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L083 might get to about 18". Mine is only about 12", but he was stuck in a 20gal for about 3 years before I got him :( Once I got him and moved him to a 3ft, and now 4ft tank, he grew a lot bigger over the last 5 years, but he's never going to hit 18". His growth since I've had him has been...

As it was caught in a local lake, chances are it's one of the "Common" species. Count the rays in it's dorsal fin. If it's 12, then it's a Pterygoplichthys species. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=6#88 Chances are someone dumped a couple of Commons when they...

Might take a few years, but they do grow into a quite impressive fish over time. Ian

And it's just a baby one too, adult size is around 18" :D Ian

This is my guy stealing my Oscar's floating pellets. What the pic doesn't show is how he was batting the Oscar out of the way with his pectoral fin. :grinno: Ian

His problem is he wants a decent size one. All the ones the wholesalers will stock are farm raised 2" babies that people will be buying to stick in their 20gal tanks. :screwy: What you need to do is find one that's been traded in, or adopt one from a 20gal tank owner, once it's grown to 6"...

That's a Sailfin Pleco, they are most certainly omnivores and love nothing better than a bit of shrimp or beefheart. Heck my guy reduced a fully grown tiger barb to a skeleton overnight. But you should be feeding them mostly vege based diet as it's better for their digestive system. Some...

Number of rays in the dorsal fin says they are a Pterygoplichthys species, so that narrows it down a bit. Have a look here and take your pick. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=6#88 P. disjunctivus or P.pardalis are the most "Common" ones. Ian

The "L" numbers were created because there were a lot of fish coming out of the Sth American jungles that did not even have scientific names, and we all know what a mess Common names are for fish. So they were given "L" numbers so at least there was some consistent reference for them. Many...

Keeping a large pleco in a planted tank is a bit like trying to garden with a bulldozer driving around. It's not that they set out to decimate your plants, but they are big, clumsy and like to fossick around on the bottom at night. So the plants get messed up. Ian

Lots of "squash like" plants and fruit grow in the Jungle, and fall into the rivers, and plecos clean them up. Without stomping around in the upper reaches of the Amazon looking for plants I can't name them, but don't worry, they are there. Main thing is when we are keeping them is to...

I'd say a L001 or Goldspot. The skin pattern is sorta hidden by the stress colouring, which isn't unusual if it's just been moved. They are quite closely related to some of the "Common" species, so care is pretty much the same. They are quite effective as algae eaters, and don't seem to grow...

Watch for the pleco sucking the slime coat of the bichir is as well. They don't always do it, but once they start you can't stop them Ian

They look healthy enough. They are pretty hardy, and will be the last ones to get stunted in an overcrowded tank. If the Aro is doing OK in there, conditions will be plenty good enough for a pleco. Of course those big fat poop machine plecos is the main reason the tank is overcrowded...

Way I see it with fish like that, you paid the store a $25 adoption fee. This is actually fair enough, the big fat thing probably took up a whole tank to itself, and ate who knows how much food. If the store had stocked the tank with baby plecos, bought for $5 and sold for $10, and sold 10 of...

Could be a little Bristlenose, they have a habit of breeding and leaving stray fry lurking in tanks. Ian

Common plecos are actually omnivores, and will eat practically ANYTHING. It's true that they should be fed plenty of vege matter to keep their gut working properly, and they can get constipated, and even die, if fed high protein food all the time. But it will do them no harm at all if they...

I have one just like it, they are nice fish, but nothing rare or valuable about them. I think I traded mine for a dozen guppies, to rescue it from a 20gal tank. If a shop is asking $20 as a "re-homing fee" that's fair enough. If you want to get rid of it, "free to good home" is a pretty good...

Like Wayne suggests, most of the water will flow via the path of least resistance, right over top of the media. The idea of baffles is that it forces the water to flow up and down through the compartments and hence the media. The more flow you can get over the actual media, the better the...

Some thoughts... If the nitrates are staying that high, even with the frequent water changes, that indicates the tank is overstocked. Traces of ammonia indicate that the filtering may not be up to the task of the overstocked tank. While that level of Nitrate, ammonia, or the medication...