Dream Amazon Tank

[dylema]

I was daydreaming today about a huge tank with an Amazon theme, and making it a really good home for a couple of big plecos. I was thinking about a deep sand substrate with an river bank at one end and tree roots and lots of plants etc. If I had endless money and space It would be my dream tank I think.

I am wondering if anyone has something like this. A proper natural home for their plecos. I guess what I am trying to say is can I see some pictures of your nice big natural looking tanks and happy plecos?

Thanks.

 

[nmonks]

There are quite a few web pages with pictures of "the wild" as far as Amazon fish go, but one of particular value to you might be Catfish Blues, home page of Panaque researcher, Hirofumi Nonogaki. There are lots of nice shots of these catfish in the wild and in a suitable aquarium based on his research. The larger plecs apparently inhabit the less thickly planted parts of rivers, where sunken wood and rocks predominate. What seems to look good in that sort of tank is clever use of lighting, so that you get light and dark spots, and lots of shadows.

Something to consider is that big plecs are destructive to plants. My Panaque certainly eats them (oddly, the tougher the plant, the more she likes them). But most simply barge through them, snapping stems and breaking leaves. So in a tank where you want plants to do their best, I'd recommend considering only the smaller species, like Ottocinclus, Ancistrus, Peckoltia, etc. Whiptails are usually fairly good, too.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[dylema]

Thanks Neale,

There are some nice pictures there. I will have to spend a bit of time reading some of his research on the site. I have been learning a bit about the evolution of fishes (and other vertabrates) at uni at the moment so this is pretty interesting stuff for me.

 

[KathyM]

This is our aim with the new tank when we get it. It'll be as close to "natural" as possible. I'm a bit concerned over using sand after all the bad things I've heard about it needing stirring regularly etc, and knacking up external filters. But if I can get round that somehow I will *lol*.

On the plecs and plants theme - I haven't had a problem with ours other than a couple of snapped bits of cabomba, which I hate anyway. I think whether they actually *eat* plants depends on the species, but most don't.

 

[dylema]

Just reading a bit from the link Neale provided, it seems some species don't really use the substrate much but prefer to live more primarily on the bog wood.

The sand issue interests me too as I have seen and heard that anaerobic bacteria can produce toxic gases in deep sand, and if the sand gets stired up too much it can take a while to settle and this could cause problems with powerheads etc.

I look forward to seeing your tank when it is going.

 

[nmonks]

I wrote a piece on sand that was pinned for a while in the Beginners section. It seems to have bumped off somehow, but anyway, here's the link:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=131373

It answers most things about sand up front, and lots of people have added things to the discussion later on. Basically, sand is perfectly safe if used properly. I use it in all my tanks, and have for 10+ years. In a tank with plecs and no plants, just wood, the plecs will uproot all the required thin layer of sand on a regular basis, so there's no chance of anaerobic decay.

Cheers,

Neale

The sand issue interests me too as I have seen and heard that anaerobic bacteria can produce toxic gases in deep sand, and if the sand gets stired up too much it can take a while to settle and this could cause problems with powerheads etc.

 

[KathyM]

Thaks Neale - I'll have a read of that.

The problem I face is that our tank will be planted - it wouldn't suit the angels/tetras etc otherwise.

 

[nmonks]

Sounds like my tank. Sandy tanks are even better with plants (roots oxygenate the sand). The problem is the Panaque uprooting or eating the plants. It seems to ignore some (e.g. Cabomba); do minimal damage to others (e.g. Vallisneria); while uttterly destroying yet others (e.g. Amazon swords). A few plants get damaged if planted singly but do fine in thick clumps (e.g. Eleocharis). It's really a matter of experimenting and/or using things like bamboo canes to protect young or delicate plants.

Cheers,

Neale

The problem I face is that our tank will be planted - it wouldn't suit the angels/tetras etc otherwise.

 

[KathyM]

Thanks Neale - not had any problem with my plecs (Gibby and BN) eating plants - the only issue we've had is with floating cabomba every morning, but I suspect that's the angels.

We are hopefully going to add another plec to the tank at some point (maybe after upgrading, but maybe before). The suggestions put forward have been L128, L200 and L81. I think we're likely to go with L200 or L81, but would appreciate your thoughts re. these species and plants etc, if you have any advice?

Edited: Sorry I reread and you were talking about panaques specifically, not all plecs.