is it possible

[Toby_H]

alright alright alright i apologize, i spoke too soon with out thinking clearly. my first thought was not kill the fish so i let my mind wonder on another route and i spoke before thinking. my apologizes to everyone. i feel like all of my experience just went out the window. me

Your heart is in the right place... you hate to see a healthy fish get killed for no reason...

But the lil dude is screwing up your tank... So he has to go...

My guess is if you keep checking fish stores you'll eventually find one that will take him as a donation...

As a last ditch... put it in a bucket, go to a local mom & pop type shop (not a chain) walk in the front door, set the bucket on the ground, smile, wave... and walk out...

Call the store 5 minutes later and tell the person that answers the phone "the Pleco is healthy, I just couldn't keep him and no one else would take him..."

It's sort of a jerk move... but better than releasing him into the local water ways... and is easier on the heart than whacking it's head off...

 

[sick_lid]

As a last ditch... put it in a bucket, go to a local mom & pop type shop (not a chain) walk in the front door, set the bucket on the ground, smile, wave... and walk out...

Call the store 5 minutes later and tell the person that answers the phone "the Pleco is healthy, I just couldn't keep him and no one else would take him..."

It's sort of a jerk move... but better than releasing him into the local water ways... and is easier on the heart than whacking it's head off...

This is a very good move man. You could even leave it outside and call them when you drive off, completely anonomous if you don't have the huevos to go in.

I can't imagine though any shop saying no if you go in and say, take this for free I don't want it. Any person that works at any lfs should be more responsible than you (if you chose to do anything other that you stated) in keeping it alive. Good luck man.

 

[peewee]

generally, plecos expell more dirt than what they clean in the tank, and they don't clean actually, they just eat. lol!

 

[mymindseye81]

This is a very good move man. You could even leave it outside and call them when you drive off, completely anonomous if you don't have the huevos to go in.

I can't imagine though any shop saying no if you go in and say, take this for free I don't want it. Any person that works at any lfs should be more responsible than you (if you chose to do anything other that you stated) in keeping it alive. Good luck man.

just went to my LFS, i went to the counter a young girl was working i asked her if they would like the pleco and she looked at me and said i dont know let me ask me ask the manager, she walked to the back and i left the fish on the counter. thanks for the help everyone

 

[suki_koko]

 

[LowCel]

That works. I've driven over five hours round trip to meet someone to give them a fish that I needed to find a new home for. Unfortunately being responsible isn't always the easiest route.

 

[Plec123]

is it possible to have a healthy fish tank without Pleco fish? i truely despise these fish, there bio lode is way too much. i cant stand the 8" long strands off poop in my tank anymore. so i want them out but i also want a healthy fish tank. i do have 4 Mystery snails so i dont really want more of those. i also have live plants which help with the algae. my tank is all tangy so whatever it could be must be some what comparable to the tangys. some one told me about an O' Catfish...i could not find any info about this fish. anyway please send me your suggestions.

theres no need for plecos in any tank, and many kinds dont include algae as a large part of their diet. some are almost completely carivorous. if theyre in any tank, they should be in there because the owner likes them. if you wanna keep algae down, just do more frequent water changes andget a couple more plants.

 

[spaulding]

i believe the o'catfish you refered to in you original post would be an otocinclus. i small suckermouthed catfish that is fairly decent at helping to control algae if kept if numbers.

 

[Sab_Fan]

I gave my pleco to an LFS that kept a koi pond; after we released it, I looked into the pond and counted probably close to a dozen large plecos in there . . . obviously, I wasn't the first one they did this for

as to my tanks, I don't keep common plecos, but I do keep bristlenose, bulldog, clown and otocinclus cats . . . I like 'em all just fine . . .

 

[aguitar]

I keep them mainly cuz my fiancee and myself enjoy them. I keep a few otocinclus cats in my community tank for a little assistance in cleaning. I keep a common, a L-001, and a L-56 bscuz I like them.