PLECO HUNT

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
hmmmmm mabey like a big storage tub? because they would pop a kiddie pool... What should I do for a filter? I have enough bubblers and bait bubblers to keep the water moving but no filters hanging around.
 
ScubaChick0121 said:
It just seems like it sometime. And pretty much I was along for the ride, and the community wanted them out. Also the water tech. said that there were too many living in the lake. Apparently it does not concern them untill they can spot more than a few. But now that i know im hopeing next time I go to catch the last few i can find homes for them. Im just trying to figure out what I could hold them in thats cheap untill i can find them homes.
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I'm not sure how many Plecos you want to save. You could try to find a large rubbermaid container. I've seen people on here talk about them in the 300 gallon range. You won't need a heater, so that is good. For filtration, maybe you can find some deals on Craigs list.

Just a thought, but maybe next time your going on a Pleco Hunt you can let the MFK community know in advance. Maybe some local MFkers will meet you there and take some home.

In the end I wouldn't let this get to you too much. You're a you girl and it's cool that you are spending time with your Dad at that lake. I hope that someday my daughter will want to do something similar with me.
 
What you could get, which would be cheaper than stock tanks, would be the large 200 gallon water totes.. They are square, white, and have a cage around them.

As for a filter, you could make a DIY sand/gravel filter with a submersible pump if you did a water tote.. As for anything else, you could look into a small pond filter, or just do daily water changes..
 
thxs for the ideas! anyways, i would only be keeping the plecos short term, because i am waiting to find some offers before i get them. Also does anyone in MFK live around bradenton? haha
 
@chromobotia, my dad let me go out by myself to be yelled at by his elderly residence LOL. He sat in his office all day long!!! I was pretty funny to see the look on peoples faces when they stopped yelling and I explained what I was doing and pulled out a big pleco :D they didnt believe it was real untill it started to make noises at me!
 
I was wondering why some plecos had a large lump on there back. Out of 20 at least 7 had "the bump"
 
Thxs Crashkt90, Ill let you know (: Well I actually got 2 people wanting to take in some plecos from craigslist. Should I have a rehoming price just to ensure that they go to good homes? Or should I just trust that they have good homes for them?
 
mshill90 said:
I think what we all need to be missing, is these are not natural lakes.. so, anything in the lake was placed there to begin with.. Any fish, native or not wasn't there to start. It was probably stocked by a facility, the way that bass and trout are stocked here up north. The fish they are "wiping out" are probably a dime a dozen. So why not leave them be? OR leave 1 lake and put all the plecos in there, and they will eventually beat eachother out.
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The thing about Florida is that a lot of "lakes" are not really lakes in the sense that a lot of people think about them. They are old quarries or drainage systems for whole neighborhoods. Yes, they arn't natural by any stretch but they also usually arn't closed systems. From the outside they may look like a closed off lake but if you were able to look at it empty you'd see many tunnels connecting the lakes and canals into a massive network running from Lake Okeechobee to the Ocean or the Everglades.

If this is a closed off system then that'd be true, but if it is like a large portion of the lakes then no body ever had to bother stocking it.



And killing the fish is perfectly fine. They will keep breeding until they push out all competition then balance their own population. This isn't a good thing. Wiping out 21 might not put a huge dent in the population, but it also isn't creating an opening for the babies to fill. It is taking some of the stress off the native populations who have a lot of unfair competition on their hands. It is a losing battle but it doesn't hurt anything to do it either.

Down here I don't see as many Plecos but in some lakes I can catch Mayan Cichlids by the dozens without even trying. There is one lake nearby where because of the combination of Bluegill, Turtles, and Mayans bait doesn't last more then a couple seconds. Literally, bait hits the water and you are dragging in a 6-7" fish. Last time I tried to give any Mayans to a LFS they flat out told me the fish were considered worthless and they'd 'dispose' of them for me. They didn't even try to sell them.
 
Piscine said:
Here in the south, you don't have to stock a pond or lake in order for it to become populated with native fish. It mysteriously happens on its own. People say eggs travel on the feet of birds. Anyway, fish are stocked in streams and rivers alot up north because of damming. The fish can't spawn because the damn prevents them from traveling upstream to the spawning site. The fish would exist even if they weren't stocked, but there wouldn't be enough to make fishing any fun and tourism would suffer. I often see you presenting uneducated statements as fact, and it only leads me to further believe that you enjoy trolling for a good argument.
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Ouch. :ROFL:
 
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