How do you get veggies to sink?

i knew they got 2ft. ive actually seen some that big. you should have seen it when they tried to get one of those out of a tank and to someone else. it was hilarious. that thing was a monster, it about knocked the PEOPLE down.

but mine have never got that big, however. i got one that is 1in that i just bought for one tank, and won that is 3in in another. my brother has one thats like 8-10in. the biggest one i ever grown was about 10in but, my mother killed him (my whole tank actually) on accident. :(
 
Don't be embarrassed, many people own fish but don't have the first clue about proper fishkeeping.

It depends on the variety and how well you take care of them, but yes, many plecos get to be 12"-24" long if they survive to adulthood. In general, fish you see at the lfs are nearly always juveniles and WILL get bigger if you take proper care of them.

You should always do research on fish you want to put in your aquarium BEFORE you buy them. How big do they get? What will their temperament be like? How active are they? How big of a tank do they need? Any special dietary requirements? These are all really important things you need to know BEFORE you bring a fish into your home.

AquariaCentral has really good species profiles, or you can just do an internet search and find out that way, if you don't want to buy a decent (but expensive!) fish book/series like Baensch's Aquarium Atlas.

In fact, if I were you, I would start right now! What fish do you have in your tank? How big is your tank? What kind of filtration do you have? Is it planted?
 
heady,
i know your tryin to help, but it sounds like your lecturing, i hate lectures, i get enough at school. i do do research on MOST fish i get in my tanks. exceptions include the pleco (i knew it got huge, but i heard it took forever), barbs (there like the easiest fishes to take care of. if you kill one of them, stop taking care of fish), and cory cats(i had a couple for a while, but i feared for their life in a certain tank and gave them away). and yes, i have used this site for research many times, in fact i first came hear looking for information on a red devil, which i found, became satisfied and bought the fish. i have some books ( i dont like most of them) and i look in there first.

i have tons of fish! i have tropical, american cichlids, saltwater fish. ive had africans cichlids, and brakish fish. and actually, im doin research right now, trying to find another fish to put in one of my tanks to finish it off. but please, dont lecture me like im a newbie, because im not.:)
 
dbcb314 i gave you the benefit of the doubt before but you really should listen to what people are trying to tell you. it seems like you think you are above listening to advice and that will make you an irresponsible fishkeeper.

i can't decide whether you need to grow up or if you're just taking the micky
 
dbcb314, Don't worry, I won't "lecture" you any more. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll be responding to any of your posts from now on, since you're so much more of an expert than me. I mean, it never even crossed my mind to buy a fish and never feed it. :rolleyes:

Back on topic, jamesbenjamin, you can use:
1) Little bendy metal strips to make pieces of veggie sink to the bottom,
2) Plastic clips with suction cups to stick the food to the side of the tank, or
3) It can also be fun to let the veggies just float on the surface of the water.

Personally I am a little intrigued by Alison Reed's fork idea! Why pay money for extra equipment you don't need? :D
 
I would reccommend being cautious when using a rubberband and a rock to hold veggies down. i have seen several smaller plecos get the rubberband caught around their pectoral fins when the veggie was eaten away and the rubberband came loose. My lfs almost killed a chocolate zebra pleco this way.

i would imagine larger fish could impale themselves on a fork if they got spooked while eating.

IMO veggie clips are one of the best way to go and thats what i use to feed my plecos. even those all plastic closepins or clips for potato chip bags work well.
 
NJ Devils Fan
In response to an earlier responce I leave it in there for a little over 24hrs just when boilded it goes flying all over the place which ends up rotting behind rock and driftwood and clogs my filter tube.

BK
In response about the rubber bands. I though about that ant I use a flat rock not a round one and I put the rubberband extra tight to the point were a guppies would have a har time getting throuogh plus I have no really small fish my smallest fish is a 6-7" gibbiceps. I really need to measure that fish and my other pleco finn.

dbcb314
Ok not to chew you out or anything. These people are just giving suggestions for one. Also a fishes health should not be more important just do to price. There are two people when it comes to fish. Fish keepers and fish havers. Fish keepers will go to almost any length to keep there fish healthy if feeding them more is what it take then so be it. They wont hesitate to feed more even if there is only a 2% chance of them dieing as you mentioned earlier. As far as a fish keeper they just buy fish for the look and nothing really else. Yeah some will do research and stuff like that but it never really sinks in. Just because you have many fish doesnt make you an expert or make you experienced. Which you have proven in this thread. Not chewing you out ok. If I were going to chew you out it would look worse then a dog chewing a bone.

Oh also to the person useing a fork. Thats not to safe what if your fish stabs its eye or something. Also the one with a spoon why why do you use spoons. Nothing bad with spoons but I dont know you guys are wierd.

I let my cucumber float sometime and it is funny but I would recommend you doing this on a regular basis. You try eaten your food upside down your going to get one major head rush. Well Im done posting here.

Make Love Not War.

Kill Sadam and his sons shove a nuke in there butts. HEHEHE.
Peace.:cool:
 
aiight, im confused hear. what exactly am i not doin?
GER,
you say im not listening to advice, what exactly am i not listening too? someone told me plecos have a tendacy to starve without other food. i did listen, and i said that when the algae is gone (which it isnt even close to being gone on the rocks) i will give it other sources. in fact, because so many people said this, in one of my tanks, i have that leafy spinage stuff in there right now, because there isnt a lot of algae present. in another post about elephant noses, they said not to get anymore in a 50 gal. before then, i was planning on gettin another, but they changed my mined. tiger barb thing, well that was just stupid period. i probably shouldnt have done that, it was a spur of the moment thing. and i am a fish KEEPER, not a haver. i DO do research, i buy books, and i know as much as possible before i buy a fish. if i was a fish haver, i would have lost a lot more fish than i have.

Heady,
when did i ever say i am more of an expert than you? all i said was that im not a newbie. i know to do research. and ive NEVER NEVER let a fish starve to death. when did i say once that a pleco or any other fish died of starvation. IT HAS PLENTY TO EAT! ive said that for like the 3rd time now. if you dont ever want to reply, thats your choice.
 
AquariaCentral.com