Fruit Salad Tetras & Pleco

[goheels1]

i recently purchased these cute lil fish called Fruit Salad tetras. i tried to do research on them but did not find much about them except one post saying these fish are dyed; their colors are not natural. is that true? if so, i'm upset about that. i never wanted to own dyed fish. and why would anyone want to do that? i have no choice but to keep them since the LFS does not have a return policy unless they die. will their color eventually fade?

as for a common pleco...i wrote this in the bottom feeder section but no response. i purchased one the same time as the tetras, which has been 6 days now. i have seen the pleco out only once; & for a brief moment. do these fish hide? he is always in a house decor i have. i don't like fish that stay in hiding even though i'm not crazy about plecos. only got it to clean the tank & it appears he is finally starting to do that. the tank is looking better. just never seen him cleaning it. appreciate any response i get. thanks.

 

[Doomhed]

they are technically just albino Hi-fin black tetras that are either injected with dyes or fed dyed food and kept in dyed water until they change colors.

also avoid "painted" mollies too, also injected with dyes.

I would pull out the onion and water lily from your tank as they are actually bog plants, not true underwater plants. I would also find a way to get rid of the iridescent shark. He will grow WAY too big for your tank, reaching up to 2 feet in length- eating most of your other fish in the process. Same with the pleco if it is a normal common pleco, leopard pleco, sailfin pleco or branco pleco. Plecos come out at night mostly when they aren't comfortable with the tank.

I would recommend finding another pet store that doesn't sell those kinds of fish. The tetras colors will fade and they will become normal albino tetras if they survive long enough to lose the colors.

I am spoiled by having 8 pet stores within a 20 minute ride of my house, each with varying degrees of skill and slightly different stocks.

 

[goheels1]

wish i was as fortunate as you with all those pet stores. i have petsmart, petco & LFS in the area. i don't buy from petsmart & petco & definitely not from our local Walmart. one of the LFS never have any fish. never seen a store w/ so little stock. the other one where i bought the pleco & fruit salads have loooots of varieties of fish. but i'm upset they did not tell me about those fish being dyed. & thanks for the heads up on the 'painted mollies'.

i tried to look up info about 'bog' plants & found not much. what is a bog plant?

i have been told by several on this forum as well as friends to get rid of the ID Shark. i want to and i don't want to. i'm still debating on what to do.

any idea on how long it will take for the colors to fade on the fruit salads? i'm sure it varies but is there an average time? they are so cute i HATE it's not their natural color.

 

[misterking]

I would pull out the onion and water lily from your tank as they are actually bog plants, not true underwater plants.

Water lily = bog plant? Unless you're thinking of something else.. I'm pretty sure they'll mean something in the Nymphaea genus, possibly rubra or stellata, in which case very much a true aquatic.

I would also find a way to get rid of the iridescent shark. He will grow WAY too big for your tank, reaching up to 2 feet in length-

And more like 4 feet, they're closely related to the mekong catfish and grow to an immense size given proper care. Much bigger than the 55g tank it's in now! I just don't understand how they made it into the hobby.

But I agree, rehome him ASAP. As for the pleco, you'll prolly have to rehome him as he grows. Once he gets to about a foot he'll start demolishing your tank for lack of space to move in. But to answer your question, they're mostly nocturnal and if given hiding places (which they need to feel secure) you won't really see him during the day.

 

[misterking]

Bog plants = plants that grow in bogs, i.e permanently wet, muddy areas, often with a couple of inches of water sitting on the surface of the saturated soil. However, as I said in my previous post, you'll be fine with the water lily assuming it's what I think it is. As for the onion plant.. I'm guessing it's a crinium, which can be hit or miss underwater.

 

[Doomhed]

Water lily = bog plant? Unless you're thinking of something else.. I'm pretty sure they'll mean something in the Nymphaea genus, possibly rubra or stellata, in which case very much a true aquatic

I dont count water lillies as true aquatic plants because they are well known for having vast amounts of leaves on the top of the tank. most aquatic plants are more than happy to stay underwater, but if you dont let the lily get to the top of the tank and spread out it can die.

I should have been more clear in what I meant by bog plant, but water lillies usually aren't something I recommend to anyone unless they are setting up a pond.

 

[Newman]

really? crap, then what to do with all the water lilies in my 40 gallon...actually I like them where they are. they grow nicely

 

[Doomhed]

really? crap, then what to do with all the water lilies in my 40 gallon...actually I like them where they are. they grow nicely

pfft, you got the tank experience to keep nearly anything you want in the tank.

and knowing you you planted low light plants below them.

 

[blue eyes]

The pleco will take a while to settle in, mine didnt eat much 4 a couple of days or come out she was quite shy, now tho i see her quite often in the day tho she aint that lively but in the evenings she'll swim around for ages and eat a lot once the lights are out.

 

[Newman]

plecos are nocturnal...

 

[goheels1]

glad to find out they are nocturnal. never knew that. so 'blue eyes' or anyone else, how can you tell if the pleco is male or female?

 

[OrangeCones]

Males are slimmer, females more chubby, when viewed from above. Depending on the species of pleco, there may be additional differences.

As for your onion plants, there are a lot of aquatic onions. Its one of my favorite and sends off lots of daughter plants when happy.

 

[blue eyes]

Mature males have large pectoral fins that turn a reddish pink. In Most species the males tend to be smaller than the females and develop bigger barbells. Mature females will be wider in the mid-section when you look down on them. But it's still difficult to compare several of them unless they are over a certain size.

 

[littletankbigworld]

They are injected with a needle that is so big, it is the human equivalent of having a pencil shoved in your skin. They are also lasered ocassionally. the process is extremely stressful, and they lose their colors in months. I, personally, would return them to the store, or if you do keep them, realize that they have a great chance of dying early and contracting disease.

They usually lose their colors within 6-10 months of being dyed.

 

[goheels1]

OMG r u serious?! that's how they are dyed? how horrible! i feel so bad now for these lil guys. too late to return them but i guess they could buy them back from me. doubt i get anything for it. who in the world even thought of such a process and why? guess the same kind of person who thought of clipping ears & tails of dogs (which i personally don't agree w/).

 

[lauraf]

I say just keep the tetras, if you feel up to it, and take care of them the best you can, like you would do with a dog whose ears had already been cropped. You'll probably care for them better than the LFS that sold them to you anyway. You can always find another way to register your objection to this kind of practice, right?