Some questions

[sgstvoy]

1. What's an undergravel filter?
2. Canister filters?
3. Is it ok to leave my plants in their (plastic) pots? They are ferns...
4. How often do I need to change the cotton filter thingy that you put inside mechnical filters? I do it everytime I do a full watch change, which is around every 2 weeks..

Thanks...

 

[The-Wolf]

1. What's an undergravel filter?
2. Canister filters?
3. Is it ok to leave my plants in their (plastic) pots? They are ferns...
4. How often do I need to change the cotton filter thingy that you put inside mechnical filters? I do it everytime I do a full watch change, which is around every 2 weeks..

Thanks...

1) a plastic tray with holes that sit under the gravel, making the gravel trap detrius and waste.

2) cannister filters are an external closed bucket the free up space in the tank, and are IMHO the best form of a filter.

3) yes

4) when doing a water change rinse the floss in tank water, only replace once it has started to deteriorate/braek up.

HTH

 

[sgstvoy]

What kind of filter would you reccomend for:

6 Neon Tetras
6 Fantail Guppies
2 Swordtail fishes
2 orange fishes that look like cichlids (and they like poking at the gravel too)
and a common pleco?

In a 12.gal tank?

I currently use a mechnical filter with no biowheel.

 

[houndour]

do you already have those fish? Or are they fish you are planning on getting.

I know nothing about plecs, but I'm certain they will grow too big for 12 gallon tank.

 

[sgstvoy]

Already have them. And that's why I'm sorta panicing, don't know what to do. LFS won't take my 2 plecos back..

 

[Torrean]

2 plecos. Man someone really needs to put a stop to this. Plecos will grow to 18-20 inches in a several years. My sister has a 8 inch common that is 2 1/2 years old. she keeps him in a ten gallon and is about to set up a 55 gallon for him. It seems like it is a common practice for LFS to listen very carefully to what size tank you have and what you want to do with it. Then they tell you to buy 2 Editi'm referring to my experience with rainbow sharks right here btw didn't want you to think i was talking about plecos) fish that need to be in groups of six (but should be kept alone) and grow to 6 inches a piece, and will kill each other if left in pairs. My theory is that they want to force you into

A.buying a bigger tank(caching)
B.bringing the fish back for store credit(caching)
C.all your fish die because no one told you what ammonia is and you come back and buy more(caching caching caching)

If anyone wants to elaborate on this it would make for an interesting thread.

Basically you have three options. You have 2 common plecos correct. You can either go buy a 55+gallon(probably a lot bigger for 2 commons) tank. or you can find a friend or aquantance with an extremely large tank and hope that they will take them off your hands. or CALL THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU and the SPCA and any other animal or businiss organization you can find in your area and tell them what your LFS did to make a buck. Or you could take the easy way out and go into your LFS and tell them that if they don't take back your pleco's you will call all these places, betcha they take em back (ask to talk to the manager)

I'm really sorry this happened to you but don't feel too bad it happened to me too. What your LFS did to your fish is cruelty to animals simple as that. Two 20 inch fish in a twelve gallon tank is simply inhumane. It should most certainly be illegal for an LFS to mislead a customer if it could lead to the death of a fish, and I can almost assure you that if you keep two commons in a 12 gallon they will die in a couple years, maybe sooner depending on how big they are now.

I am really not trying to hurt your feelings i'm just telling you what i was told when I came on here.


I'm really sorry this has happened (again), and it wasn't your fault you should be able to trust the people at the lfs. If the pleco's are very small and all the other fish are very small you may have some time to decide what you want to do but if you want to get the lfs to take them back then the sooner the better.


EDIT: I just noticed you have a question mark beside common pleco and in your first post you say you only have one but in your second post you say that you have 2. You should try to clarify as there is a big difference between pleco's

 

[sgstvoy]

I have 2 12.gal tanks.

 

[Torrean]

that's good news. I would recommend keeping each pleco in it's own 12 gallon with a couple other fish. You will still have to get a larger tank but you should be able to put it off for a couple of years. They grow quite slowly. like i said my sis has a 7-8 inch pleco in a ten gallon and she's had him for about 2 1/2 years. It is at this point that you will need to put them in a new much larger tank.

 

[rdd1952]

The only problem with leaving the ferns in their pot is that eventually, the packing stuff (I think it is some kind of foam/wool or something) will rot and deteriorate. It does save you from having to tie the ferns to rocks and stuff though and makes them easier to move and vacuum around if you don't mind seeing the pots.

 

[nc_nutcase]

I hate to beat on an already well sounded drum... but...

Has anyone ever raised a common plec from a couple inches to many inches all in a large aquarium? (no need to answer) I have and I've found that in a suitable environment plecos can grow much faster than their reputation leads us to believe. The reason they appear to grow slow is because 95% of the time they are housed improperly.

We (my girlfriend and I) bought 3 at the same time... one went in a 125 Gal, one in a 55 and one in a 26 (bowfront). They all started out at two inches about 6 months ago... the one in the 26 Gal died two weeks ago at about 3.5 inch, the one in the 55 is doing (apparently) well and is about 5 inch, and the one in the 125 Gal is 7 inches growing inch for inch with the Oscars.

I do not know or understand (or need to know) the medical details of what happens to a fish whose growth is stunted to know it isn't good for them.

To reiterate what Torrean said, don't feel bad as it isn't your fault. For many years common plecos have been sold to 'clean' (which they don't do a very good job in most cases) all sized aquariums. It is one of those historic mistakes the hobby has allowed to happen and in spite of the advanced knowledge and experience that is now available, still remains...