Fish

[Ahmotorsport]

Try a chunk of courgette, perhaps half an inch long. My plecs go crazy for it, it's what they're sat on here;

 

http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g407/Caled10/Fish/DSCF4622.jpg

 

They'll go through a block 2" long in a day or so.

Wash it under the tap, weigh it down with some lead plant weight and drop it in. Might take it a day or so (or probably a night) to figure out that its actually edible. They're not the brightest. Problem is, of course, you only have a diddy tank and so you can pollute it that much easier. If it's not interested after a couple of days, you'll have to take it back out and try with a new piece. And keep up with the syphoning - it'll make a LOT of poo.

Brilliant, i'll get some down the shop today. Yeah that is problematic. Thanks again.

[Ahmotorsport]

courgette failed. Trying Carrot now. I'm sure i've read somewhere that Bristlenoses tend to be more interested in algae at a young age, is this true?

[lee grout]

Cucumbers also a good option If you have brown algea then the plec WILL eat it fact. My old plecs have always helped keep brown algea down to minimal, if anything. If its green algea then it could be due to over-feeding. Also too much light. If its next to a window then algea will grow like theres no tomorrow. Better off in a corner not in direct sunlight. I know someone will but please dont go on about plecs not eating brown algea. They do, so leave it. there's always one person who wants to argue LOL Hope your fish are keeping well mate.

[Ahmotorsport]

Cucumbers also a good option If you have brown algea then the plec WILL eat it fact. My old plecs have always helped keep brown algea down to minimal, if anything. If its green algea then it could be due to over-feeding. Also too much light. If its next to a window then algea will grow like theres no tomorrow. Better off in a corner not in direct sunlight. I know someone will but please dont go on about plecs not eating brown algea. They do, so leave it. there's always one person who wants to argue LOL Hope your fish are keeping well mate.

I have seen cucumber, that's my next option. Yes the bristlenose seems to be bit shy and sits on the plants leaves most of the day, so i drop it all in the corner behind the plant but so far, the plant is better.

[lee grout]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

[Ahmotorsport]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

Haha, oh and yes, all fish are fine thanks for asking. Exactly what fish do you have and what sized tank? I'm looking to get a large tank of my own, possibly a 150L or more, only trouble is i think we'll be moving house in a few months, would it be best to wait until we've moved? I suppose i could siphon the water out into large sealed tubs so then i don't need to mature it again, or is that too stressful for t' fish?

 

Also, would it be best to use two filters at each end of a large tank or just one biggen? I always think just having one in the corner only filters the same water over and over again xD

 

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated.

[RyanML]

ive had my common plec for about 18 months now and hes about 6inches long, never fed him once and hes still going strong just on the algae in the tank!

[Craig855S]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

Haha, oh and yes, all fish are fine thanks for asking. Exactly what fish do you have and what sized tank? I'm looking to get a large tank of my own, possibly a 150L or more, only trouble is i think we'll be moving house in a few months, would it be best to wait until we've moved? I suppose i could siphon the water out into large sealed tubs so then i don't need to mature it again, or is that too stressful for t' fish?

 

Also, would it be best to use two filters at each end of a large tank or just one biggen? I always think just having one in the corner only filters the same water over and over again xD

 

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated.

 

For the sake of a few months i'd wait mate, then you can buy the tank to suit the shape of your new living room and colourscheme, also youll only have to haul the tank around once, and there will be no risk to the fish from the move.

 

As for the filter question, 1 filter is just as good as 2 so long as the LPH of the 1 is equal to the sum of the 2. Also a decent external actually increases your volume by a noticeable amount.

A 240 litre tank with 2 fluval U3s in will contain less than 240 litres, due to the space taken by substrate and the plastic of the filter,

A 240 litre tank with a fair sized external (i used an EX1200) will have a higher volume as although the substrate robs some space, a 12L canister on the outside of the tank and a few metres of chunky hose will hold another dew litres of water on top of whats in the tank at the time

[Ahmotorsport]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

Haha, oh and yes, all fish are fine thanks for asking. Exactly what fish do you have and what sized tank? I'm looking to get a large tank of my own, possibly a 150L or more, only trouble is i think we'll be moving house in a few months, would it be best to wait until we've moved? I suppose i could siphon the water out into large sealed tubs so then i don't need to mature it again, or is that too stressful for t' fish?

 

Also, would it be best to use two filters at each end of a large tank or just one biggen? I always think just having one in the corner only filters the same water over and over again xD

 

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated.

 

For the sake of a few months i'd wait mate, then you can buy the tank to suit the shape of your new living room and colourscheme, also youll only have to haul the tank around once, and there will be no risk to the fish from the move.

 

As for the filter question, 1 filter is just as good as 2 so long as the LPH of the 1 is equal to the sum of the 2. Also a decent external actually increases your volume by a noticeable amount.

A 240 litre tank with 2 fluval U3s in will contain less than 240 litres, due to the space taken by substrate and the plastic of the filter,

A 240 litre tank with a fair sized external (i used an EX1200) will have a higher volume as although the substrate robs some space, a 12L canister on the outside of the tank and a few metres of chunky hose will hold another dew litres of water on top of whats in the tank at the time

You make a fair point.

 

That's true, is there any other benefits of internal/external filters?

 

ive had my common plec for about 18 months now and hes about 6inches long, never fed him once and hes still going strong just on the algae in the tank!

Lol fair enough.

 

Ahh also, i did see him stuck to the carrot for about 20 minutes during the day.

[Craig855S]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

Haha, oh and yes, all fish are fine thanks for asking. Exactly what fish do you have and what sized tank? I'm looking to get a large tank of my own, possibly a 150L or more, only trouble is i think we'll be moving house in a few months, would it be best to wait until we've moved? I suppose i could siphon the water out into large sealed tubs so then i don't need to mature it again, or is that too stressful for t' fish?

 

Also, would it be best to use two filters at each end of a large tank or just one biggen? I always think just having one in the corner only filters the same water over and over again xD

 

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated.

 

For the sake of a few months i'd wait mate, then you can buy the tank to suit the shape of your new living room and colourscheme, also youll only have to haul the tank around once, and there will be no risk to the fish from the move.

 

As for the filter question, 1 filter is just as good as 2 so long as the LPH of the 1 is equal to the sum of the 2. Also a decent external actually increases your volume by a noticeable amount.

A 240 litre tank with 2 fluval U3s in will contain less than 240 litres, due to the space taken by substrate and the plastic of the filter,

A 240 litre tank with a fair sized external (i used an EX1200) will have a higher volume as although the substrate robs some space, a 12L canister on the outside of the tank and a few metres of chunky hose will hold another dew litres of water on top of whats in the tank at the time

You make a fair point.

 

That's true, is there any other benefits of internal/external filters?

 

ive had my common plec for about 18 months now and hes about 6inches long, never fed him once and hes still going strong just on the algae in the tank!

Lol fair enough.

 

Ahh also, i did see him stuck to the carrot for about 20 minutes during the day.

 

The benefit to an external over an internal is it does everything an internal does but also increases volume of water in the "system"

the downside to an external is they can create a little bit of mess when cleaning them out (which is recomended once a month) as you seperate the lid off. Internals still need cleaning but you just transfer it from the tank to a bucket without dripping any on the floor.

 

As for letting a plec live on algae alone...I dont recomend it, yeah it may last 18 months and grow, but itll grow better with the proper food, Algae wafers and the odd bit of veg isnt going to break the bank is it

[Ahmotorsport]

You may well find he comes out more at night when the lights are off. A lot of them are rather shy. Ive got a bristlenose who spends almost all MY waking hours hidden inside his fav log!

Haha, oh and yes, all fish are fine thanks for asking. Exactly what fish do you have and what sized tank? I'm looking to get a large tank of my own, possibly a 150L or more, only trouble is i think we'll be moving house in a few months, would it be best to wait until we've moved? I suppose i could siphon the water out into large sealed tubs so then i don't need to mature it again, or is that too stressful for t' fish?

 

Also, would it be best to use two filters at each end of a large tank or just one biggen? I always think just having one in the corner only filters the same water over and over again xD

 

Thanks for all your help mate, much appreciated.

 

For the sake of a few months i'd wait mate, then you can buy the tank to suit the shape of your new living room and colourscheme, also youll only have to haul the tank around once, and there will be no risk to the fish from the move.

 

As for the filter question, 1 filter is just as good as 2 so long as the LPH of the 1 is equal to the sum of the 2. Also a decent external actually increases your volume by a noticeable amount.

A 240 litre tank with 2 fluval U3s in will contain less than 240 litres, due to the space taken by substrate and the plastic of the filter,

A 240 litre tank with a fair sized external (i used an EX1200) will have a higher volume as although the substrate robs some space, a 12L canister on the outside of the tank and a few metres of chunky hose will hold another dew litres of water on top of whats in the tank at the time

You make a fair point.

 

That's true, is there any other benefits of internal/external filters?

 

ive had my common plec for about 18 months now and hes about 6inches long, never fed him once and hes still going strong just on the algae in the tank!

Lol fair enough.

 

Ahh also, i did see him stuck to the carrot for about 20 minutes during the day.

 

The benefit to an external over an internal is it does everything an internal does but also increases volume of water in the "system"

the downside to an external is they can create a little bit of mess when cleaning them out (which is recomended once a month) as you seperate the lid off. Internals still need cleaning but you just transfer it from the tank to a bucket without dripping any on the floor.

 

As for letting a plec live on algae alone...I dont recomend it, yeah it may last 18 months and grow, but itll grow better with the proper food, Algae wafers and the odd bit of veg isnt going to break the bank is it

Thanks for the info, you've been a big help.

[Ahmotorsport]

T' Bristlenose sat in a position where i could see him today so i got some pictures.

 

 

 

http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae68/Ahmotorsport/P091211_2216.jpg

http://i958.photobucket.com/albums/ae68/Ahmotorsport/P091211_2213_01.jpg

 

 

 

Then he fecked off.

[Craig855S]

all this talk of fishies has had me down the local garden centre, got 5 (although i asked for 10, so ill need to go back) pork chop rasboras, and 3 bristlenoses.

 

My plan is to get rid of my gouramis and maybe replace my common plec with something prettier

[Ahmotorsport]

all this talk of fishies has had me down the local garden centre, got 5 (although i asked for 10, so ill need to go back) pork chop rasboras, and 3 bristlenoses.

 

My plan is to get rid of my gouramis and maybe replace my common plec with something prettier

Haha i know what you mean, i keep going on the ol' eBay looking for a tank even though i know i shouldn't get one yet lol

[Stu]

Ahmotorsport - what have the nitrite levels been like since you started adding fish and feeding heavily?