CatBrat

I just went up to check on my Queen Arabesque Pleco's and found 2 of my 3 dead :cry: . I can't belive it, they had been doing so, so well. I don't know what could have gone wrong.The only thing I have changed is putting in the 700l/h filter and taking out 2x 200l/h filters yesterday. Yesterday they were looking fine, colour was normal, no sunken eyes or any visual features that looked out of the ordinary. But this is what they looked like just now... Tank size - Approx. 40l (10g) Tank inhabitants - just the 3 Queen Arabesques pH - 6.6 kh - less than 10 Ammonia - 0 Nitrites - 0 Filtration - 700 l/h with oxygen tube running into the it. The only thing that I can think of is the heater may have stuck on and cooked them, as the water seem quite warm. Anyone have any idea's on what may have caused it Will keep you posted on how the last one goes... Cheers, CatBrat

Thanks guys!! The black board paint was what I was thinking of too Kim. I was given some tanks that I think have this on it and it looks great! Its pretty expensive though. Wheres the best place to get it from? Cheers, CatBrat.

I want to paint the backs and sides (outside) of my tanks. I have tried using some semi-gloss water based enamel (it was all I had lying around in the right colour) but it peeled off before it even made contact with water! So what is the best sort to use? Cheers, CatBrat.

I was wondering wether anyone on this site keeps Vampire Pleco (Leporacanthicus galaxias, L007)? I have seen one of these for sale at Jansens (the Three Kings one). I would really like to get hold of a group of these with the aim of breeding them! So does anyone keep these or have you seen them on any of the wholesalers fishlist's or in other shops? Thanks for any info... Cheers, CatBrat.

LOL, I know, sorry :oops: . But it really depends on their specific diet and how much food they eat! I think that fish which live in a faster current (for example Queen Arabesque Pleco’s, L260) have a faster metabolism, so they would need to eat more and therefore produce more waste. This compared to fish such as Crocodile Whiptails, which come from much slower moving waters, so they would have a slower metabolism and produce less waste. Does anyone one know if this is correct? Most plecs are from tropical conditions, so I wouldn't really recommend it. But having said that I have seen Common Pleco's and Sail Fin Pleco's in cold water set-ups and I have heard that Bristle-nose Pleco's can also live in cold water. Or what you could do is to take the Gold Fish out and turn that tank into a Pleco community tank , well that’s what I would do anyway . Taking the Ship out sounds like a good idea to me. If you can find a nice piece the BGK would probably feel just as comfortable with that as with the Ship, and it also looks much more natural . I would recommend that you give the Royal Plec some Zucchini or pea's for it to eat at the moment. Will you be able to get any picture's of it? I would love to see some Cheers, CatBrat.

No, not all Pleco's produce the same amount of waste. Obviously a 12" Common Pleco would produce much, much more waste than a 3" Brislte-nose! It also depends on how much and what they eat. Cheers, CatBrat.

Congratulations!!!:D Sounds like a Royal to me. As plecs said it has red eyes, and thats just like Royals. Does it look like these - ROYAL PLECO? Can you get any pic's? BTW, if it is a Ryoal you will need to make sure that you have pleanty of driftwood/bogwood in the tank as this is an important part of their diet. Also, the produce a large amount of waste/sawdust so you will need to keep up with the water changes!! I haven't ever kept one, but this is just what I have learn't form reading heaps of stuff about them on the net. Cheers, CatBrat.

I have seen big pots of hairgrass at Mitre10 aswell!! Up here they have a really good selection of plants . Cheers, CatBrat.

Not sure about Wellington, but up here in Auckland you can usually find a good selection of aquatic plants in stores like Mitre10, and they are normally quite cheap too ($11.95 for a big pot). I have bought Glosstigma (spelling) and some grass like plants that I have in my tanks now and they grow quite well! It might pay to check them out. Cheers, CatBrat.

Also for the Butterfly Pleco check out Plant Catfish - Butterfly Pleco (L052). Cheers, CatBrat.

Jansen's (4 diffrent shops) and Hollywood (2 diffrent shops) often have some good one's. Also Kim has some good one's at her shop. Cheers, CatBrat.

Well there are a lot more species of Pleco's in NZ than you would think!! But, often you only ever see one or two of some of them. If you don't want too order them in, I'm not sure what you could do :-?. I don't like ordering them without seeing them either, but if you can't get them it's often the only way. Good luck.... Cheers, CatBrat

Hi there plecs, welcome to the site I have also read a lot about the Gold Nuggets being very fragile, but I have never owned one. There are heaps to chose from, but a few that come to mind that I have seen up here in Auckland are... Lemon Spotted Green Pleco (L200) Para Pleco (L075) Blue Phantom Pleco (L128) Queen Arabesque Pleco (L260) Just to name a few. I don't know what’s available in PN, but have a look around and ask your LFS what they can get in for you. Ask if you need any more help. Cheers, CatBrat.

You could also rap the lead weights you get with plants around the tube every inch or so. Saves having a line of rocks that you don't really want, it doesn't take up any space and it's not visible. Cheers, CatBrat.

Thanks Kim. The owner of my LFS said that he would try to order me in a couple more after xmas. It must have been quite a small shipment, or one store might have bought most of them. Cheers, CatBrat.

I just got one of these today (I ordered 3 but the importer only had one left ). This has to one of the best looking pleco's I have ever seen!!! My one is tiny, only around 5cm including it's tail, but man is it nice!! I will try to take some picture's when it comes out. Kim do you have any in your shop for sale? Cheers, CatBrat.

How much are you selling them for? They are one of my favorite fish!!!! I might have to buy 4 or 5 of them :lol:. Also, how big are they? Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi Kim, From your discription the sound a bit like L128 . Do they look like these? Also how did you sex them? Did you use the length of their interopercular/pectoral odontodes or another method? I would love to come in and see them. Might try to get Mum to take me in to see them this week :lol:. Cheers, CatBrat.

Also, if you are using 2 bottles make sure that the second one is of equal or greater size. I made the mistake of having a smaller second bottle and ended up with 75% of the yeast mixture in my tank :roll:...not a good look! lol Cheers, CatBrat.

Looks like it is a Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Common Pleco). Alan, what makes you say that its a female? The only method that I have come across for sexing these is through the size and shape of their genitla palipa (spelling). But I have been known to be wrong in the past, lol. Cheers, CatBrat.

Check out THIS SITE. There are lots of planted discus tanks on there. Cheers, CatBrat.

Wow Kim, you have actually kept 2 Blue Eyed Pleco's (Panaque cochliodon). They are amazing . When did you have them? How much did they cost? Where are they now? So, which of those pleco's do you keep at the moment? Cheers, CatBrat.

I was just wondering what fancy (ie - the less common one's) pleco's the people of this site keep. At the moment the fancy plecos that I keep are.... 1x Butterfly Pleco (L052) 2x Yellow Black-eyed Bristle-nose (L144) - breeding pair 3x Queen Arabesque Pleco (L260) - 1 male, 2 females (I think) 1x Matto Grasso Bristle-nose (LDA08) - although this guy is sick and I think that it might die 2x Crocodile Whiptail - pair I'm starting to really get into pleco's and I'm looking forward to expanding my collection soon So what do you guy's keep? Cheers, CatBrat.

I have just taken all the fry out of my fry tank which was bare bottomed and decided that I want some substrate in there. The tank had been up and running with fish for around 2 months, so with out removing anything from the tank I added the gravel. My question is does this tank need to re-cycle or will there already be enough bacteria in the tank? Cheers, CatBrat.

Are you talking about the same fish as Hypancistrus sp. L136, LDA05? If so I don't think that we can get it in NZ, or at least I have never seen it. I'm not sure about a common name for it as I have only ever seen it called by it's L-numbers. Can you get these in Aussie? Cheers, CatBrat.