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Old May 15th, 2008, 04:12 AM
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MyBirdIsEvil MyBirdIsEvil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CearaQC View Post
There are even stories of plecos just rotting away (fin/tail rot) not long after being introduced to the tank. Something about pH?
Severe infections cause that, or else the other fish ate it. Fin and tail rot is usually easily treatable, there's no excuse for letting the fish rot away.

Quote:
However I have heard rumor online in fish forums that some plecos can live, even breed in tanks with Lake Tanganyikan cichlids. Just another lake in Africa with slightly different cichlids.
No, not if you keep the pH to that for Tanganyikan fish. Lake Tanganyika has an even higher pH (sometimes slightly above 9) than Malawi. They're not just slightly differnt lakes, they're extremely different ecologically.
Common plecos are from South America so they should have low to moderate pH at most (not above 8), never high pH (though the hardy species can survive in most water types, which is why they're invasive in Florida).
As far as Malawis eating a plecos eyes, it's possible, plecos often get picked on by other fish, but it also depends on the type of Malawis. Some aren't all that aggressive, but it's always a risk with African cichlids. Tank size and setup is also a factor. The larger tank, less stocking and more places to hide for the pleco (which can be nearly impossible for a very large pleco) the less likelyhood for issues, but still a possibility.

I have two bristlenose plecos and a sunshine pleco in a tank with 3 tanganyikan cichlids and various other fish, but the pH is 7.4-7.5 out of my tap and I don't adjust my water for most of my tanks no matter the species. Most fish are adaptable as long as the pH is stable. My BN plecos breed in there.

Quote:
The only way I could keep my 50 gal tank free of algae was to manually scrub the glass every few days and then let the external tank filters take care of the rest. If it gets really yucky, you can do a partial water change
Algae is not adequate to properly sustain a common pleco anyway. They need to be supplemented with stuff like peas, zucchini, romaine lettuce, and algae wafers.
If you want to keep your tank healthy water changes should be done weekly regardless. The only exception I personally make to this is a 29g tank I have with one small fish in it. Nitrates barely even read in that tank.
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Ok...now I'll try to answer some of the original posters questions, sorry my posts are so long, lol. I just have a lot of various knowledge.
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