Krissie Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 Does anyone have any tips on keeping plants down with two plecos and two Severums in the tank who insist on pulling everything up. I have tried using heaps of lead, but don't like doing that too much as i worry about 'heavy metal poisoning', and using rocks and stuff to weight the plants down results in the plants being nipped off as low as the fish can get. Am i going to have to settle on 'plastic' plants or is there some way i can overcome this. The Plecos are not huge, about 7 and 5 inches. Most of my plants at the moment are either floating or just stems sticking up... looks yuck! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 depends on what type of pleco. commons are pretty naughty when it comes to plants, and sevs being cichlids they can often feel the urge to pull something as they swim past :lol: i have plastic plants in my cichlid tank (oscar, sev, pleco and shark) and i have siliconed a rock to the bottom of each lot, that way they stay down if the oscar uproots them (they used to float till i did that). java fern might be worth shot, perhaps anubias too? they are tied on and have tough leaves that might taste icky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 I dont know how to sort out your curreent problem but if you set up a new tank add some clay to the gravel then put a layer of just gravel over top to hold it down, the plants will grow huge root systems if they have the space and food in the substrate to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 They only way is to tie them to a large rock or piece of wood. That way they stay put so the severums can eat them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krissie Posted July 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 What if i feed extra courgette and spirilina tabs. Will that stop them getting the urge to eat my plants? My father in law has a community tank with 2 Gold Ansti...? (black eyed Plecos) and i think 3 BN but his plants stay put. One of my Plecos is a common, and the other is just a Red Spot Sailfin, so i'm guessing it may be my Severums that are doing the damage. I will try tying them down, and will look into the clay idea (what sort of clay? Red? Potters? Grey?) They do appear to prefer some plants over others so i will ask around for the least tasty looking ones... lol Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 My father in law has a community tank with 2 Gold Ansti...? (black eyed Plecos) and i think 3 BN but his plants stay put. One of my Plecos is a common, and the other is just a Red Spot Sailfin, so i'm guessing it may be my Severums that are doing the damage. Redspot and Common Plecos wont really eat plants unless really hungry, but they will move a plant if its in the way and are very clumsy. GBAs and BN are less naughty, generally smaller etc. I put some nice java moss covering a piece of driftwood in my tank, took the redspot pleco all of about 5 minutes to pull all the moss off to have a nibble at the wood, even though there was another much larger piece right next to it :-? The severums though, being cichlids they have a tendancy to dig and move things about, and because of their size their nibbles will be more damaging. Maybe try some plants with a broader leaf, my marble queen sword is donig well with cichlids and fat pleco. To keep smaller/thinner plants weighted down I just use small rocks where floating becomes a problem. I hear fish generally wont touch Java Fern due to its taste. Although that needs to be tied to something rather than planting in the gravel. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 I will try tying them down, and will look into the clay idea (what sort of clay? Red? Potters? Grey?) They do appear to prefer some plants over others so i will ask around for the least tasty looking ones... lol I used daltons aquadic clay, you can get from plant shop, its normally used for potting water lillies. But if your fish are diggers it might not be a good idea, if they get down to the clay it will make a mess of the water. Swords and anubia are good tough plants, or your could try fast growing plants and see if they grow faster than they get eaten, indian fern would be a good one, plus will grow floating as well as planted so it wont matter so much if it gets dug up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 5, 2006 Report Share Posted July 5, 2006 I experimented the other day with siliconing java fern to driftwood. I thought it might kill the plant by burning the leaves and roots but its still thriving. Should work with rocks too Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krissie Posted July 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2006 well i just got back from the LFS, and i bought some plants. Just cheapies, not sure on names but are all different, and i got 10 in total. Chose the ones with good root growth too. Put them in my main tank, and within minutes my big Severum swam up, nipped the tip off one of the 'Flax' type plants and ate it! Comical to see as it looked like a piece of spagetti in his mouth, but not a good sign! I planted them all either under rooks, or through holes in the wood into the gravel so at least the roots are safe. i guess i will see which ones are going to make it and which ones won't. Thanks to everyone for the advice above and will experimant with some of the ideas. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 The Plecos are not huge, about 7 and 5 inches I know they can get bigger but gee I think 7" & 5" is big :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 commons can hit 20" or so easily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krissie Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 yep, 20 is easy enough. i had a albino one that i had to rehome at the local LFS because it just got too big for my tank and i felt cruel keeping it. I'll try to post my last pic of her before i rehomed her\him? http://www.dotphoto.com/SAN1/5F/35/CF/i ... CE97DB.jpg Hope it worked this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krissie Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 POOH! I just can't seem to do this picture thing! I've read the instructions.... must just be not sinking in! Sorry guys :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 yep, 20 is easy enough. i had a albino one that i had to rehome at the local LFS because it just got too big for my tank and i felt cruel keeping it. I'll try to post my last pic of her before i rehomed her\him? http://www.dotphoto.com/SAN1/5F/35/CF/i ... CE97DB.jpg at the end (no spaces!). So: But unfortunately that pic's just the logo! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 www.dotphoto.com does not support hot linking. If you go to www.dotphoto.com, then come back here and refresh the page, the catfish appears instead of the logo Krissie, I'd recommend using Photobucket.com instead of DotPhoto. Anywho, to save confusion and time, here is your pleco Hosted by photobucket because I didn't pay my hosting bill :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krissie Posted July 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 cheers SpidersWeb , i have now gone to photobucket so i will maybe have more luck in the future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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