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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 9, 2009 10:56:09 GMT -5
will an upside down catfish eat platy fry? need an algae eater that won't eat fry - all my plecos grow to fast to be in a 10 gallon tank - they don't seem to sell anything but common plecos here....
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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 9, 2009 17:17:45 GMT -5
I don't mean to seem impatient, but I really need an answer please.....
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Post by bikeguy33 on Mar 9, 2009 17:47:05 GMT -5
i know very little about this species.....but in the wild a large part of their diet is insects. knowing this, i feel if they can catch fry they WILL eat them. as well they are a catfish and most catfish will eat whatever will fit in their mouths. remember tho...this is just an educated guess....
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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 9, 2009 18:05:35 GMT -5
so, do you or anyone else have a suggestion as to what to put in a fry tank as an algae eater? plecos are mellow and never bother anything, at least for me, but keeping one in a 10 gallon tank isn't right unless I replace them every month w/ a new little one!
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Post by bikeguy33 on Mar 9, 2009 18:23:15 GMT -5
i have had great success with my nerite snail....
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Post by bikeguy33 on Mar 9, 2009 18:25:32 GMT -5
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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 9, 2009 18:26:27 GMT -5
you don't keep an algae eater or cat in any of your tanks w/ all those fish? you know how I feel about snails......
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Post by bikeguy33 on Mar 9, 2009 18:40:56 GMT -5
i have a common pleco and a squeeker catfish.....both thriving. as well....i searched for a nerite snail after carls recommendation. found them here for $5. they can only reproduce in a salt water environment and do a great cleaning job...
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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 9, 2009 18:52:58 GMT -5
thanks Bill - just hope they don't have an appetite for fry......
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Post by bikeguy33 on Mar 9, 2009 19:00:28 GMT -5
np bud....my pleasure
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Post by Carl on Mar 9, 2009 21:45:23 GMT -5
I agree with Bill as to Nerite Snails. My favorite algae eater to keep in community tanks (including Platys, of which I have one now with my Platys), is the Oto Catfish: I have small blurb about them near the bottom of my Planted Aquarium article in the algae eating inhabitants section: Freshwater Planted Aquariums; algae eating inhabitantsCarl
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Post by kagome on Mar 9, 2009 22:23:10 GMT -5
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Post by eve on Mar 10, 2009 2:13:36 GMT -5
you could also get a bristlenose pleco
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Post by corycatwoman on Mar 10, 2009 8:07:17 GMT -5
there are also chinese algae eaters but some of them dont eat the algae and prefer other foods instead but some people have had great luck with them. i think it depends on the fish.
some people have had luck with ottos but others have had issues acclimating them they are really fragile fish alot of them die in the transfer from shipping to the pet stores. and then die when placed in the pet store tanks. and then again die in the transfer from petstore tank to your tank. i think only 1 out of 6 make it in the long run from all those transfers. but everyone here knows the proper way to acclimate them so ottos might work for you. just get a handful of them to be safe that way atleast 1 or 2 may make it.
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Post by kagome on Mar 10, 2009 8:49:17 GMT -5
you could also get a bristlenose pleco My one concern about a bristlenose is that when they get bigger they can be pushy and territorial, even to non-pleco fish.
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Post by corycatwoman on Mar 10, 2009 9:49:59 GMT -5
i wouldnt suggest chinese algae eater for fry tho they are a little bit homocidal but they do good job cleaning up.
id stick with the otto cats but read up on them theres soo much you need to plan for and like i said earlier they are tough to keep alive and there even tougher to find already healthy. if the store you get them from doesnt look like theyve been taking good care of them i wouldnt even bother trying to get them there.
Problems with Keeping Ottos Alive
People often have trouble keeping newly purchased otocinclus alive. This is due to a number of reasons. First, most ottos are caught in the wild so they have to suffer long trips to get to the aquarium store. Then, often the stores do not take good care of the fish. They may keep them in clean tanks with nothing to eat but whatever prepared foods that the care giver dumps into the tank. Ottos prefer to eat soft algae and will not do well if they do not have any. So, by the time someone buys a few ottos, they are often weak and starving. If they are then added to a tank without algae, they soon die. If the tank does in fact have algae, the ottos may eat most of that in short order and then starve, even with supplemental feeding. While ottos prefer to be in larger groups, it is important not to add too many to a tank. In a tank heavy with soft algae, 1-3 ottos per 10 gallons is fine but if the tank is too free of algae, it may not support more than one otto per 50 gallons. If you cannot support at least two ottos, do not get them as a single individual will waste away for lack of companionship. Often, after a batch of ottos are added, 20-80% of them die but the survivors may live for years since they have reached a sustainable population based on the algae and other food available. Die offs of new otocinclus are also common due to their desired good water quality and sensitivity to many medications.
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Post by eve on Mar 10, 2009 18:36:14 GMT -5
you could also get a bristlenose pleco My one concern about a bristlenose is that when they get bigger they can be pushy and territorial, even to non-pleco fish. i have a grown out male actually, planning on adding a female later down the road i haven't had any problems with him i have several hiding decorations in my tank, he just occupies one of them and the other fish leave him to it only see him usually just before lights go out, a true nicht scavanger, but i love him as for chinese algae eaters, i would say an absolute no with platies once they get bigger they get more aggressive and will go after everything and anything have never heard of people having much of a problem with otos, unless they didn't acclimate them properly
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Post by murdock6701 on Mar 10, 2009 18:46:39 GMT -5
thanks for all the suggestions everyone - a small variety of pleco is my 1st choice, but all they have here are commons which I seem to have a knack for growing rather large very quickly! I have has SAEs before and no way!
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Post by corycatwoman on Mar 10, 2009 20:32:03 GMT -5
id go with some otto cats but make sure you read up on them here is the link that i found my information on them when i was debating on getting them for my tanks. www.fishpondinfo.com/otto.htmim sure theres a better site out there for them. but that is the one i quoted earlier in the post.
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Post by nosoop4u246 on Mar 12, 2009 0:53:54 GMT -5
I had an Upside Down Cat for a while... I'd not buy them for algae control... I believe mine actually ate one of my smaller Gold Barbs, and took a fin off my Bumblebee Catfish... They're definitely carnivorous, and will snack on the fry, as I think Bikeguy said. If you want algae control, I think it depends largely on the type of algae... If you've got some hair algae, Platies Otos are great... For more solid diatoms, smaller Plecos are good.
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