Dawn T

Welcome, Matt! 🙂

I would SO love to have oscars again. I just don't have any place for a tank big enough right now. Maybe once we find a new house and get moved.

I've never used them, but it makes sense that it could work. They're basically just baked clay, like the Hydroton used for aquaponics or hydroponics. 🙂

Thanks, James and Alison. 🙂

What a cool idea! I've seen numerous rock or rock-appearing backgrounds, but they're expensive. I love the idea of a planted background MUCH better.

Thanks! I didn't expect the Anubias to latch onto a plastic decoration, but I'm really happy with the result.

Got a decent photo of one of them this morning. This one has less markings than the other, but they're both dark in color with only sporadic markings.

Having dealt with pleco poop bombs a LOT over the years, boy, do I know about the waste issue. LOL

I'm in SE Arizona. Being in the high desert, it doesn't get quite as hot here as it does in Tucson or Phoenix, but it doesn't get as cold as up around Flagstaff either (thankfully! I HATE the cold). I've had aquariums off and on since I was a senior in high school long enough ago I'm not sure I should admit when that was. LOL I just discovered Cory's videos on YouTube about a month ago, thanks to a recommendation from a video I was watching by KGTropicals. Been binge watching vids from both ever since. Currently, I'm restricted to the two 29g tanks I have, but hoping next year to get a bigger tank (40? 55? 60? 75? not sure). I have a couple of 10g tanks as well, but no where to set them up, due to our current living arrangements. One has a large Top Fin tree root decoration in it that I love, though it's actually too big for that tank. An Anubias nana I'd placed in there has firmly attached itself to that "root" and is slowly creeping over it. That tank also contains Cryptocoryne wendtii, though I got bunch out of there a couple of weeks ago to clean up the tank and make way for new plants. There's a large Java Fern hiding behind the Anubias in the right side of the photo. The Java Fern and more Anubias nana are on a good-sized piece of mopani driftwood. There are still some loose plants floating in the tank, but those go to a new home this week. This aquarium contains 2 rosy red minnows (only ones of 10 "feeder fish" to survive quarantine), a black skirt tetra (OLD, lone survivor of her school), and a pleco about 6" long that's been with me almost 5 years after coming to me as a rescue. The other tank has a cave (also Top Fin I believe), as well as a piece of mopani driftwood (visible in the left side of the photo). It has a forest of Cryptocoryne wendtii "green" that I finally thinned out a couple of weeks ago. They'd taken over the entire tank, including that whole front area. The only occupant is a pleco about 6" long that I've had for about 6 years. I'm currently awaiting my first order from Aquarium Co-op, which includes new plants of species I've never been able to get at my local stores, so I'm excited about that!

Looks like you and I joined the forum about the same time this evening! Cool tanks!

Oh, and forgot to mention - a habit I'm still trying to break - I have a tendency to OVERclean my tanks when I do water changes. Gravel vac to the extreme included. Been willing myself to STOP that, but my OCD says I'm SUPPOSED TO! LOL

Well... I'm not consistent with water changes. At. All. Thankfully, my tanks are sort of lightly stocked. Both have a pleco in them, so... probably enough said there. I'm not consistent about quarantining new stock. I decide about that depending on where I got the fish. Anything comes from Petsmart, it gets quarantined. I learned too many times ending up with an ich infestation from new fish from there that I finally learned that lesson. You'd think one time would've taught me, but... not so much. 🙄 I only recently started testing my water parameters on any sort of consistent basis. I keep a notebook, too, rather than rely on my memory (never a good idea). Still not being consistent about it - like once a week or whatever - though. As for past sins - worst one that comes to mind was trusting a pet store employee who told me my 55g tank would be "perfect" for a pair of baby oscars and an 8" long common pleco. If I'd known then what I know now, I would've kept my community fish in the 55g and put the oscars and pleco in the 125g I had at the time. The 125g was so lightly stocked, the 55g would've been perfect for the community. Definitely got things backwards there.

OM gosh, I would LOVE this! In fact, I've been doing water testing lately and wishing for this very thing. Even went looking to see if someone had one out, but alas.... Why do only saltwater folks get this sort of nifty gadget?

I've got 2 plecos - in different tanks - that I'm not sure about identity on. Hoping all of you can help me figure out if they are "common" or some smaller species. I bought 1 of the 2 about 6 years ago from Petsmart. He grew slowly to about 6" and seems to have stalled out there. No more growth in the past year or so, but he seems to be doing well. He's currently the only fish in a 29g tank planted pretty heavily with Crypt wendtii "green" that's turned into a jungle. The full body pic attached to this post is him/her. BAD photo, but it shows the dorsal fin fully erect and tail flared, so the body contours are readily apparent. BTW, that tank isn't really green water as that photo appears. Nasty trick of the camera because I zoomed in to get the shot without sending him running into the aquascape. The 2nd pleco is a rescue who came to me almost 5 years ago. He's only grown about 1" in that time, so he's now right about 6". Based on where the people live that I got him from, I suspect he's also a Petsmart purchase. He shares a 29g tank with a pair of rosy red minnows and a single black skirt tetra (an OLD fish that's outlived the rest of its school). The tank was VERY heavily planted until a couple of weeks ago when I finally thinned the plants out. Crypt wendtii "green" forest, with a LARGE Anubias nana and a sizable Java Fern, both of which I trimmed. I'll try to get a good photo or two of one or both of them tomorrow after lights come back on. I love both of my plecos, but they're definitely not the most cooperative critters to photograph. I think they're camera shy, because they most often play peekaboo like the second image. LOL They have the same body shape, fins, and markings. I have no idea how to sex plecos, so no clue of the sex of either. Regardless, hopefully at least one of them is cooperative. Come spring, I'm planning to set up a pond and hope to transition them to it. Would it be okay to put both of them in the same pond? If so, how big should I go to make sure they're safe together? I've read so much conflicting information about plecos online, I'm not sure what's feasible at this point. Hoping maybe someone in the forum has transitioned plecos to outdoor ponds (I'm in the high desert of southern Arizona, btw) and can provide insights into that AND can provide guidance on whether these 2 can be put together in a single pond. I'm not opposed to setting up 2 smaller ponds versus 1 big one, but I need to know which possibility to plan for.