[saulat]

I keep seeing my pleco sitting on the glass right next to my airstone. I know they like currents but do I need to worry about the bubble entering his gills or anything like that? I forget what species he is I got it at the LFS and will post a picture when I get around to it. He isn't supposed to get very big and is brownish with black spots. I thought he was a rubbernose, pretty sure it isn't a bristlenose.

 

[saulat]

Oh, I had another two questions. I am probably going to get 5-6 panda corydora, will they be fine with my pleco? Also, I have noticed that my sword tails spend more time that I would imagine picking around the bottom of the tank for food and hanging out there at night time. Is this something that I'll need to worry about? I have some kind of cutting, some straight vallis, and ordered some anubias dwarf nana, java fern, flame moss, and water wisteria that I'll have planted soon.

 

[DragonFish]

I think he should be okay, he doesn't seem to be close enough to even be in the bubbles. I don't have airstones though, so I don't know how it all works and the dangers ect. Someone more experienced should answer that one

The corys should be fine with him I'd imagine, my 8" common Pleco doesn't bother mine and I'm pretty sure they could fit in his mouth easily xD I wouldn't worry much about the swords, none of my bottom feeders bother my fish at night and I have a CAE. As for picking at the food, that shouldn't be a problem, just make sure you feed enough for everyone to get a few bits. If your really worried, maybe try some floating food for the swords while feeding your Corys/Pleco shrimp pellets and algae wafers? Or what I like to do is feed the pellets and wafers on both sides of the tank, breaking the wafers in half makes them last a bit longer as well when using this method

 

[travcoe]

I don't think the bubbles will bother your pleco.
I've never had a problem with mine getting aggressive with my fish, and he shares the bottom of the tank with 5 khuli loaches. No one has ever picked on him either.
I might warn you though, if I don't give mine enough algae wafers he resorts to eating my plants which i am not a fan of. I'm not sure if rubbernose plecos have the same problem, mine is a marble sailfin. Just a heads up though.

 

[saulat]

Thanks for the help. I guess he is just a little wierd. He probably just like the current it creates next to it.

 

[eileen]

I have bushy nosed plecos they are the same as yours. I have a air bubble wand and mine are fine. They like the bubbles. I have a uv/clarifyer santitizer in my 55 gal. tank that gives off a current that they like also. I have had problems with the Panda Corys. My water is fine and I do water changes and my tank is under stocked. I have lost all 3 of mine and bought some more and lost all of them also. My friend told me that she has had no luck with Panda corys and found them to be a sensitive fish. Go with another type of cory. Did you know they have a Dwarf cory that is really small it is a Pygmaeius.

 

[saulat]

I checked out another aquatic store here in Cincinnati and the person there has been working there for 12 years and was pretty knowledgable. I saw some siamese algea eaters that I like, he even showed me one next to a chinese algea eater, I couldn't see a difference though. The neatest thing there was probably the 10000 gallon shark tank, not sure but they looked like small great whites to me. He also told me the clown loaches (a pair) would do fine in my tank and not get too large or need a bigger group which I am still uncertain about. He also reinforced the notion that I am practically ******* on lighting for my hex tank. Don't think I can do a metal halide hanging lamp and probably not because it gets so hot as well. He told me coralife used to have a overhead light that stuck on the back of the tank that may work as a fixture for me. He also suggested a powerhead I think he called it with LEDs or something. Most of the plants I have ordered or gotten or mid to low light so maybe I'll be ok.

 

[eileen]

Beware of some fish store sales people. They are there to sell you stuff. I don't know how many people on the fish forum that said that the sales person sold them this fish or that and they got to big or did not get along. Just be careful. Ask questions on this forum or another one for advice. Some people on this forum has alot of experiance in helping in lighting and other areas of fish keeping. Also algae eaters get really big, some 12" or more. Otco don't get really big at 1-1 1/2" big. Also Bushy nosed pleco only get about 3-4" big. females are smaller and do a good job ob keeping the tank clean.

 

[aunt kymmie]

Two clowns (or any other loaches other than a Dojo) are not fine in my book, not at all. I've seen some clowns that lunker in at 11" inches. It's true that they take awhile to attain that size but my group of little 3" inchers became 6" in the space of eight months. Loaches are a very social fish and require a "group" to truly thrive. In my mind five is the absolute minimum. With loaches the more the merrier. I missed the size of your tank so I'm not sure a "herd" of loaches is feasible or if you even want that many.

I've got a trio of siamese algae eaters and they are GREAT fish and really do their job on the algae. Here's a link to determine the differences:
Algae Eating Cyprinids

I've also got an albino bushy nose and he's awesome at eating algae. He's maxed out at 3 1/2 ".
I'm really happy with my clean up crew and you can't go wrong with any of the above. Otos are also great provided you've got a mature tank.

Bummer on your lighting situation but if the plants are low light you should be okay. HTH

 

[saulat]

I am pretty sure my pleco is a small species and won't get bigger than 4inches, I just forgot what he was called, the salesperson hunted through several tanks and he was the last. I didn't really get the vibe today from the salesperson that he was trying to sell me things. He was helpful and good with the fish, plus the conversation I heard with him and someone with no knowledge trying to buy a saltwater tank made me think he wasnt the type to do that. He very well may have been though lol. He told me that the clowns shouldn't get too big if I don't overfeed them since it is a smaller tank but that could have been unintentional misinformation on his part. I'll do a post about the lighting. Thanks.

 

[Byron]

I am pretty sure my pleco is a small species and won't get bigger than 4inches, I just forgot what he was called, the salesperson hunted through several tanks and he was the last. I didn't really get the vibe today from the salesperson that he was trying to sell me things. He was helpful and good with the fish, plus the conversation I heard with him and someone with no knowledge trying to buy a saltwater tank made me think he wasnt the type to do that. He very well may have been though lol. He told me that the clowns shouldn't get too big if I don't overfeed them since it is a smaller tank but that could have been unintentional misinformation on his part. I'll do a post about the lighting. Thanks.

AuntKymmie was bang on about the clown loaches (and the other stuff too, for that matter). Clowns get 12 inches if they are well maintained. I happened to see some in one of my lfs the other day, a group of five in a very large tank, they were about 7-8 inches and what a sight. They are very social and need to be in a group. But five 12-inch fish require a 6-foot long tank or larger, in my opinion. And I must disagree with that salesperson on this issue. Keeping clowns in too small a tank just to prevent them from growing properly is not responsible, and frankly is cruel to the fish. I've written elsewhere about the effect of tank size on fish growth and the internal problems this causes, and it is an established fact that fish develop immune system issues and other health problems as a result of being in too little space. It seems to be the water quality more than the actual physical space but I doubt any of us would have the willingness to do major water changes three times a day to maintain the fish at good health. And that is what we are talking about.

There are several small species of loach if that is what you want; in another recent thread I and others posted some comments and photos.

On the SAE, it grows up to 16cm (6+ inches) so that's another large fish not suitable to a small tank. Although we don't know the size of your tank, I'm assuming from the lighting issue this is the hexagonal tank in the other thread. In my view, a SAE is not suitable. Go with the ottos, minimum 3 (they also fare better in a group) but only acquire them after the tank is matured (cycled and then some) and algae is present; they do not tolerate fluctuating water quality and they need algae to graze (that is their sole activity) or they frequently perish as many on this forum have attested to. They will consume the brown (diatom) and comon green algae that gets on plant leaves, and do a super job of it.

 

[Hanleyse75]

I checked out another aquatic store here in Cincinnati and the person there has been working there for 12 years and was pretty knowledgable. I saw some siamese algea eaters that I like, he even showed me one next to a chinese algea eater, I couldn't see a difference though. The neatest thing there was probably the 10000 gallon shark tank, not sure but they looked like small great whites to me. He also told me the clown loaches (a pair) would do fine in my tank and not get too large or need a bigger group which I am still uncertain about. He also reinforced the notion that I am practically *** on lighting for my hex tank. Don't think I can do a metal halide hanging lamp and probably not because it gets so hot as well. He told me coralife used to have a overhead light that stuck on the back of the tank that may work as a fixture for me. He also suggested a powerhead I think he called it with LEDs or something. Most of the plants I have ordered or gotten or mid to low light so maybe I'll be ok.

Dude, I know the store A&E in Mt.Healthy. They are super nice. Not trustworthy. They buy/trade for junk fish a lot. Be cautious of anything “major” (cichlids, arowana, etc). Very poor quality. They used to be the best in Cinti but have gone down hill the last 5 years. Also just and FYI: those WERE sand sharks and a grouper. The grouper ate a plastic plant somehow, they did surgery, put him back with the sharks and apparently he did not fare too well overnight and he was gone in the morning, not much left of him☹. But then they recently(last year maybe) lost the sharks too, not sure why. They “renovated” the shark tank (looks the same to me) and have 2 new sharks not sure what kind. Just buyer beware. I’ve seen very very poor quality Flowerhorns, deformed, blind, and an arowana that had severe drop eye that they had for sale for $800. The flowerhorns were priced $3-400. Just a heads up and small observation. I was actually there the morning they found the grouper. Not pretty. He was gorgeous. Very sad. But hey, that parrot is a mean ass but talks up a storm!!

 

[Bens-fish-advice]

It might be there isn't enough oxygen in the tank.

 

[1958cyclist]

I have bushy nosed plecos they are the same as yours. I have a air bubble wand and mine are fine. They like the bubbles. I have a uv/clarifyer santitizer in my 55 gal. tank that gives off a current that they like also. I have had problems with the Panda Corys. My water is fine and I do water changes and my tank is under stocked. I have lost all 3 of mine and bought some more and lost all of them also. My friend told me that she has had no luck with Panda corys and found them to be a sensitive fish. Go with another type of cory. Did you know they have a Dwarf cory that is really small it is a Pygmaeius.

My pleco enjoys laying right on top of the airstone. I guess it must be what they like to do? Maybe the feeling of the bubbles running over their bodies?