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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
setting up a pleco tank
07 Feb 2013 10:09 - 07 Feb 2013 10:10 #4
by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Replied by Melander (Andreas Melander) on topic setting up a pleco tank
The trick will be to find species that do well in a small set up like that and also do well with the Altums.
A small species I don't have any experience with, but have been eying up for a long time now is Ancistrus claro, lda08.
Ancistrus claro on planetcatfish
You could probably keep a pair of these in the 60 litre tank. From what i have read they seem to prefer fast flowing water (massive suckermouth) so Seamus link fits perfectly. On the downside the fast flowing water does not sound like a good match with the Altums.
Perhaps some Altum keepers will have a better idea.
Andreas
A small species I don't have any experience with, but have been eying up for a long time now is Ancistrus claro, lda08.
Ancistrus claro on planetcatfish
You could probably keep a pair of these in the 60 litre tank. From what i have read they seem to prefer fast flowing water (massive suckermouth) so Seamus link fits perfectly. On the downside the fast flowing water does not sound like a good match with the Altums.
Perhaps some Altum keepers will have a better idea.
Andreas
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07 Feb 2013 19:15 - 07 Feb 2013 19:32 #7
by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Replied by Melander (Andreas Melander) on topic setting up a pleco tank
That’s a fantastic tank to aspire to, looking forward to follow this one!
I think the one with the flowing filaments could be some sort of Pseudacanthicus and the dark one with light spots could be a Baryancistrus but I’m sort of swinging blindly so take that with a big pinch of salt. I’m sure some of the more knowledgeable catfish keepers on this forum will sort you out with some proper id’s later on.
My personal favourite is the Peckoltia compta which I have seen kept with discus several times. They would however not compete well for food against some of the beasties in that tank. So another option could be to stock it with smaller genera like Peckoltia, Hypancistrus and Panaqolus which I’m sure you know include some fantastic looking species. Perhaps one smaller species from each genus and maybe an exotic Ancistrus as well, just a thought.
Andreas
I think the one with the flowing filaments could be some sort of Pseudacanthicus and the dark one with light spots could be a Baryancistrus but I’m sort of swinging blindly so take that with a big pinch of salt. I’m sure some of the more knowledgeable catfish keepers on this forum will sort you out with some proper id’s later on.
My personal favourite is the Peckoltia compta which I have seen kept with discus several times. They would however not compete well for food against some of the beasties in that tank. So another option could be to stock it with smaller genera like Peckoltia, Hypancistrus and Panaqolus which I’m sure you know include some fantastic looking species. Perhaps one smaller species from each genus and maybe an exotic Ancistrus as well, just a thought.
Andreas
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07 Feb 2013 19:33 #8
by JSleator (Jason Sleator)
Replied by JSleator (Jason Sleator) on topic setting up a pleco tank
@Melanders - Yes, my reading and thoughts concur what you are suggesting, (and thank you for your species suggestions) i want a variety, and in general the smaller and individual species seem to get on fine as long as there is just one of each.... you might be following me a year or more before you see anything link whats in the vid, 
collecting the catfish and setting up a medium term catfish tank is just the start.... was looking at gravels today, couple more LFS to do over the next few days to see what other substrates are available to me, im leaning towards coral sand. rocks and wood all boiled up and ready for scaping.
collecting the catfish and setting up a medium term catfish tank is just the start.... was looking at gravels today, couple more LFS to do over the next few days to see what other substrates are available to me, im leaning towards coral sand. rocks and wood all boiled up and ready for scaping. Please Log in to join the conversation.
07 Feb 2013 19:44 #9
by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Sounds good, If your waiting for something good as they say. I'm a bit skeptic towards the coral sand though, would it not raise the pH?
I'm fortunate enough to get sand from work but I have used play sand in the past without any problems.
Andreas
Replied by Melander (Andreas Melander) on topic setting up a pleco tank
@Melanders - Yes, my reading and thoughts concur what you are suggesting, (and thank you for your species suggestions) i want a variety, and in general the smaller and individual species seem to get on fine as long as there is just one of each.... you might be following me a year or more before you see anything link whats in the vid,
Sounds good, If your waiting for something good as they say. I'm a bit skeptic towards the coral sand though, would it not raise the pH?
I'm fortunate enough to get sand from work but I have used play sand in the past without any problems.
Andreas
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07 Feb 2013 23:55 #10
by JSleator (Jason Sleator)
Replied by JSleator (Jason Sleator) on topic setting up a pleco tank
the coral sand i was looking at today said ideal for catfish on the bag, it also stated "has no effect on ph" ill take note of the make next time im in the shop. On reflection i would prefer something a little larger in terms of gravel size (as opposed to sand), but still in the "fine gravel" category if you know what i mean, as this is what the plecos like. Still want to use a light colored substrate as i think it will contrast the generally dark colouring of plecos.
i am more concerned about using lots of rocks in the tank, which is my intention, not only for the ph and any nasties in the rock, but its hardening effect on the water.
i will be using a decent chunk on wood as well, so from experience with my planted tank which has a fair amount of wood, am hoping that the wood will buffer the ph /hardness effect the rocks will have on the water, and hopefully ill have a midrange reading that as far as im concerned, is fine for the plecos.
had a good look on planet pleco....Im excited
i am more concerned about using lots of rocks in the tank, which is my intention, not only for the ph and any nasties in the rock, but its hardening effect on the water.
i will be using a decent chunk on wood as well, so from experience with my planted tank which has a fair amount of wood, am hoping that the wood will buffer the ph /hardness effect the rocks will have on the water, and hopefully ill have a midrange reading that as far as im concerned, is fine for the plecos.
had a good look on planet pleco....Im excited
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11 Feb 2013 10:59 #13
by Melander (Andreas Melander)
Replied by Melander (Andreas Melander) on topic setting up a pleco tank
About the coral sand, it might be perfectly fine but personally I would stick to what i know like play sand or regular pebbles/sand from a sponsor. Maybe someone here has experience with coral sand?
I agree about the light substrate, its gives a nice contrast like you said and it could be an idea to mix sand and gravel for different parts of the tank. I often find that fine sand tend to "blow" away by the current in certain spot and use larger rounded pebbles for those areas.
I use allot of wood from rivers and from the beach that I treat for a long time, but am somewhat reluctant to advice others to do the same in case something should happen.
There is a function on planetcatfish under Search -> Species Search, where you can search for species by temperature and pH requirements, and distribution if you wanted to go biotope.
It could be worth doing a search using the Altum requirements and see what comes up. It should narrow down the field a bit.
Andreas
I agree about the light substrate, its gives a nice contrast like you said and it could be an idea to mix sand and gravel for different parts of the tank. I often find that fine sand tend to "blow" away by the current in certain spot and use larger rounded pebbles for those areas.
I use allot of wood from rivers and from the beach that I treat for a long time, but am somewhat reluctant to advice others to do the same in case something should happen.
There is a function on planetcatfish under Search -> Species Search, where you can search for species by temperature and pH requirements, and distribution if you wanted to go biotope.
It could be worth doing a search using the Altum requirements and see what comes up. It should narrow down the field a bit.
Andreas
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13 Feb 2013 00:22 #14
by JSleator (Jason Sleator)
Replied by JSleator (Jason Sleator) on topic setting up a pleco tank
@paulv, thanks for your insight, have you any pics of your 9 foot tank?
@melanders went with the coral sand, WAY cheaper than the gravel, saw your post too late regarding play sand, didnt think of that!
Regarding ph and hardness, paulv has pretty much summed up my approach here, the fish will adjust, and in my opinion stability rather than trying to constantly alter the water conditions is better. Yes i know my water will be a bit on the hard side, but my ph reading is 7.4 with the rocks, coral sand and bogwood. i feel this is acceptable as a stable reading for the moment, i suspect ill be trying to pick up a larger tank only on the cheap sooner rather than later for this temporary catfish tank!!! There is plenty in the for sale section here to choose from but none in Cork
( My tap water is 8, my planted tank with co2, ada substrate,and wood reads about 6.5
BTW, I have the tank set up and running (will post pics although im not happy with look of hardscape) with a baby common plec in there, My God, having just one of these guys and with the coral sand, its amazing the amount of waste one baby pleco can produce, it really highlights the bio load of these fish.
Ive an air stone running and a small internal filter, have a second ordered from fleebay for additional movement / filtration.
@melanders went with the coral sand, WAY cheaper than the gravel, saw your post too late regarding play sand, didnt think of that!
Regarding ph and hardness, paulv has pretty much summed up my approach here, the fish will adjust, and in my opinion stability rather than trying to constantly alter the water conditions is better. Yes i know my water will be a bit on the hard side, but my ph reading is 7.4 with the rocks, coral sand and bogwood. i feel this is acceptable as a stable reading for the moment, i suspect ill be trying to pick up a larger tank only on the cheap sooner rather than later for this temporary catfish tank!!! There is plenty in the for sale section here to choose from but none in Cork
( My tap water is 8, my planted tank with co2, ada substrate,and wood reads about 6.5BTW, I have the tank set up and running (will post pics although im not happy with look of hardscape) with a baby common plec in there, My God, having just one of these guys and with the coral sand, its amazing the amount of waste one baby pleco can produce, it really highlights the bio load of these fish.
Ive an air stone running and a small internal filter, have a second ordered from fleebay for additional movement / filtration.
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