hello to all

djordje.ns

New Member
Apr 4, 2017
4
0
1
novi sad, serbia
i am new to this forum, i am from serbia. i have common ancistus, ancistrus long fin, peckoltia vittata l015, and ancistrus l183(2 males unfortunatelly) among other fish i keep. happy to be here and learn from Yours experience.
 

Celosia Pigeon

New Member
Apr 11, 2017
3
0
1
Alberta
hello :) i'm new. i joined because i have.... questions! and been all over google and cannot find much help! i have an albino bristlenose pleco, a common pleco, and 2 unknowns! both sold as something i am certain they are not from a big chain petstore- all out of the same tank. i kept commons that i rescued years back- and when i bought these new ones- well i believed they would all get big like my old commons yet only one is. someone let me know where to post descriptions and questions? smaller plecos like the bristlenose are not something we really saw in my area back when i was 'in the know' for then. and i find at least locally- the hobby has somewhat deteriorated- when buying large cichlids in decades past it was basically a job interview. we got set up for fish again last autumn and since then have bought 5 oscars, a severum, and a frontosa- not once were we asked what we have for tanks, filtration, and food. NOT ONCE. nor when i bought 2 plecos out of a 'common' tank, and a 'sailfin' (it is most certainly not). i was expecting 3 huge plecos- well the one i do know is a common IS becoming as i'd expect, like the other 3 he was about an inch long at purchase (couple-three? months ago) and he's now around 8inches looks like? don't worry- all our tanks with plecos get assorted vegetables and sinking food at night and have wood! whatever they are they will have the best i can manage- and frankly i don't want my head bit off- when i went back to that store all the tank mates were dead, these fish would not have been 'better off with someone more experienced' since 3 days later there were dead plecos all over those tanks. so maby i sorta screwed up getting plecos from an unreliable store- but i didn't really. however i *thought 3 of these would be 18-24inch fish some day, and i can see they will simply not all be going into the 120 and 150gallon tanks one day, and the albino bristlenose really turned out to be a bully/food hog to boot! anyways- 2 of these guys i really am NOT sure about- they are always full and pooping and have whatever they please to eat or not (i remove plenty) and simply are thickening- not lengthening as the one i do believe is a common is. these other 2- the 'common that is not' and the 'sailfin' (i'm calling him my yellow spot for now) are in the 3inch range- no bigger than the bristlenose, while the real common is around 8". they have thickened- that's about it. the shape and look just isn't what i'd expect from sailfin or common wither- and they devour cucumber way more than commons i've ever kept. like an addiction. they are also out during lights on much more than the common, just as the bristlenose is often out. all are peaceful and great- except the 'savage yellow bristlenose' (they are each in different tanks now). i just wonder at what to expect since their growth has slowed so much- i am already guessing they will not ever be able to be with really big fish (i don't care to ever have a pleco eaten) but i wonder at what i'll need to provide down the road, i'd rather not take it as it comes. we do have (sitting empty for the future) 120s and 150s, as well as 75's and 55's and 45's and... i know no tank is too big but it depends what else i want to keep- we like our cichlids and also our planted tanks. so far all of these guys are fine with plants- at least the plants they have. i just hope to figure out long term... what we'll need to provide- and are any ever aggressive to other fish?
 

Celosia Pigeon

New Member
Apr 11, 2017
3
0
1
Alberta
photos are really hard to do right now! all i can think of to do is describe honestly. i've combed through the profiles with pics, and have some suspicions- but this stocky little one doesn't quite fit-very grey, vs the brown of a typical pleco- the pattern looks much like a common... i think. nothing distinctive. creamy belly with grey spots, nothing like an edge to veins or unusual pattern, body shape like a bristlenose but it's not dotted like bristlenose. if i can manage a shot- it's just still very small and my good camera glitched on me. it looks like a pale grey miniature common- but like i said wider, and unlike the common it's nuts for cucumber, even more than the bristlenose. i suspect my 'sailfin' is a 'gold spot high fin' so should get fair sized. they all grew so fast- and then the 3 just seemed to stop growing, despite room and my feeding to the point of turkey baster sucking it out every morning. the one i'm most questioning, the grey one that is by far smallest- seems to prefer cucumber over all commercial foods and never seems to rasp the wood, it'll leave all bought food after a minute or 5 and back to cucumber, even if i don't provide any vegetable for a day it doesn't seem to care for fish food- something i've never seen! i do use 6 different foods, and the other 3 always eat all of them somewhat (though i have been overdoing it trying to see what they like and make sure they don't starve while growing). i'm just glad it doesn't harm the plants other than the odd uprooting. i read someone complaining elsewhere online their pleco damages plants and wondered if mine might and i'd have to keep an unplanted tank- though i wonder if the 'plant eating plecos' are simply not being fed enough. common's always seemed to me to need a lot of feeding&water changes- and these guys all do eat quite a bit for their size! which is good- i enjoy feeding fish and my husband actually likes doing water changes :D
 

Celosia Pigeon

New Member
Apr 11, 2017
3
0
1
Alberta
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1598
this profile- i am almost positive this is what my 'sailfin' pleco really is, a gold spot. only difference is mine has virtually circular markings right now. he's great, very outgoing! doesn't hide much at all. this says he gets a foot long- he was sold to me as a sailfin that would only reach 4-6". yeesh. guess he's NOT going to suit a 55gallon tank for long!

http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1603
this looks a lot like the one i'm most confused about- only the markings differ very slightly, mine has more 'lined' markings on the fins more like common's i've kept. when i google imaged the L006 Peckoltia Oligospila however i can't find belly pictures (to see if they have plain or markings) and found a lot that were much more brownish, and all had more circular spots... all 4 of mine were bought so wee, we were surprised to see such tiny ones, really barely an inch if an inch. the albino bristlenose has far outgrown the one i am confused about- it's about half as long as the bristlenose. just as thick bodied and same feeding opportunities. hence my confusion. i know pleco patterning and even to some degree coloring can be variable within a species- there were differences between large plecos of the 'common' variety we kept in decades past, though body shape was very uniform. i do wonder if this one could have been somehow 'stunted' before coming to live with us- exposure to something in the water or such, that big chain pet store i just found out (last time i was in from an employee) runs 3 different chemicals in just their plant tank and often runs various meds through their fish tank systems without informing customers, and i know plecos are sensitive, this one appears perfectly healthy and outgoing and eats what it does eat well-just isn't growing like the others- though the gold spot has slowed as well it's much larger, the bristlenose and common both grew faster at first by far, common still is, bristlenose seems to have slowed some.

my main reason for concern is what i'll actually need to do for tank size and community down the road. we do keep cichlids- but most plecos really can't be kept with cichlids long term, not if the cichlids get big and could maby try to swallow the plecos. commons would have been fine, as would a true sailfin, and both are great in 150gallon tanks with big cichlids, we used to have one in each and one 150 had 2 commons, they found all the dropped cichlid food and enjoyed veggies i put in as well. i planned a planted peaceful for the bristlenose long term- and cichlids for the other 3, well i'm thinking only the one will suit that, the gold spot seems far too soft for living with cichlids, and that wee one.... it's with guppies/small danios for now. as is the gold spot looking one in another tank. long term? i just am unsure. and i'm not one to be keen on rehoming fish- tank to tank is hard enough on them, new ownership altogether? we saw how our old commons were stressed having a new home when we first got them and they seemed to have a difficult time adjusting to a new diet. i wouldn't want to see mine go where they might not get the vegetables they love or the other foods each prefers, never mind where filtration and water changes are not suited. i know many around here believe monthly is all the water changes any fish needs and i happen to feel a pleco in a tank means weekly w/c, daily excess food removal, and twice the filtration as the filters claim they do for tank size- plus frequent water testing! some fish keepers around here don't even have test kits. i just... need to provide for them myself, even if they do not end up as i'd been led to believe.