I really lucked out on one of the fish I inherited! This Pleco is about as perfect as I've seen. No distortions in the fins or anything and he isn't even showing off. Weird thing with these things; they will actually 'scrub' the inside of a tank with their mouths even if there is nothing there to eat. Their mouths are 'raspy' and they chew on things. I have a wood skewer with a leaf of spinach in the tank. He has yet to realize the spinach is food but is eating the wood skewer. He totally tears up an algae wafer!

While not as people friendly as the rope fish I want they are still extremely peaceful and just go about their business which is mostly eating. A lot of people think they are rather plain but I think they are gorgeous. You should see this guy when he fully opens his tail fin and other fins; he is at rest in the following shot. These things are ancient going back 75-100 million years. Just by the appearance they look dangerous but are quite mellow and herbivores. Ever have a tank with an algae problem, throw in a Pleco and the algae problem is gone. I call rope fish 'water dogs'; these things are 'water cows' with armor plating as their scales are bony for protection.

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Looks interesting, but not the best angle shot to see him properly. It's nice you have one that takes the hard work out of getting rid of the algae for you, enjoy.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

LOL! It is hard to get a different angle of a shot as they tend be nose down and vertical when not in motion. I feel that, since their species is older that us humans, I can let it do it's own thing.

The critters are prehistoric yet have survived through many and many millions of years surviving many extreme changes in climate yet they still thrive. They are biological tanks with bone based scales as armor and, when fully mature, toxic spines on the edges of their fins. I know it sounds like they are a dangerous tank fish but they really are not. They are totally mellow and peaceful but not to be messed with. They have been around for 75-100 million years. Other fish seem to know the danger they could present and just leave them alone. They are primitive enough that they have to hit the water's surface on a regular basis to maintain the air in their 'swim bladder'. All fish have this but these things are ancient enough to have to replenish manually. If you were ever to research their history you would discover that they are totally amazing creatures that go back to the age of dinosaurs. They fascinate me yet are totally peaceful. Still nothing will mess with them which is fair as they don't mess with anything unless forced to do so. They will run from a fight but, if forced, will rip out your heart. In the proper conditions they can reach a size of two feet in length. If I were to be diving and met a two foot pleco I would just wave bye bye and leave it alone. By it's nature it would not attack but, at the same time, it would not put up with me messing with it. At that size a spear gun would likely just bounce off and it would just swim off but don't trap the critter in a corner as you just may lose the battle.

They are amazing creatures that do not get the respect that is deserved. They just seem to know that they are the master of their environment. Have you ever tapped on the side of a tank and seen the fish scatter? Won't work with most plecos as they will just ignore. They won't even flinch. While they can be friendly enough to be petted you don't want to force your hand on a fully mature critter. Their 'sting' could make you wish you had been stung by a couple dozen wasps instead. I just looked and there was a case of an oscar (large fish) attacking a much smaller pleco. The pleco died but so did the oscar. They are just not to be messed with. They are total vegans but vegans that can easily defend themselves.

They are just totally awesome critters!

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To add on... my demon bird seems to like the tank

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I think the demon bird wants to go swimming.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Mayhaps but I think he would rather eat.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

I got the second e air pump today for the under gravel filtration and finally have the air flow I want. I swear that this is an example of the downgrading of today's aquarium filtration. 25-30 years ago I would have done just fine with one of these air pumps to drive the tank; now I need to use two.

I'm still looking for a smaller pump for the built in filtration but am not really much concerned as, even though considered out of date, my under gravel filtration will do better than the built in. The problem I see with the built in filtration is that probably 95% of the water flow does not even go through the filtration media. I mean what good is pumping 264 gallons of water per hour when only something like 12 gallons per hour is actually going through the filtration media? The other 95% of the water flow just causes turbulence enough for fish to have to struggle to swim. The under gravel filtration I setup is pure filtration without waste. The under gravel system actually moves more water through the gravel filtration than what I would get with the built in and it does not cause strong currents so the fish don't have to fight to swim. Sometimes 'old school' is just better.

If you know anything about physics you will understand how much water the air flow in the following image will produce. Now double that as I'm running two air tubes. One big advantage here is that the air system does better as to filtration as it uses the entire gravel bed as the filtration media. Another advantage is that it causes almost no turbulence in the water.

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I've decided to not get rope fish as the 20 gallon tank really too small. They would survive but would not have the room they really need. I've had them in a 30 gallon but that is borderline.

I'm now thinking about a couple of the following for the main fish. The 'proper' name is Laetacara Dorsigera. The 'common' name is Redbreast Acara. One cool thing about them is that they can change colors. They are dwarf Cichlids only growing to about 3 inches so they can't outgrow the tank. They are also one of the more docile Cichlids so I can add a school of smaller fish as long as they are not small enough to be seen as food.




<edit>
I SWEAR that is a conspiracy! Even though I'm not quite ready to buy I checked for availability of the above pictured critter at at least 6 sources and all show sold out.

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Looks like the tank is as much finished as ever except for the fish I want. I say "as much finished as ever" as I'll always be tinkering. All the plants are fake but I'm already thinking about adding some live plants. As you can see there is a space between the top of the water and the black lid. I hate that but can't fill any more and still have the built in filtration work. I'll use black electrical tape to mask out the air space.

I think it fits in the space well and the table matches the black on the tank. Also, if you look at the little bit of wood showing on the arm rest of the couch and the hour glass the gravel is a close match. I think that it all blends together quite well.

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I think it looks great, and probably relaxing to watch, too.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

That's what I thought Stephen, it's always relaxing watching an aquarium. Yours looks really good in the space Jay.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

A tank can also be a bit funny. I have 6 black skirt tetras in the tank and it is funny watching them chase air bubbles. Pretty obvious as to why they call them black skirts. I have 6 due to their doing better if they can school.

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Oh, BTW, You know me and backups...

Power failures can affect an aquarium if they last awhile. Ages ago I bought a 450VA, 250 WATT, UPC for charging batteries if I was out at a park with my radio control stuff. Turned out that I have enough batteries and have never needed to use the UPC. The tank's heater and pumps are now connected to that UPC. The UPC is on the small side but the heater and pumps don't draw a lot. I figure that it should run the tank for a considerable amount of time. I didn't bother connecting the tank's lights as they are not essential plus they are connected to an outlet that is controlled by a wall switch.

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OMG! I'm SO happy. The fish I want are on the way. I just asked for the fish I wanted on the fish forum I joined and was given a link to get the critters. I had done MANY searches and found nothing but the people on the fish forum I joined know how to find things better then I.

For three of te critters I' paying like $70.00 but half of that is UPS next day shipping. Here are the critters I'm getting. While the picture shows their natural colors it isn't constant as they tend to change colors to match where they live. The following is a generic image in neutral water. They are just pretty.

I AM worried as to te next day shipping as I actually put in the order early on Saturday. Next day would be Sunday and don't think that UPS does Sundays. There should be oxygen pellets in the packaging to keep the critters going but I don't like the probable extra day. Still I doubt that there is an issue as next day delivery as I figure this means business days. Since I ordered on a late Saturday I imagine the next day shipping will actually start Monday with my getting on Tuesday.

Here is what I'm getting. In my humble opinion REALLY pretty critters. They will grow to 3-4 inches and are intended as the 'feature fish' in my tank.

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Very nice! Yes, I would think that the seller would ship on Monday for a Tuesday delivery.

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

I agree with Steph with regards the shipping time. So pleased that you are finally being able to get the fish that you originally wanted, they do look pretty.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Oh CRUD! I ordered the wrong fish! Trying to stop the order but we shall see what happens. If I can't stop the order it will be OK but what I ordered get larger than I want by 2-3 inches.

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Phew! The outfit, Wet spot, is actually out of stock as to what I want (as is everyone else) but have canceled the order and are refunding without issue.

This is what I actually want. Somewhat similar to what I ordered by mistake but smaller. Also this one fits in with the other fish in the tank as to water conditions. The ones I ordered by mistake would want a high PH level.

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Crisis averted, though I guess that means that you are still looking...

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stephen boots
Microsoft MVP 2004 - 2020
"Life's always an adventure with computers!"

Ya, still looking...

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I have two outlets that say they will keep an eye out for what I want but no commitment. These fish are from the Amazon Basin in South America and as many are wild caught as tank bred. I wonder if Covid could be part of the issue due to knocking out some of the wild gatherers.

One way or another I will end up with these fish. They are just totally beautiful and max size fits well with my tank. They are also docile which is not a normal trait with cichlids as they are, by nature, hard core predators. The fish I want are still predators but are cool in a community tank, such as mine, as long as you don't have really small fish. Any fish in the tank small enough to fit in the mouth is considered food. Anything larger is pretty safe.

Oh, when I say they are a predator I am VERY serious. Between breeds it varies but they are all still hunters. Piranha are also cichlids and probably the most vicious of the genre.

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The tank is finally turning over as to proper water conditions. Here is the current appearance. Water clarity seems to me to be much improved. Here is the current appearance... In think it is looking pretty decent. If you want a closer view clicking on the image will expand. Clicking on it again will expand further but you would then need to use the scroll bars to see areas...

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It's looking good Jay, glad to hear you managed to cancel the order for the wrong fish. You'll get what you want eventually, remember the saying, everything comes to those that wait, so it's just a question of being patient.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

I don't like the 'air gap' between the top of the water and the tank's hood but can't fill the tank enough to get rid of the gap and still have the built in filtration work properly. I plan on using black plastic electrical tape to mask out the gap. I may also use some aquarium grade silicone to block off the bottom of the 'over flow vents'. Doing that I just might be able to get the water level high enough to not need the electrical tape as a mask. Blocking the bottom of the over flow vents should have no impact as I changed out the built in filtration pump from 264 gallons per hour down to 93 gallons per hour. The original pump just caused too strong of a water flow for the fish I want.

I also added some more fake plant strings that I removed from the weighted bases to be floating green stuff which will give the fish more hiding area and, also diffuse the light a bit.

All in all I'm pretty happy with how things are going.

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