tunblue;3202736; said:
wingate2581;3202778; said:
jiapei;3202725; said:
) Anyways, I researched the stuff and found this great alternate way to use it VERY effectively. I just defrost a batch of food for the next ten days, mix it together with enough Gel Tek to coat it really well, let it sit and soak for about 20 minutes, feed what I need tonight and put the rest in the freezer. I just used ice trays for dividing up the batch. This is actually a recommended way to adhere the medication to the food. Wet Whiskers;3205195; said:Seeing that you are looking at getting more and indicate that you have lost other plecos in the past, I have a few questions for you about the water parameters you were keeping him in. I have a 13" L014, and he's been doing just great for several years now, as well as other countless exotic plecos. First, are you using Orange County's finest (AKA the liquid rock that comes out of our tap that some try to pass off as water)? Our water is really too hard to keep amazon fish in, especially when they are still so little and struggling to survive anyways. I mix my water so its about 50% tap and 50% R/O water, dechlorinate, and get the pH to about 6.8. Frankie and all the other exotic plecos I've raised do really well in these water parameters. The 50/50 mix supplies enough minerals that your pleces will be nice and healthy as well as it helps to buffer the pH from completely crashing around. I do use acid to bring the pH down, so I also have KH buffer (carbonate hardness buffer) on hand to bring up the pH as needed. Depending upon the size of your tank, a phosphate buffer like pH 7.0 would work great.
Also, I'm glad to hear that you are going to be getting some driftwood. Many plecos require this in their diet to keep their digestive tract running properly. So, not only will it help the water and give him some hiding space, it will keep his intestines happy.
As for the water temperature, I find that 80-84 is really good for them. Anything higher and I don't think the water can hold enough oxygen and the fish's temperature and metabolism get too high.
On his diet, he gets frozen hikari bloodworms, frozen hikari shrimp, massivore, steamed shelless market shrimp, algae wafers (not his favorite but I force it once in a while for diversity in his diet), steamed zucchini, steamed sweet potato, etc. I really try to keep his diet varied and when I'm really good about it, it shows. The krill, massivore, and shrimp are his favorites and seem to really be great for him. His cheek odontals (the spines they can flare) get really long when he's getting all this.
Someone mentioned PraziPro. Great stuff for deworming. These guys are wild caught and then live at a fish store. Who knows what crazy stuff is hosting on these guys guts. The PraziPro can be put directly in the water and is very effective. There is no need to worry about your biofiltration as it is not an antibiotic. Also, I use metronidazole which gets rid of other types of internal parasites. You mix it into the food for 10 days, and between that and the PraziPro, you have a parasite free fish. Its just not recommended to use them at the same time. I do not know why, but I figure I'll heed the warning. Depending upon the source of the metronidazole, you may need a second compound which binds the medication to the food. The easiest way to do it is to use Gel Tek Ultra Cure PX. I use it a little differently that it says on the back since I've never gotten a fish just to eat it. (mmm... liquid medicine
If you have an questions for me, shoot me a PM.
Wet Whiskers;3205195; said:Seeing that you are looking at getting more and indicate that you have lost other plecos in the past, I have a few questions for you about the water parameters you were keeping him in. I have a 13" L014, and he's been doing just great for several years now, as well as other countless exotic plecos. First, are you using Orange County's finest (AKA the liquid rock that comes out of our tap that some try to pass off as water)? Our water is really too hard to keep amazon fish in, especially when they are still so little and struggling to survive anyways. I mix my water so its about 50% tap and 50% R/O water, dechlorinate, and get the pH to about 6.8. Frankie and all the other exotic plecos I've raised do really well in these water parameters. The 50/50 mix supplies enough minerals that your pleces will be nice and healthy as well as it helps to buffer the pH from completely crashing around. I do use acid to bring the pH down, so I also have KH buffer (carbonate hardness buffer) on hand to bring up the pH as needed. Depending upon the size of your tank, a phosphate buffer like pH 7.0 would work great.
Also, I'm glad to hear that you are going to be getting some driftwood. Many plecos require this in their diet to keep their digestive tract running properly. So, not only will it help the water and give him some hiding space, it will keep his intestines happy.
As for the water temperature, I find that 80-84 is really good for them. Anything higher and I don't think the water can hold enough oxygen and the fish's temperature and metabolism get too high.
On his diet, he gets frozen hikari bloodworms, frozen hikari shrimp, massivore, steamed shelless market shrimp, algae wafers (not his favorite but I force it once in a while for diversity in his diet), steamed zucchini, steamed sweet potato, etc. I really try to keep his diet varied and when I'm really good about it, it shows. The krill, massivore, and shrimp are his favorites and seem to really be great for him. His cheek odontals (the spines they can flare) get really long when he's getting all this.
Someone mentioned PraziPro. Great stuff for deworming. These guys are wild caught and then live at a fish store. Who knows what crazy stuff is hosting on these guys guts. The PraziPro can be put directly in the water and is very effective. There is no need to worry about your biofiltration as it is not an antibiotic. Also, I use metronidazole which gets rid of other types of internal parasites. You mix it into the food for 10 days, and between that and the PraziPro, you have a parasite free fish. Its just not recommended to use them at the same time. I do not know why, but I figure I'll heed the warning. Depending upon the source of the metronidazole, you may need a second compound which binds the medication to the food. The easiest way to do it is to use Gel Tek Ultra Cure PX. I use it a little differently that it says on the back since I've never gotten a fish just to eat it. (mmm... liquid medicine
If you have an questions for me, shoot me a PM.
Let me add small plecos don't mean small tanks..smaller plecos in my experience are more prone to ill effects from nomial water varations.
