Perry P.

[LadyLynn]

Oh my goodness I learned so much yesterday about my parchasimus fish yestereday I've been forever and a day hunting for a new home for Perry because he has quite outgrown our 29 gallon tank.

Perry P, "I can't help myself, I have to name every living creature that comes into my home, is 12 to 14 inches long with very little room to swim.

Yesterday I had to make an appointment with the surgeon who did my surgery in March. and since it meant phoning the hospital I inquired about who maintained the fish tanks,

boy was I shoked when the lady called me back. Even the hospital cannot take Perry P.

The reason, I thought was unbelievable but it was educational for me.

The reason:

Perry P. is much too large, and because all of the tanks are on automatic feeders noone would be around to feed him algea wafers, and it would soon turn him into a meat eater and he'd eat the other fish.

So the company that maintains them referred me to another store, but not before explaining why people with ponds shouldn't put these fish in them.

It wasn't because they'll die in the winter time. It's because the gold fish, the koi, and the ornamentals get something on them that "tastes wonderful to a parchassimus, and he'll eventually attack and eat the pond fish.

Out west, at least in the Boise area we have a store, that supposedly is the best of the best, but when and if you think about it, it is only a lawn and garden store.

Zamzows, sadly is just that:
Yes they carry dog food, bunny, hampster food, and a little Katee seed supposedly for parrots, but so far their stuff for parrots have really "sucked, " please please excuse that word."

They do not know parrots, and obviously they don't know that much about fish, at least the pond ones that they are selling.

I'm still very angry with them over the little quaker they had housed in a parakeet cage, much too small for him. ................

but I was in total shock, but the good news is Perry P. will have a temporary home once I can collect him, and get into Boise.

Aqariums and stuff has an "Orphan tank, " 129 gallons, for him to swim in, so I'm quite relieved. The staff said they'd tell me when they adopt him out and who he would be going to so I'm happy about that.

The lady also informed me Parchassimus's can grow up to 2 ft long, so boy am I ever in shock.

When we got him we had an enormous fish, and he eventually flipped the tank and since I couldn't find him he died. Our little 12 cent gold fish grew huge and Perry P. Too.

But Perry is our only living fish now so I'm relieved that he'll be going to live in another tank. Keeping him in 29 gallons is cruel.

but honestly what was I going to do? Flush him down the toilet before I found him a home? Not me!!! It's been months, so now I'm overjoyed about the fact he'll be heading for a brand new home.

hope this educates some of you as well.

it sure did me.

[Ltlpistol]

I live near a lake, that has a bad problem with people releasing their 'plecostomus' into it, thinking they are giving the fish a better life. These fish are not native to our area, and they are disrupting the natural food chain in the lake. They continue to grow for their entire lives and will eventually eat the native fish.

[That_girl]

It's a good thing that Petcos take plecostomus because otherwise, like Ltlpistol said, people just release them.

One thing I learned about plecos that I did not know is that they do not actually eat algae. They should be fed fresh vegetables like peppers - not algae flakes like most people believe. Many people get them for their tanks for the wrong reasons.

There are whole forums dedicated to plecos since there are so many different species. That's a good place to go to further one's education on them.

[Ltlpistol]

That's very odd you saying that, because my pleco does eat algae, he spends great amounts of time cleaning the walls of my tank and suctioning off every leaf surface he can find. I do feed him and the catfish those sinking wafers, but he is the main reason my tank stays so crystal clear.

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Plecostomus
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Plecostomus, pleco, algae eater, or algae sucker, is a general name for a type of freshwater tropical Central and South American fish belonging to the family Loricariidae. Algae eaters are extremely popular in aquaria for their ability to clean tanks by eating algae growth. These fish are typically sold at about 8 cm (3 inches) and may grow up to 60 cm (2 feet), and a few species can reach even more. A relatively new species is hardy and grows to a maximum of 10 cm (4 inches)[citation needed], an ideal size for small to average size tanks.

[That_girl]

We have a hard core pleco person on the reptile forums who posts about his pleco breeding regularily. Here's a quote:

Pleco keeping is a hobby all in its own

Petstores have unfortunately given plecos a very incorrect reputation. The "common" plecos they will be more then happy to sell you for your 10gallon tank are a mix of species many which get 10-12inches long, far to large for a 10gallon. They also promote "algae eaters" as being a fish that will eat all your algae and some claim they eat fish waste.

Diet varies among plecos, some do lean more towards vegatable matter and can do a good job of eating algae (you also feed them zucchini and such), others are more carnivorous, and need to be feed on bloodworms, shrimp ect. And all plecos "eat" driftwood. I'm sure paul knows more about this then me.. but last I read, they were still unsure of the reason behind eating driftwood, it could be for roughage, or it could be they aren't actully looking to eat the wood, but rather eat the layer of bacteria and microorganisms that live/grow on the wood. Regardless of the reason, if you have any sort of pleco in your fish tank, you should provide him with driftwood.

Plecos come from streams and other fast moving water, so they need very clean water conditions (good filtration and frequent water changes).

and I'm making my self late for work, so thats all for now lol

and another

Ah, internet was down here for a few days and I missed the updated posts!

Most of the LDA08s I have are all from the same breeder. That particular fish continues to be patterned that way, while the rest look like the one on the pepper. The odd one came from a guy I got shrimp from; the parents, though were from the same breeder I got the rest from.

I feed yellow and orange, too, but not green. I parboil the peppers in the microwave for a few minutes then let them have at it. They seem to enjoy it, and there's lotsa vitamins in there. Plus, you get the red poop, so that's a bonus.

Zucchini raw, leafy greens parboiled a bit first. If they aren't cooked somewhat my fish leave them until they start to break down in the water. Boiled peas, squeezed out of the "shell." Many people feed sweet potato, but my fish aren't keen on it. They love the rind of melon and eat off the remaining flesh. Anything sweet goes rotten quickly, so I remove it in the AM, where I will leave the rest for up to 24 hours.

Planet Catfish is an incredible site-kind of a different community there, more serious and scientific than PlecoFanatics. The L144 pic is up there in the section on that fish.

This is the thread: http://www.forums.repashy.com/showthread.php?t=8609&highlight=pleco I don't think you need to be a member to read it.

[Ltlpistol]

Seems to me that this guy is saying that plecos DO eat algae, but that you can feed them other stuff as well.

"Diet varies among plecos, some do lean more towards vegatable matter and can do a good job of eating algae."

All I know is every pleco I've ever had, and I always have a pleco in my tank cause I like what they look like, has grown like crazy, and I feed them the sinking wafers to supplement their algae, since they tend to keep the tank too clean for much algae to form.

[LadyLynn]

wow, see what our science teachers never taught us!!