"Kevin & Freida Livingston" <kevida97@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:B7ednZ2dnZ2PozfwnZ2dnfZgl96dnZ2dRVn-0Z2dnZ0@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> "NetMax" <computeralias@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:dPqdncsKraTeYpTeRVn-hQ@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>> "Kevin & Freida Livingston" <kevida97@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>> news:dsGdnQRg9YJIRpTeRVn-3A@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>
>>> "Tedd Jacobs" <Jacobs@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>> news:s6uTb.3$H35.27444@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>>>
>>>> "Kevin & Freida Livingston" wrote...
>>>>
>>>>> If I could "pick everyone's brains" for just a moment, I have a
>>>>> question. I
>>>>> would like to know what fish/invertabrates would make a good "clean
up
>>>>> crew"
>>>>> (eating algae, leftover food particles, waste, etc.) for a 55 gallon
>>>>> tank. I
>>>>> have the following species:
>>>>> Guppy,
>>>>> Tiger Barb,
>>>>> Albino Tiger Barb,
>>>>> Green Tiger Barb,
>>>>> Neon Tetra,
>>>>> Glow Lite Tetra,
>>>>> Red Eye Terta
>>>>> Plecostumus (I realise they eat algae but I want to give it a
"boost"
>>>>> of
>>>>> needed).
>>>>>
>>>>> I have bee considering adding either a dwarf crayfish, some glass
>>>>> shrimp,
>>>>> and even fresh water clams (but I have been talked out of that in my
>>>>> previous posts). Anyway, any suggestions on which creatures (and any
>>>>> special
>>>>> care tips for said creatures) would be appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> african dwarf frogs do fairly well at keeping the bottom clean,
granted
>>>> there
>>>> are others that are better but they are a nice bit of diversion from
>>>> the norm.
>>>> as for algae, a small group of oto's does well.
>>>>
>>>> JMHO.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Now for a different problem!
>>>
>>> I have two plecostomi (I am supposing that "plecostomi" is plural
for
>>> "plecostomus") that are pooping like there is no tomorrow! I have
>>> reduced
>>> the food intake of the community; which includes tertas, platties,
>>> mollies,
>>> barbs, cory cats, and two Thai or ("Red Claw") crabs; but I am seeing
>>> "stringers" off of the plecostomi that are longer than thier bodies!
>>> Rather
>>> than clean my tank daily (which I am almost on the verge of), are
there
>>> any
>>> commercially availabe crtitters that....how do I ask this without it
>>> sounding gross?...take care of the "by-products"? Also are ther any
>>> critters
>>> the eat decaying plant matter? Thanks in advance for any help!
>>>
>>> -Kevin
>>>
>>> P.S. My tank is 55 gallons and I have an Em****er Bio Wheel filter
>>
>> Stringers as described would for any other fish be a possible sign of
an
>> internal bacterial infection, but for plecii ;~) it can be typical. In
>> theory, they are pigging out on something, so the stringers should
>> decrease as their food supply decreases. There isn't any commercially
>> available critters which consume their by-products. Various snails
will
>> eat decaying plant matter.
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>>
> Hi Max!
>
> Well how would I know if it is an infection and what medicines can I
> give my fish to help them if ti is?
>
> -Kevin
I'm not a big fan of medications unless I'm more certain of the necessity
and the ailment. In the case of your plecos, do they have driftwood that
they can chew on? My understanding is that they need to periodically
clean
out their gut by passing coarse organic matter through. Try giving them a
few different types of driftwood to rasp. I would also vary their diet by
offering them zucchini and perhaps algae wafers. This won't reduce their
'output' as what goes in has to come out, but a more balanced diet might
get
their detritus to a more normal form (shorter and decays faster), but they
do have a reputation for what you are seeing.
ps: you might want to reduce your cross-post to the newsgroup you frequent
the most. I'm mostly in rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc and alt.aquaria.
--
www.NetMax.tk
|
