I Got My New Tank Mate Today (gn Pleco)

[brads]

Just been to one of my LFS's.....after the dissapointment of missing out on a Gold nugget pleco the other day at a price of £40 another of my locals (maiden head aquatics) has just got loads of them in which is rare for these patrs of the world at £22 each. They advised that it would need some bog wood, so i've just bought some and it's soaking in a bucket of water. They are going to keep one of the nuggets for me!!!!! I can't wait #
I've never had bog wood before in my tank just rocks so i'll need to do a little re arranging of my tamk before my new buddy's arrivel!!
How long does it take for the wood the soak...... TWO WEEKS? should I treat the water in the bucket with anything?

Cheers Brads

 

[SJ2K]

Can be done in a few days or weeks, depends on how big the wood is and how frequently you wash it/change the water. No you dont need to treat the water with anything, I just used hot tap water.

Good luck and enjoy the plec tis a good looking fish for sure!

 

[Straydum]

lucky you! there are damn hard to come by from where i live. do make sure to take good care of it

 

[madgap]

Mine isn't even two inches long. It's a lovely little fish. I'm glad you are prepared to give it a good start by giving it what it needs.
Change the water for your bogwood frequently, like two to three times a day with hot water. This may not be the advised way, but it sure worked for me.

 

[Darkstar]

You don't have to soak the bogwood at all if you don't want to.

 

[Aqua Andy]

I didn't soak the driftwood I've added to my tanks. It turned the water yellow with tannins, but the water was clear again after a few water changes.

I would recommend boiling any wood that isn't purchased dried from a LFS though.


Andy

 

[brads]

Right then......is my bog wood ready? It's been soaking for four days now, I've put hot tap water in the bucket threes time a day.
The wood won't float at all just hits the bottom every time I put it in the bucket. It's only 12" piece of BW.
Any advice on choosing which Gold nugget to bring home? I usally go for the fish with a full belly!!

Cheers Brads

 

[Darkstar]

Gn's can very hard to aclimatise. So your best best it to do as you are doing already, look for ones with a fat belly as you'll probbaly find most of them won't have. After that, good colouring, clear eyes etc and it should be hard to catch also.

 

[indigoj]

I was lucky enough to get my gold nugget from a guy on the pleco-fanatics forum, it it about 6-7 cm and was already used to soft acidic water.

He has settled in well (fingers crossed) and spends a lot of his time in the fake log pipe I have in my tank. He is a very shy amazingly quick fish, also pretty nocturnal.

They are absolutely stunning fish but as has been said, takeyour time with the acclimatization and leave the lights off for at least 24 hrs to let your new fish really settle. Good Luck!

 

[brads]

Well.......I've got my new tank mate......a three and half inch gold nugget pleco.......which my 5 year old daughter has proudley named Roddney or Rodders . At the moment it's hideing in the shipwreck at the bottom of the tank. I have bought some tetra variety wafers, but it has'nt touched them yet......early days?? Any advice on feeding? The plecos fins are up so it seems to be ok. Should get my hands wet and place the wafers just outside the ship wreck. My other fish get them before the pleco gets a look in! I'm going to buy some cucumber tomorrow and place it the tank in the evening as they are nocturnal fish. hopefully it will get something inside it tummy

Any advice wecome

 

[scouse_andy]

[You could try some other veggies to eat - a slice of melon on a skewer often goes down well or cucumber or courgette as you suggested.

Congratulations on your purchase. They are a lovely plec and definitely on my wanted list as soon as I get my 300 litre properly set up.

 

[smithrc]

plecs feed better at night - feed just after lights out - and if you can sit in the dark and watch