Concerned about pleco

[JJDoyle2004]

btw...a platy is a livebearer, another type of fish.

and hes soo cute!

and i think BV hit all the high points of your questions
cept i still dont know what your pleco is

thanks for the info, I'm not very fish saavy, I just concentrate on mine, and can't even imagine having as many tanks as you guys, I have enough trouble maintaining the one.

My pleco Im sure is nothing special, he came from wal-mart because our closest petstore is 35 miles away and I am not sure about having them in the car that long, so all we have is wal-mart

 

[JJDoyle2004]

I can't figure out how to do the quoting like you do, but "Okay, so what was your last nitrAte reading then?" It was a little darker than the red for 20, but not nearly the red for 40. which is where it usually reads. as far as the h2O changes go, if I change less or vaccuum less I end up with muggy, cloudy water. Due to insufficient filtration I'm sure, but I use stress zhyme and start right each week and it seems to keep it balanced.

just to clarify, "where it usually reads" refers to my last reading not the red of 40.

 

[Big Vine]

It was a little darker than the red for 20, but not nearly the red for 40. which is where it usually reads.

Okay, so it sounds like you're not doing too bad then...just remember it'll get much worse as your oscar grows. He hasn't even hit half his full-grown length yet, and from a pure biomass-production view, he's only a fraction of what he'll eventually end up being! If it were me, I'd step it up to two 50% water-changes per week.

As for the quotes thing...
Instead of hitting "Reply," hit "Quote." The quote needs to be preceded by parentheses [] containing the username of whoever you're quoting at the time...like this:

{quote=Big Vine}blahblahblahblahIramblewaymorethanIshouldblahblahblahIamnothingbutapompouswindbagblahblahblah...etc...etc...{/quote}

Note how the quote is also followed by parentheses [] containing /quote.
(don't use these ones...{}...I only used them as an example of where to put the proper ones...[])

BV

 

[JJDoyle2004]

blahblahblahblahIramblewaymorethanIshouldblah blahblahIamnothingbutapompouswindbagblahblahblah.. .etc...etc...

Hope I got it right... anyhow that had me rotflmao!! Thanks

 

[Big Vine]

LMAO...glad you got it working!
BV

 

[JJDoyle2004]

last question, I think... How do I put my tank info at the bottom?

 

[Big Vine]

Near the top left of the page you'll see a link called "User CP."
Click on it, then you'll see "Edit Signature" on the left-hand side, and click on it. There ya' go!

Also...I think you need a pic of Del La Hoya in your avatar, so once you're done adding your sig., click on "Edit Avatar" and upload a 150 x 150 pixel pic of him.

BV

 

[JJDoyle2004]

Thanks

Also...I think you need a pic of Del La Hoya in your avatar, so once you're done adding your sig., click on "Edit Avatar" and upload a 150 x 150 pixel pic of him.

how do I get the pic that small??

 

[Big Vine]

Holy smokes!
It's a never-ending tirade of questions with you, isn't it?!?! j/k...I don't mind one bit---hehe...obviously, since I keep answering all of them!!!
Go to your start menu, then 'accessories,' then click on the 'Paint' program. Open the image file, then click on the menu where it says 'Image,' and a drop-down menu will appear. Select 'Stretch/Skew,' and then play with the percentages until it ends up being 150 x 150 pixels. Use the same number for each of the horizontal and vertical dimensions---otherwise your image will be skewed. You can also crop out certain parts of the image and tailor it to your liking. One way of telling what the dimensions (horizontal pixels x vertical pixels) are is by clicking on the menu where it says 'Image,' and then select 'Attributes' from the drop-down menu.

Basically just tinker around with it until it ends up looking how you want it to look and meets the 150 x 150 pixel requirement.

BV

 

[missdixie256]

For Oscars

a HOB (Hang on back filter or filterS) Should turn the tank over Atleast 10xs

A Canister should move the tank 4xs. I prefer a canister and HOB combination because the HOB allows the water movement to continue.

Your NitrAtes should never reach over 20. I am going to recommend that you double your water changes a week or even triple the amount of the changes. With the pleco in the tank that is adding just as much bio-load as the oscar. So you are looking at DOUBLE bio-load.

As far as the pleco poop Whatever color food your plec is eating (I am betting he is playing clean up crew for your O) will be the color of his poop. Same as it is your Oscars. The 12-18 inch long poops are reasons why people do not like to keep plecs. They are super messy!

 

[JJDoyle2004]

For Oscars

a HOB (Hang on back filter or filterS) Should turn the tank over Atleast 10xs

A Canister should move the tank 4xs. I prefer a canister and HOB combination because the HOB allows the water movement to continue.

Your NitrAtes should never reach over 20. I am going to recommend that you double your water changes a week or even triple the amount of the changes. With the pleco in the tank that is adding just as much bio-load as the oscar. So you are looking at DOUBLE bio-load.

As far as the pleco poop Whatever color food your plec is eating (I am betting he is playing clean up crew for your O) will be the color of his poop. Same as it is your Oscars. The 12-18 inch long poops are reasons why people do not like to keep plecs. They are super messy!

So it is normal for a pleco to poop that much? that's where this all started, I just want to know that he is ok. I am definately going to get more filtration, but really I just wanted to know if I should expect to lose yet another pleco. (This is my 3rd one in 3 months)

 

[JJDoyle2004]

Thanks BV you guys have made me SO glad I joined this site it has proved very helpful.

 

[Fuzz16]

you can hit the quote button at the bottom right of his post
and 40 is really high for even an oscar tank...you should maybe do some more wc's

 

[JJDoyle2004]

It's never been 40, always between the color range of 20 and 40.

 

[Gibbie_And_Clowns]

Ok I am new here so I hope I'm putting this in the right place. I have a 55g tank wit a pleco and a red oscar, I have had lots of trouble keeping plecos' alive who knows why, in my previous experience they have always been the easiest to keep alive. Anyhow, the one I have now has been with me almost a month, new record for my plecos' yay!, He has a ?poop? string hanging from him, it has been there for about a week now and just keeps growing. In 3 days it gets to what must be at least 12-18 inches, strung all over the tank and still attatched. I have never een anything like it, is this normal??

What type of plecos do you tend to buy? the one in the pic looks like a common or a gibbie. What do you feed your plecos? granted they do eat algae and left-over foods, but you sould supplement there diet as well. and the whloe poop strand yours had going on, commons such as regular plecos other wise know as just common plecos, and gibbies and etc. are waist machines, so the bio-load comeing from them will be up there. And the poop strand is not uncommon, but it should not last more than half a day or so. Also (sorry i might be rambling on) the poop could have been a product of not enough protien/fiber in its diet , a pleco needs a varity of foods depending on the pleco, commons are omnivors, so they need fresh veggies, as well as algae, and they also need some carniviours foods shrimp pellets will do. but i think i'v gone on long enough. Thank you for listining, and i hope you have good luck with your plecos cheers!*celebrate

 

[JJDoyle2004]

What type of plecos do you tend to buy? the one in the pic looks like a common or a gibbie. What do you feed your plecos? granted they do eat algae and left-over foods, but you sould supplement there diet as well. and the whloe poop strand yours had going on, commons such as regular plecos other wise know as just common plecos, and gibbies and etc. are waist machines, so the bio-load comeing from them will be up there. And the poop strand is not uncommon, but it should not last more than half a day or so. Also (sorry i might be rambling on) the poop could have been a product of not enough protien/fiber in its diet , a pleco needs a varity of foods depending on the pleco, commons are omnivors, so they need fresh veggies, as well as algae, and they also need some carniviours foods shrimp pellets will do. but i think i'v gone on long enough. Thank you for listining, and i hope you have good luck with your plecos cheers!*celebrate

I don't know what kind they are, They probably are common, they just come from wal-mart. I have tried shrimp pellets and algae wafers, but my oscar eats them all and he never even gets a chance.

 

[Big Vine]

I have tried shrimp pellets and algae wafers, but my oscar eats them all and he never even gets a chance.

Like I said earlier, add these at night (when the lights have been out for a while and your oscar is hopefully sleeping).

BV

 

[Gibbie_And_Clowns]

Like I said earlier, add these at night (when the lights have been out for a while and your oscar is hopefully sleeping).

BV

i would have to agree.*thumbsup2

 

[missdixie256]

Yes, it is normal for extrememly long trails of poop. Sometimes that is the only way I can find my common plec when he is hiding. Like I said, whatever color food they, like everything else, is eating that is the color their poop is going to be. Alarming at times I know.

 

[JJDoyle2004]

Like I said earlier, add these at night (when the lights have been out for a while and your oscar is hopefully sleeping).

BV

I am going to try that, I intended to last night, but ended up too distraught and distracted due to the fact that my 2 1/2 month old nephew died yesterday, so if my responses seem spacy that's why