Hi, I just need some advice.

[mduros]

Hi Mariah,
What's your total count on fish? The thing with the bottom feeders is that they don't count in your calculation because they help clean your tank and produce very little in terms of waste. They do count in your size calculation though. The pleco may or may not be of concern at this point. My plecos have grown very little in the several months I have had them. I know that the pleco guy (sorry forgot your handle) has one that has grown a whopping inch a month for the past 16 months. This has not been my experience and mine are in a 55 gallon tank so they certainly have the space to spread their wings a little...

So, here's what I'd do. Talk to your fish shop, most will not only take the fish back and give you credit, but many will agree to take any fish off of your hands if they outgrow your set up. You may not get any money for them, or they may give you a little credit or something, but at least you know that if Pleco grows too big, he'll get a good home with someone else when the time comes.

I hope this helps.
Take care,
Mary.

 

[Roan Art]

P.S.- you said fish experience pain; I thought fish didn't have nerves?

What makes you think that fish don't have nerves and don't feel pain?

You're joking, right?

Roan

 

[budrecki]

Mary,

The thing with the bottom feeders is that they don't count in your calculation because they help clean your tank and produce very little in terms of waste. They do count in your size calculation though

Would someone please tell my pleco, loaches, and snail to stop pooping! It seems they didn't get the memo.

The pleco may or may not be of concern at this point. My plecos have grown very little in the several months I have had them. I know that the pleco guy (sorry forgot your handle) has one that has grown a whopping inch a month for the past 16 months. This has not been my experience and mine are in a 55 gallon tank so they certainly have the space to spread their wings a little...

A common pleco not growing.....Do you feed it? A lot? Every day? Most tanks don't have enough algae to fed more than a few otos, let alone a pleco. They need supplementation, every day.

 

[graphicdesign_r]

You said it before I did but I'll re-iterate.

If your pleco is not growing it is starving. That sounds like the case here.

 

[kyle3]

alright i know you've gotten a lot of advise this is what i would advise:

Read this about cycling http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3194 - when in doubt do a water change

set your 5 gallon back up with betta and put your oto in there and after your tank is cycled add 2 more otos

this will be a slightly overstocked tank but your inhabitants need company so if you do a 50% water change every week you can pull it off

in your 10 gallon put your 2 platys, 2 bleeding heart tetras, and your cory
once this tank is cycled add 3 more bleeding hearts and then wait- you're going to have a mini cycle again. once that is complete add 2 more corys

your pleco i bet is a bristlenosed ancistrus or a bulldog pleco these types will stay between 4-6 inches however if you want to keep him you could have him and 5 tetras that's it in the 10. and they have to have blanched veggetables- zuccini, potato, spinach, etc.-before you put veggies in the tank you microwave them for 30 seconds and let them cool. and they can be hard to feed sometimes they don't like learning to eat veggies and algea waffers- he's a more challenging fish for you to take on.

my last suggestion is that you put one or 2 java ferns in the tank w/ the oto's they need plants around and it will help keep your water oxygenated in that tiny tank.

hope it works out for you!

-Kyle

 

[mduros]

Mary,
Would someone please tell my pleco, loaches, and snail to stop pooping! It seems they didn't get the memo.

Hey Bud!
Sorry couldn't resist. I know they poop, etc., you syphon it out and from what I've read they add very little ammonia waste to the water and the cleaning benefits outweigh the waste produced so they kind of cancel themselves out. Waste wise, I don't think she needs to worry, size and space wise she does. As I said, in an earlier post, we may not all give the same advice, and who knows, I could be wrong. I'm relatively new to this whole thing again. I kept aquariums 20 - 25 years ago and just set one up again last year and am up to three now.

A common pleco not growing.....Do you feed it? A lot? Every day? Most tanks don't have enough algae to fed more than a few otos, let alone a pleco. They need supplementation, every day.

Mine are not common plecos. They are albino plecos. They are really a beautiful creature and what I have heard is that their fins get truly stunning once they grow larger. Yes, I definitely supplement, I give them algae wafers every night. I have several bottom feeders that I worry about, the two plecos, two yoyo loaches which have grown like crazy (who knew?), a horseface loach and two dwarf frogs. And yes, I feel I am maxed out on bottom feeders. I would not get anymore and would definitely tell someone like me not to get any more. I don't think we know what kind of pleco she has. I don't think she knows. She needs to find that out.
Take care,
Mary.

 

[budrecki]

the cleaning benefits outweigh the waste produced so they kind of cancel themselves out.

Mary, Maybe albino plecos are different, but most anyone who has had a common pleco, like my Rufus, will tell you this....


They do not "clean", they will eat algae only when they are little, they are lazy, they eat an enormous amount, they sleep, they poop, and they suck on the glass in the same place all day long!

(Sorry Rufus)

 

[mduros]

They do not "clean", they will eat algae only when they are little, they are lazy, they eat an enormous amount, they sleep, they poop, and they suck on the glass in the same place all day long!

Well, you learn something new everyday! Anyhow, I don't think anyone in my tanks is starving. Trust me, I feed the little guys a couple of times a day, flakes in the morning, and then at night I believe in variety, so I vary daily from flakes, to pellets, to frozen, and wafers which I throw in for the bottom feeders every night. But I need to follow my own advice. I don't know if my plecos are female albino bristlenose, which usually max out at 5 or 6 inches, or are albino sailfins which can grow to a couple of feet but will live happily but not grow without a big enough aquarium. Either way they really are pretty. I'll have to post pictures of them sometime.
Thanks again,
Mary.

 

[Soulcoffr]

P.S.- you said fish experience pain; I thought fish didn't have nerves?

All vertibrates have a nervous system and they all feel pain. Earthworms have nervous systems. Lobsters and jellyfish have nervous systems. In general, most things above single cell organisms have nervous systems and feel pain in some fashion or another.

Try to understand, most people here consider fish to be on par with cats and dogs. They're our pets and we don't want to see them suffer. No matter if they're mammalian or piscean in nature.

 

[Genral72]

Larissa- thank you soooo much!

Remember, General72- my aquarium is a 10-gallon, not a 5-gallon, and I'm going to get rid of most of my guppies. Otos should be with other otos? I didn't know that. Thank you. tetras- Are guppies or bleeding hearts considered tetras?

Guppies aren't tetras but I'm pretty sure bleeding hearts are.