Plec's

[thecodfather]

hi all i bought two plec's not sure which one's.
but one i still a nice black colour whilst the othe one has gone slighty white/grey in colour
is this illness or a female on the change or whatever you call it
yours confused

ceri

 

[Darkstar]

Without knowing what plecs you have or having a picture to look at, you're asking the impossible. It's like saying: I'm in a town, it has a Tescos in it...now tell me which town I'm in?

Put a picture up and we can more than likely tell you what plec you have and if it's ok or not...

 

[Robot_Rooster]

Golden Nugget Plec

[URL="http/northeastaquatics.co.uk/Database/images/goldypleco.jpg"]http/northeastaquatics.co.uk/Database/im.../goldypleco.jpg[/URL]

Zebra Plec

[URL="http/www.akvaryum.com/Forum/dosyalar/7581/20080513_152559_ZebraPleco.jpg"]http/www.akvaryum.com/Forum/dosyalar/758..._ZebraPleco.jpg[/URL]

Common Plec

[URL="http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/Common_Pleco.jpg"]http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquai...ommon_Pleco.jpg[/URL]

Clown Plec

[URL="http/www.aquanourriplus.com/boutique/images/clown_pleco.jpg"]http/www.aquanourriplus.com/boutique/ima...clown_pleco.jpg[/URL]

Bristlenose Plec

[URL="http/www.funfishtank.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/bristlenose-pleco.jpg"]http/www.funfishtank.com/wp-content/uplo...enose-pleco.jpg[/URL]

 

[thecodfather]

ok here goes well looking one sorry its not a great shot but they move a lot

and here is the ill looking one

thanks for looking

ceri

p.s. just had nitrate tested and they said it was about 60 and recomended a 50% water change!!!!

 

[Corleone]

60 is a bit high, but not terrible, and probably not even harmful by itself - what's your water change routine, though?

Nitrate is a minor issue in most cases - ammonia and nitrite are the ones to worry about. Weekly maintenance generally keeps nitrate well in check.

 

[rabbut]

That looks like one healthy and one strugling "common" plec to me. They will get to about 12-18 inches, with 14 being about "adverage". There are two types of "common" plec, L001 (I think, possibly L002) like what you have, the traditional Common plec, and one that looks more like a Gibesepse, L002 (I think, possibly L001) That is the modern "common" plec.

The "ill" looking plec has no obvious symptoms, other than looking off colour, so it is hard to tell what is upsetting it. Could be water quality, moving stress or even some bacterial/parasitic infection... Do a generous waterchange and monitor it over the next few days, along with the other fish

What size tank is it?
What were the numerical results for ammonia, nitrite and pH when you had the water tested?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[thecodfather]

ok i do a weekly water change of around 30% and also add tap safe to the water im adding

its 70 litre tank 15 gallon's

managed to get some plec food next to it and it sucked the life out of it,
have also put some cucumber in to see if it will take that,
when ever i drop the food in the other fish attack it (the flake not the plec)

ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 80ppm(thought it was 60)
pH7.6

any tips on feeding them i.e. night time with lights out?
any recomendations taken on board,
thanks in adavance
ceri

 

[data276]

if ti is a common plec the current tank size is a tad small, they get fairly large and require over 55 gallons. if you want plecs I would get 2 bristlenose plecos instead. they get much smaller and are easy to breed as well.

 

[thecodfather]

yeahi know the tank is smallish looking for a 3 ft
but then i know i will want a 4ft one
anyone selling one

 

[Corleone]

yeahi know the tank is smallish looking for a 3 ft
but then i know i will want a 4ft one
anyone selling one

You'll need at least a 4 footer for common plecs anyway - even a 55 really isn't enough, especially for two.

 

[rabbut]

Even if you are getting a bigger tank, you will need to re-home at least one. Common plecs will rip each-other to shreds as they mature IME

Personally, I would not consider them in anything less than 5ft, but the 4ft is an ABSOLUTE minimum for them. How would you like being shoved into a tank only twice as long as you and only as wide (If the plec gets to the upper limit of it's growth in a 3ft), as that will be how you are keeping it in anything less than 4ft

I would feed after lights out, anything veggy Don't forget to weight it such that it sinks

All the best
Rabbut

 

[thecodfather]

woke up this morning to find my plec had died,he had'nt regained his colour,did seem to be moving around a bit more after having a good munch on some cucumber i had put in there but the other plec's seems fine one is a baby about 2 inches long.
have taken on board all the comments,i know they will out grow the tank.which is why im looking for a bigger one,a 3ft tank will fit lovely in my alcove,but then i know i will want a 4 ft tank,as soon as its set up.have seen a nice couple of tanks some come with internal and some come with external filters.thinking to my self tank with external would look better and more room for the fish but did read a post in here on pump's and people's thoughts and experience's with them,and from what i can tell some people dont like them,awkward to prime after maintenace.how often would you have to clean them out.

ceri

 

[petertr]

All depends on what type of external filter you get. The overall opinion is that they are better than either internals or HOBs, but you're right - some of them aren't very good.

Im sure Rabbut will be along any minute to tell you which one to get

 

[raptorrex]

whatever volume tank you get, it will need to be a minimum of 14-18 inches wide. this is the most common length for a "common" to grow. they are also very filthy fish, and need both water volume and a good filter. if you get a wide 55 gallon tank, you will need a filter that turns round 275 gallons per hour, minimum!

 

[rabbut]

^^ agree with Boboboy above, you need serious filtration for a large messy plec. Fluvals are relatively hard work to use, but Eheim Pro 2's and Tetratec are easy. Eheim have proven reliability, and TT, the market newcommers, are more suited to a budget. Either one of them would be an excellent choice for a larger tank. Rena are a lot of faffing to get going, but good solid filters if you watch the main seal and keep spares about

IMO, anything over 50g cannot be ran practically on internal filters, you need exturnals after than

HTH
Rabbut