wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 I tore down my 29 gallon aquarium and changed it over to a planted tank today. I still have my low power lighted hood with a single t-8 bulb in it but tomorrow I will receive a two bulb t5 high output lamp and get that installed. Ill also be adding a yeast powered co2 generator tomorrow to feed the plants. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steeldrifter 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Looks good, it'll look really nice when the grass fills into a rug. One of my 55g's has live plants in it but I am forced to stick with basic care ones like java fern and anubias since I don't use injection. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 That's pretty. Are you going to put ANY fish, grass shrimp, crayfish or other fauna in there? Or, will this be strictly a flora tank? I've never done, or seen, a plant only tank, so I was just wondering. Will you need to ... mow? Cull out plants as they fill in? Are they sell-able? Neat idea, just no prior knowledge on my part. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 I am going to put about a dozen cardinal tetras and my plecostomus back in there. I am considering shrimp also they look pretty cool and I've never kept them before. I made a few change this morning, added some river gravel and moved a few plants around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Careful with the plecostomus ... if they don't get enough algae ... they will eat other plant life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steeldrifter 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 I haven't kept shrimp yet either but know some people who do. Some cherry red shrimp would look nice with the tetras. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 Cherry reds are exactly what I was thinking about getting. Mike- My pleco is a para pleco it doesn't really eat much veg or algae. It seems to be pretty content with left over flake food since I normally feed the fish late in the evening there is plenty of fresh flakes on the bottom, it has never messed with my plants or marimo moss balls which are a big ball of algae. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meeshka 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 Personally I wouldn't put the pleco in. Cardinals and CS will do fine in a well planted tank. CS can be very productive and the cardinals will eat the babies - they don't seem to bother the adults. For any kind of shrimp to thrive water quality should be immpecable. I used to breed them in a 28 gal tall to feed my discus. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 For what reason would you leave the pleco out? Ive had the fish for nearly a year it is full grown at 3" and has never touched anything planted in the tank before (marimo ball and amazon sword). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 When I had a tank with local fish in it, I would often net grass shrimp and put them in there as food. The ones that didn't get immediately eaten could be in there for several days. When it's quiet in the house, you could hear them clicking. Drove my wife crazy the first time she heard it ... and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Meeshka 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 I'm thinking in a heavily planted tank, which I believe you are trying to achieve, and probably will with the addition of C02 you may find he just might disrupt your planting scheme. I know that some species can be somewhat carnivorous - or at least mine were - eating worms and the like, and I don't know how they would react with shrimp. He may just end up boggarting the pellet shrimp food? But the pleco stuff is all speculation. Plecos are generally pretty peaceful. I would try to identify the species just to make sure. Lots of stuff about that on the net. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wschmitt3 0 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 It's a very small, (3") very shy Para Pleco (L075) that I've had for quite a while that is fully grown. It hides in it's cave all day and comes out to clean up left over flake food for a few hours a night. When I get some shrimp if it messes with them I'll move it to a smaller tank I have. But I highly doubt it will. Thanks for the advise though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steeldrifter 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 Just some input from a big pleco fan, I love plecos and have quite a few different species of them from L200 green phantoms to Gold nuggets, albino Bristol nose, long fin albinos, etc etc. The para L075 goes by a few L numbers such as L124, L131? I think, and another. But what I was gonna say is, 3" is not the full grown size on him. Thatis a bit slower growing pleco and when it reaches full adult in about another 12-18 months it will actually top out around 8-9" which will be pretty big for the 29g. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fisherboy0301 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 The pelcos we used to shoot with bows in Lake George in central FL got up to about 4 feet long. And once you shot one you sometimes had to use another arrow until you could get home and use a knife to dig it out if the armour... Invasive, made good crab trap bait... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 If you're quiet enough, I've drifted up to plecos that were feeding and picked them up by the tail. Sand paper skin makes them very easy to hold on to. I've never seen one larger than 2 feet, but even that is a huge one compared to aquarium ones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
