a size of about 18". Like the common pleco, it creates very large amounts of waste. It should be lept in an aquarium no smaller than 125 gallons and should not be kept with any other algae eating fish due to its large appetite and size.

Royal pleco- Also called the royal Panaque, this pleco is one of the largest and most beautiful plecos kept in aquaria. The royal pleco requires driftwood in its aquarium, because drifwood is a necessary part of its diet. The driftwood also makes an excellent hiding place for this pleco. The royal pleco can be distinguished from other plecos by the light brown or dark gold stripes running down its side. It can reach a maximum size of almost 2', but this is extremely rare. In aquaria, it is more likely to reach a maximum size of betwen 12" and 15". Because of its large size and the copious amounts of waste it produces, it should be kept in an aquarium of no less than 90 gallons. The royal pleco must have driftwood to eat, and it will also eat algae, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, and vegetables such as lettuce leaves or cucumber slices.

Tooth nose pleco- Also called the vampire or galaxy pleco, the tooth nose pleco makes a good addition to any aquarium. It has attractive white spots on a solid-black body,and is peaceful towards other fish, as long as they are not plecos. The tooth nose pleco will grow to 8" or 9", and should be housed in an aquarium of no less than 50 gallons. It will eat algae, sinking carnivore pellets, and freeze-dried and frozen blood worms.

Green phantom pleco- The green phantom pleco, also called the lemon pleco or lemon-lime pleco, is one of the more interesting plecos. It is entirely green or yellow-green, with lighter colored spots on and near its head. It has a blue-green variant, but care for both is the same. They reach 7" to 8", and appreciates medium-sized, rounded boulders in its aquarium. Driftwood and plants can be used for cover as well. It has a varied diet, and will eat algae, algae wafers, and some meaty foods. Green foods should make up the majority of the diet.

Gold nugget pleco- There are many species of "gold nugget pleco", but they all grow to roughly the same size and have the same care requirements. Gold nugget plecos Are black with bright yellow spots covering them. Some species have countless very small spots, while others have less spots, but the spots are larger. Gold nuggets are poor shippers, and for this reason hey are hard to take care of in aquaria. They can attain a maximum size of 6" to 8", and should be kept in aquatiums of no less than 40 gallons. They should have some driftwood in their aquarium to munch on, as driftwood makes up part of their natural diet. Other than driftwood, they will eat algae, sinking carnivore pellets, and leftover food that they find on the substrate.

Bristlenose pleco- Also called the bushynose pleco, the bristlenose pleco is one of the less demanding plecos. It must have driftwood in its aquarium, as driftwood makes up part of its natural diet. Males can be distinguished from females,by looking at the haed. Males will have large bushy tentacles on their faces, and females will not. Breeding has taken place in aquaria, and the male and female will spawn in a cave. There are many species of bristlenose pleco, but they all reach maximum sizes between 4" and 5". The bristlenose pleco should be housed in a 30 gallon aquarium or larger. Besides driftwood, it will eat algae, sinking carnivore pellets, freeze dried bloodworms, and leftover food that it finds on the substrate.

Tiger pleco & King tiger pleco- The tiger pleco and king tiger plec are different fish, but have been grouped together because they grow to similar sizes, have similar names, and have similar care requirements. Both fish appreciate driftwood and plants to use as cover, and they may eat driftwood. The tiger pleco grows to 5", and the king tiger pleco grows to 5.5". Besides driftwood, both fish will eat algae and freeze dried bloodworms. the king tiger pleco will also eat tubifex. Both the tiger pleco and the king tiger pleco should be kept in an aquarium of no less than 30 gallons.

Clown pleco- The clown pleco is one of the smallest true plecos kept in aquaria. It feeds on driftwood, and must have some driftwood in its aquarium. It grows to 4", and should be kept in an aquarium of at least 20 gallons. Besides driftwood, it will eat algae, sinking carnivore pellets, algae wafers, and vegetables such as lettuce leaves and cucumber slices.

I hope you liked this guide and that it helped you decide which pleco you are going to buy--if you were going to buy one in the first place.

MOA-you can use this in your book if you want.

Mollys with male guppys

SKeith — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:43:14 GMT

My male guppys keep, not really harassing, but closely following my gold or yellow colored mollys. They leave the other colored mollys alone but just harass my gold and yellow one. Do they think they are food? I don't think that they are picking at the mollys but the mollys are always trying to get away from them. Do I need to separate them?

Feeding a bristlenose pleco

plecodiscus — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 04:38:44 GMT

I just bought a bristlenose pleco, and he (i think its a he) seems happy, but i haven't seen him eat one of the algae wafers i feed him, and i'm afraid he's going to starve to death. I haven't seen him eat flakes or shrimp pellets that i feed my fish either. What can i feed him that i know he will eat, even if i don't see him eating it?

I think part of the problem is that he's 1.5" in my 38gallon tank, so maybe he just can't find the algae wafer, since i put in 1 each night... but he should still be able to find leftover flakes.

55 gallon tank ???

aquamaniac — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:35:49 GMT

can a 55 gallon tank thats middle support is broken still hold water. If not is there any way to make a middle support?

Black Tetra vs. Tiger Barb

debbie02civiclx — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 21:34:22 GMT

My 3 Black Tetra's ganged up on my Tiger Barb. They have managed to eat/rip one of his fins. I noticed it tonight when I took a flashlight to my tank and realized he's missing a fin.. Is there anything I can do for him? Or is he on his own?

And for the record, his other Tiger Barbs friends died a few weeks ago, he got new ones today).

Fish stocking

ozo — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:26:49 GMT

I am still deciding on my my fish stocking and I have run into a questions.

Do kuhlii loaches hide all day and would they eat a shrimp or small snail?
What is a species of shrimp that will bottom feed or should i get an algae eating shrimp because a bottom feeder does not really clean, right? Would shrimp enjoy greens too? What is a good number of shrimp for the amount you recommend?(I do not have any fish in the 29 gallon tank yet so the number does not matter) Would german gold ram live in peace with a number of shrimp? I had a flower shrimp at one time but it died from what seemed like no reason. I was feeding it algae wafer too. I think it is that my PH in my 10 gallon tank was to high. Can you have to different species of shrimp in one tank? Is there anything I could up in my tank to make them happier?

I want to have one snail and shrimp so I might be able to have kuhlii loaches.

Red Balloon Mollies

SKeith — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:06:04 GMT

How do you tell the difference between male and females? And how can you tell if they are pregnant - they always look big and pregnant to me.

Algae?

aust10n — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:26:29 GMT

I have finished the cycling process of my new tank. I completed it about 3 weeks ago.
I have yet to add fish to my tank.
Yesterday I did a 10% water change for the first time in months due to the fish less cycle.
Well I noticed all of this white junk begin to float around. After about a hour it settled. It looked like tiny pieces of toilet paper and when I pulled a piece out it fell apart like toilet paper. But, it isn't toilet paper. Today I looked in my tank, my recently added drift wood has this stuff caked on it in various spots.
What should I do?
Should I just purchase several algae eaters and let them work?

Online Fish and Plants

jasminehill — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:40:15 GMT

Anyone have any suggestions considering.......value, quality, speed of delivery, guarantee of product?

When tank is all ready to go I was going to order the remaining fish and all my plants online as there is a better selection so does anyone have any suggestions on which ones? Thx

Nitrates

smelsfyshy — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 09:57:00 GMT

My nitrates were always at 10 I did a wc on 12 / 31 and today they jumped to 40..Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0 and ph 7.6 Should I do a wc or check again in a day or 2? I know it is best to keep below 20...
28g.
6 black fin tetra's
6 neon tetra's
5 zebra danio's
4 cory cat's

My son's fish stays at bottom of the aquarium??! What to do?

kozayagi — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:20:10 GMT

My son's fantail seems to be swimming funny and keeps sinking to the bottom of the tank. He comes up to eat but as soon as he stops swimming he sinks.

A few days ago, he was floating up and swimming upside down. Now he's at the bottom and breathing rapidly. We tried feeding him pea "meat" but he doesn't seem to want to eat it.

We did a PWC. No change.

He's in a 10 gallon tank for now. He's small (maybe 1.5" or a bit more). We've had him for 5 months now.

What should I do? I'm suspecting its swim bladder, but what now? My son is just 7 and I'm really new at this fish keeping thing.

Thanks for your help.

Kozayagi :)

Problem Algae

Bob Y — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 11:14:47 GMT

Hey peoples! When I first started out I had a major algae bloom and I got some green algae on the glass that's still there, especially the back. I can get off any brown/purple algae the appears no problem but my glass cleaner(I have a Mag-Float) isn't strong enough to take the green algae off. What can I do?

My 10 gallon

Northern_Wind — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:46:28 GMT

Hello!
I couldn’t quite find my old thread… so I am starting a new one! And anyways, my last one was about setting up the tank, not showing it. Should I put it in here, or the photographer’s section? :P

Well, I haven’t updated my tank in such a long time!
A lot of stuff has happened.
First off, I got some shrimp! :D
They are Amano shrimp, and do a great job cleaning up all the flakes that fall down to the bottom. I was very surprised when I put them into the tank; Aqua just poked at them, but didn’t nip, for a while, then ignored them! They are silly creatures. If there is any Algae on the plants, they clean it up in a hurry! Also, they love to be in a group. I have 5 of them. Unfortunately, they can’t breed in the water, the babies need salt, so I am not going to have a growing population. Pictures!

And… I got some more fish.
I got some Neon Tetras.
I know that some people may not agree with my decision here, but I have researched before hand, and so far, nothing has happened to Aqua. When I put them in he just kind of nosed a few of them for a while, and then ignored them! And the Neon’s are scared of him. They don’t nip him at all. They started out in a school, but right now they are trying to establish a pecking order. They chase each other around, but don’t nip each other’s fins. I have a total of 6 of these little guys. Onto pictures!

And a picture of Aqua, making a bubble nest!

Onto the tank!
I haven’t changed much of the lighting, nor have I added CO2, but the plants that I have seem to be flourishing, just not growing as fast if I added CO2. I also haven’t really added any fertilizer, and I think that I will only if I see any deficiencies on the plants.
And I got ALOT more plants. It looks like a jungle in the tank! I really like it, and Aqua loves exploring.
Here is the plant list:
• 8 Green Hygro Stems
• 3 Petite Tropical Vals
• 1 Hornwort Bunch
• 1 Anubias Barteri
• 1 Anubias Barteri Nana
• 5 Various Crypts
• 1 Java fern (not including babies)

I also got 3 pieces of driftwood. I forget what kind it is though. It looks really nice. I boiled and scrubbed them so many times, and then soaked it. I don’t really care if my water turns a tea colour because of the tannins. It may look nice! It sunk as soon as I put it in.
So… finally, here is the tank!

The fish are all exploring the tank, so they aren’t shown. Except one neon. :P

So, that is my tank! What do you guys think? Personally, I LOVE it! :D

Peacock eel?

plecodiscus — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:46:48 GMT

i have a 38g fw aquarium, and am thinking about getting a peacock eel. the fish in the tank are as listed in my sig. the only difference is that i may buy a bristlenose pleco when i go to buy the peacock eel, which will probably be tomorrow. I'd just like to know the basics on them, so,

can i feed it freeze dried bloodworms?

driftwood is a suitable item for it to bury under right?

any other care instrustions i should know about?

geting crap off sand

froglover — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:05:23 GMT

i have a 52 bowfront with a sand bottom i hate stuff on the sand i got the big things up like small cunks of wood by shifting it with a ned but i can't get the crap out it goes thru the net to and i cant use a python it cant make it to the sink and it sucks up the sand i hate the crap plez help

The Crescent Betta

FastFoward5k — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:11:51 GMT

I'm very interested in betta fish and I would like to expand my betta "collection". :D

1. Will a crescent betta (Betta imbellis) do well in a 5.5 gallon tank with a Singapore flower shrimp (Atyopsis moluccensis)?
2. Will a filter for tanks up to 10 gallons be too strong for them?
3. Does bamboo need to grow out of the water (would I need no lid?)?
4. Do crescent bettas eat the same Hikari betta pellets that Betta splendens eat?
5. Are algae wafers, leftover food, algae, and excess organic material good foods for a flower shrimp?
6. Does bamboo need bright lights or specific care?
7. Could I put any other Oriental fish in there?

How did you cycle your new tank?

lil.guppy — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:43:53 GMT

I have always been curious as to how others have cycles their tanks. Maybe this will also help on-lookers in the annoying process.

I am a true believer in the fish cycle process. Yes I know I am a cruel evil fish owner!

This would be my daily activity for cycling my tank.
Since I have moved 8 times since 2002 I have had ALOT of time to cycle a 55 gallon tank and a 10 gallon tank. :w00t:
My 10 gallon always cycles faster then the 55. In my 55 I would put 2 fish that I intend on keeping. I never knew how much water I was taking out daily, but I measured it. For a 55 g long my water level went down about 5-6 inches. During this taking of the water out I would siphon the SURFACE of the substrate. I would NEVER dig into the substrate. Taking just the surface would help ease the ammonia heavyness along the bottom since that is where it likes to lurk. (bad for bottom dwellers) I would not even consider checking the ph and nitrites until at least 7 days went by of doing these water changes. Usually the 55 took about 2-3 weeks.
The ten gallon I did the same thing but with only 1 fish and usually a small one like a guppy or something.

One more thing to add. I only fed my fish every other day during this process. I also did not touch my filtration and left it alone. Water temp was at 80*
I have tried something different the last two times I have cycles. I went and bought a bottle of that New Tank starter stuff. I have not seen any improvement or faster results in cycling the tank. In my opinion I sometimes feel its making the tank cycle process take longer. Dont bother with it!

Share your cycle stories!:w00t:

4 new fish

hoppy — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 09:36:55 GMT

i bought one serpae tetra yesterday and i also bought 2 opaline gourami and one blue paradise gourami i was wanting to know if these are good fish for my aquarium and what are some more fish that could add soe color to my tank:D

jds with rays

froglover — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:34:38 GMT

i'm buliding a 220 gallon aquarum 6' by 30" by 24" and i was wondering if i can put jds with rays?

New tank

austin123 — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:47:14 GMT

My family and I went to my uncles house to give presents to each other and I got a $15 gift card to Petsmart and a 5 gallon tank from my uncle. The only thing it's missing is a heater. I was thinking maybe a betta fish. What fish could go with the betta?

Question About Culling Information

math-only aquarium — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:27:58 GMT

Hi,

With regard to my book I have hit a small snag: you guys know too much! Specifically, I am working on water chemistry right now and you guys have given me wonderful posts on the subject. Furthermore, I did some digging around and found many other terrific posts on the subject. Now I have a difficult decision to make: Do I go for accuracy and include all the data or do I tailor the book only to the beginner?

This is why I need your help. You see, everyone gave slightly different definitons of things, none truly wrong, and most knowedgable aquarists will be able to realize such. New aquarists, though, will probably be confused by all the jargon. At the same time, these are really wonderful tidbits that many people put so much time into. What's more, if I synthesize all the data, then individual authorship may be lost, and that is something I definitely do not want to do. I am open to ideas guys and gals. What do you suggest?

MOA

Introduction

Joangrannyf — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:40:30 GMT

Hello to All....I have a 75 gallon tank with a very large Bali Shark; 2 gourami; 2 angel fish; 3 swordfish; 1 molly; 2 tetra;1 groupie; 1 Danio; 2 Rasbora Hets; 1 Bowtia; 1 plecosotomous; 1 miniature plecosomous; 1 Norman Headstander; 2 Jap. algae eater; 4 cory cats; 1 large male Blue Lobster; 3 of his babies; and 2 very new Blue Lobster babies that are no more than an inch in size!!!!

I also have a Cecealan Worm....never see him tho...he lives inside this large log!!! I know he is alive tho...as he put off that film they put off every once in awhile.

I have one mystery question....at night, when fast asleep...something is eating my small fish....do you think it is the lobster or the Cecealan worm?????????? The Danio, groupies; rasbora hecs disappear at a rate of one a week or less.

I know I have misspelled some of the fish names..hope you still know which ones I have!!!!!

Got New fish for my 125

jasminehill — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:30:30 GMT

Well I started on my 125 :D the sand is in and rinsed for the most part it still could have been rinsed once more but I got a little lazy and figured once I got the filters running it would take care of the rest. I cant believe how clear the water is tho :) I even got a few plants but put them in the nursery for the timebeing but now Im seeing that they look so nice in there I may just leave them in there and get more for the big tank.
I also got 2 of the 6 clown loaches that I am going to have and I have them in another tank for now ( thats all they had at my mom and pops store) then today I went to a diff lfs about 20 min away and they had this peacock eel that was sooooooo adorable and kept swimming up to me and.........well......... and I was thinking well what the heck Ill have this big tank why not another eel? Right? Besides I love them sooooo much he even took live blackworms from the baster right off the bat too :) and also at the same place they were in the process of remodeling so they had a few used tanks , they had a 20long for $12 course I dont need it but I got to thinking with guppies and livebearers I could always use a grow out or even a bigger quarantine tank.........I always have extra filters heaters laying around so everything would be taken care of besides it was a steal!!!!.................But the best news for last was..........tomorrow I go pick them up but today I got 2 baby whale fish they are soooooooooooooo adorable and of course I will post pics too but they look just like beluga whales only the darker grey. I asked him to hold them for me til tomorrow so I could move things around for them but those too will go into the new tank as well.

Any other ideas from any of you of what else I could put in there? Please feel free :D

Small snail infestation

Jdaddie — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 10:05:32 GMT

I have a 40 gallon hexagon planted and 30 long artificial aquarium with a small snail infestation. the 30 long im not extremely worried about because the lack of vegetation has kept the population down but the 40 hexagon has gotten completely out of hand. Im trying to figure out some different ways of getting the balance of my aquarium back naturally, animals that will eat the snails. At this point im not extremely worried about the plants because the snails have destroyed most of the plants with the exception of a few they will not touch. I have heard the apple snails (mystery snails) will eat the babies and clown loaches will also eat snails. One other thing i am considering is a blue lobster(crayfish). I know i cant mix the crayfish and clown loaches because they are both bottom dwellers and the crayfish will eat the loaches. What im wondering is if the crayfish will eat the other tank mates.

40 Hexagon
1 approx 5 in golden angelfish
2 7 in cory cats
1 7 in pleco

What would be my best route, i dont mind having the small snails as long as the population is kept in order. My tank is set up to be a balanced aquarium, and i have another 30 long that i will be setting up later that i can always put my other fish in if i go with the blue crayfish

Help me identify a fish in the setup profile

Fish Diary — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:28:07 GMT

I just voted for a fish #3090 in the setups. Can someone tell me for sure if it's an ahli or s. Fryeri? I want a fish with that coloring. The ahli's I see are generally faded. I want one that retains a lot of blue most of the time. I haven't found a supplier that can get me a s. Fryeri (only the iceburg version). Any advice here? Thanks.

New Fish?

Bob Y — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:57:32 GMT

Hey peoples! I'm getting new fish and I'm having trouble figuring out what to get. I want to try something new. I have a 29g tank, not planted(yet), with a three-spot gourami, a flying fox, 4 silver-tip tetras, and 4black skirt tetras. I planning on getting a few more of each tetras and a couple angelfish. Would there be room for any more fish? If so, what kind? I don't want anything too hard too keep. My temperature is at about 80 and I do about 50% water changes every week(with gravel cleaning). Right now I only feed my fish flake food and algae discs for the flying fox. I'm thinking about getting frozen foods, but I'm not sure what kind. Any suggestions? Thanks!

MOA-late book submission

plecodiscus — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:56:39 GMT

Um, sorry MOA, between the holidays, bbeing on the swim team, and studying for exams, i haven't had much time to work on my part of your book, or at least the info i would submit. Once things calm down (i'm afraid that will be in a few months), i will be able to continue working on it.

Bettaa in a Bowl

Fish Diary — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:16:02 GMT

I've been on the fish channel for a while now and over and over I see posts about how bettas should be in heated tanks, etc. I'm not saying I think they should be in a bowl by a window... But can someone tell me WHY it's such a sin?

I should mention my nephews classroom had a betta in a bowl that they had for 3 years... Until it was their turn to care for it over the weekend and my sissy accidently dupped him down the kitchen sink while changing the water... She was deservingly horrified.

I tried keeping females in my 65 gallon tank and they attacked each other. After that I learned you are supposed to add them all at once, not stagger them. I want to try again but I don't want any fish hurt. Anyone have experience with this? Anyone successfully keep a male in a community tank?

General FYI: Carbon Dioxide Concentration

math-only aquarium — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:56:12 GMT

Hello,

While doing research for my book I stumbled upon this relation:

CO2 Concentration (Relative) = 4577819.42*(0.0999693362)^(pH)*(Degrees Fahrenheit)^(-0.5617024177)*(Alkalinity)

This formula is not entirely precise, but it does have a 5-15% convergence in most cases.

Also, as alkalinity in the home aquarium should be relatively consistent, here is a graph depicting carbon dioxide levels relative to a pH of 7.6, temperature of 78 (F), and alkalinity of around 100ppm (I know it is a different unit than most of us prefer to measure alkalinity in):

As you can see, CO2 levels do vary by temperature in that colder water tends to have a higher CO2 concentration (colder water actually has a higher concentration of all gases). However, the most significant variance is with regard to pH. At low pH values, CO2 concentration can skyrocket to 60 times the accepted value (pH 7.6, temperature 78). Since this graph only uses relative concentrations, the numbers do appear to be quite large despite that the scientific values are not so impressive. At the standard condition, the relative value equates to just 5 ppm CO2, which is not very high (all things considered).

The net result of this discussion is that a low pH can have very detrimental effects in a freshwater aquarium without live plants and/or significant surface agitation. This is also one of the best arguements against adjusting a naturally high pH (7.5-8.2)--a high pH can actually help most freshwater fish by decreasing CO2 levels. No less, fish that cannot adapt to a high pH should not be forced to live in a high pH environment.

Source: http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/2818608-464fs.pdf?CFID=2818608&CFTOKEN=872658670151badf-3B31D1A9-7E93-35CB-8084AA1127022FE5&jsessionid=8e3096b90a5e493b3674

MOA

Keeping Fish: pH

math-only aquarium — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:44:02 GMT

Another question for the book,

What is pH and how does it affect fish?

MOA

When it rains it poors...:D

Conner — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:32:26 GMT

Well, in addition to my gourami's seeming to get into the mood, BOTH pairs of angelfish spawned today! I watched the pair in the 20H laying the eggs earlier, but didn't think to take a video or pics for you guys. I didn't even realize the second pair had spawned in the 125g until I was feeding tonight and happened to see the eggs. Looks like both spawns are fertilized, but I'm sure the ones in the tank won't last very long...

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should leave both angels in the 20H, remove just the male, or remove both the parents and try to raise the fry myself. Any suggestions?

Changing filter cartridge

ozo — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:05:06 GMT

I was wondering how after should you change a filter cartridge? Every 2 week right?

tankmates

hoppy — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:54:27 GMT

How can I find out what tankmates are good for my fish?

community tank

hoppy — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:46:57 GMT

I am thinking about setting up a new community tank with mollies platies some gouramis and a couple of different tetra and maybe some tiger barbs. I was wanting to know if these fish would go good together.

Christmas present FOR fish

yellowtang — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:06:12 GMT

I don't buy my fish presents but do you?

Filtering

cdell — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:16:33 GMT

I moved this from the post of changing filters because I felt it would serve best as a stand-alone posting for responses.

I would assume that when the filter is putting particles into the water, it is time to clean or replace them?

I seem to have that problem about every two weeks, is my cichlid tank. there is these little particles that are coming from the filter return.

Now, could this be another problem that i need to attend to?

I checked my readings: ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate=20

I have recently put some crushed coral on the gravel, but that was a week ago. Maybe it is from them stirring it up, but it shouldn't be coming out of the filter rather be filtered right?

the particles appear to be grayish/whitish

Keeping Fish: Hardness and Alkalinity

math-only aquarium — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:32:52 GMT

Hello,

I have a question for all of you:

What is water hardness and alkalinity? How do these things affect fish? Water are safe methods of adjusting hardness or alkalinity?

Responses may be used in my book. Thanks guys.

MOA

Responsible Fishkeeping Initiative (RFI)

David Lass — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:38:22 GMT

For the past six months or so I have been working, with the support of BowTie (FishChannel.com, Aquarium Fish International, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, and Pet Product News International), Blue Zoo Radio, and some other industry folks (NexPet, SERA, and Hi-Q), at creating the Responsible Fishkeeping Initiative (RFI) . We in the hobby and the industry have to acknowledge that there are some fish that are really not appropriate for all but a very few dedicated hobbyists.

The RFI is very simple -- red tail cats, pacu piranhas and iridescent sharks (the "Big Three") all get much too large for any ordinary hobbyist to take care of, and they make up 90% of the fish that stores and public aquariums have offered to them as "donations". When the hobbyist with the 2' long red tail cat finds that the local fish store and nearest public aquarium don't want the fish, they often just release the fish into local waters. Not only is this illegal -- and stupid -- but it is only a matter of time before some politican's mother goes to wade in her favorite local lake, and she finds a huge alien-looking fish, dead, washed up on the shore. She calls her son, and her son initiates a bill to make it illegal to keep any fish that is not native to that state. HR6311 is in the Federal legislative process, and if passed this bill would essentially put the aquarium hobby and industry out of business. California already has a law that bans a fair number of aquarium fish. And I bet you didn't know that it is illegal to sell neon tetras in Massaschusetts? Yep. The law says that it is illegal to keep, buy or sell "piranhas and their relatives", and both piranhas and neon tetras are in the same family, Characidae, which makes neons, technically, illegal.

Stores can join the RFI by taking "the pledge" that they will 1) not sell those three fish, and 2) that if a hobbyist has a fish that they can no longer keep, they can bring it into the store, and that the store will try to rehome the fish, and if that is not possible, they will humanely euthanize the fish and dispose of it.

Those of you who are successfully keeping any of the "Big Three" fishes, or any other huge fish in a sufficiently large volume of water -- my hat is off to you. I hope that everyone will support the RFI -- to learn more about it, and to sign up all you have to do is to go to:
www.fishchannel.com/rfi
We have RFI posters for local fish stores, and bumper stickers for hobbyists.
Thanks.
David Lass

New 12 Gallon

Spotty001 — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:35:25 GMT

I'm getting an Eclipse System 12 for Christmas, because my 10 gallon in my room is leaking all over the nice, finished wood cabinet in my room (some of it probably got to the carpet too....) I'm trying to strategize how to transfer all of the stuff in the 10 gal to the 12 gal. Should I buy all new gravel, or keep the old gravel and wash it thoroughly? There's a lot of it, and I don't want to stir up too much gunk and crud from the gravel bed......help?

Walmart

Fish Diary — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:22:15 GMT

Last week someone posted a website (you Tube) showing poor fish care at Walmart. I went to the site and was not surprised. Although I still can't figure out why the bettas had no water. The poster also said Walmart does not sell painted fish as an across the board policy... Not true, they sell painted fish at their Walmart in Falmouth, MA. However, they also had glo fish for $5. instead of the usual $8. in this area. Once I was there and the lady said that whenever she puts fish in any of the tanks on the right side of the display they all DIE! Hence, she was leaving those tanks empty waiting for someone to come and check out the problem. The next time I went in one tank of striped tetra's had the worst case of Ich you can imagine. Clearly they have no tank "in the back" to hide their sick fish! The last time I went to Walmart all the tanks were empty. Maybe they will get their act together. The prices are good there, the service stinks, and I would quarantine anything from there.