# My 2yr old's fave pet



## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

We have a rather large resident in our 29g guppy tank.... A 14" Pleco (hypostomus plecostomus) named "Big Fish". This guy is my son's absolute favorite fish, with Poisson being a close second, lol. I have had several plecos over the years, but never has one grown this large. He's pretty, in a strange sort of way, and keeps the guppy tank pretty clean!! Here's a couple pics of him, basking in his odd beauty.....


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

He is very pretty indeed. 
But 14" is a little big for a 29 gallon, don't you think? :shock:


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## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

My mother-in-law just bought him about 4mo ago.... He was tiny (about 5"). It's her tank & she refuses 2 move him to a larger tank, because the last one she moved ultimately died on her, within 2 weeks. Unfortunately she is 2 hardheaded 2 understand that he eventually needs more room. He seems very content tho, and I've been supplementing him with algae tabs, hence the greenish tint 2 the water, lol.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Wow! So glad your son loves his pet. I can relate- I've loved fish from the first time I ever saw one. This is YOUR tank and you + your family can do whatever you choose that works for you, BUT you should be aware that 29 gal is very small for a huge pleco; I would recommend frequent water changes to protect his tankmates from ammonia and nitrate accumulations. Even smaller plecos have a heavy bioload, meaning they produce a lot of ammonia and metabolites. If these accumulate in your tank, your fish will suffer and become prone to disease , bacteria and fungal infections. If they accumulate further, they ( ammonia and metabolites) will kill your fish directly.
Please don't take this as critisism of your tank, just a warning from a friend about a potential problem. I would recommend 25-50% water change twice per week with a water test to make sure ammonia and nitrate are not accumulating.
Good luck!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Nice fish! I like his name. Lol


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## Morguex (Oct 24, 2013)

He's a very nice looking pleco 

I have a 10" one on my tank and my 7 year old niece loves him, she calls him "Surfer fish" It was funny the first time she saw him, she was about 4 and he was hiding in the background and popped out all of a sudden and she screamed and ran away from the tank, I told her he is really good for the tank and keeps it clean, now she can't get enough of him.


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## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

rsskylight04 said:


> Wow! So glad your son loves his pet. I can relate- I've loved fish from the first time I ever saw one. This is YOUR tank and you + your family can do whatever you choose that works for you, BUT you should be aware that 29 gal is very small for a huge pleco; I would recommend frequent water changes to protect his tankmates from ammonia and nitrate accumulations. Even smaller plecos have a heavy bioload, meaning they produce a lot of ammonia and metabolites. If these accumulate in your tank, your fish will suffer and become prone to disease , bacteria and fungal infections. If they accumulate further, they ( ammonia and metabolites) will kill your fish directly.
> Please don't take this as critisism of your tank, just a warning from a friend about a potential problem. I would recommend 25-50% water change twice per week with a water test to make sure ammonia and nitrate are not accumulating.
> Good luck!


I do partial water changes & frequently add a few gallons atleast 2x's per week (the air temp in the house is quite warm, so evaporation is quick)... But I can only do it when she's at work. The reason for this, is cuz the last time I did a 50% water change (with her breathing down my neck) we lost nearly 50 guppies, and since then she refers to me as the guppy murderer! I believe the guppies had gone in2 shock from having clean(ish) water, as it had been 2 yrs since anyone had even touched the tank, aside from topping it off. We've only lived here since Dec, and she has so many fancy guppies & endlers, it's literally impossible to count them. While they seem content, I constantly try to explain to her that 200+ fish is way 2 many for that size tank, and have even suggested starting a 2nd 29g & separating the boys from the girls. She won't hear of it! I'm scared to do so myself, cuz of her reaction when I took 4 juveniles out and put them in my son's community tank. They were so young that we couldn't even determine their gender, but she swore up & down I had "stolen the prettiest fish" in the whole tank. I was thoroughly puzzled, as they were still colorless!! Lol. She is a very difficult person & insist that her fish are fine, all she has to do is feed them, change the filter cartridge once every few weeks, and leave the rest up to natured. I suppose she has the same philosophy with. 4-leggeds as well..... Male & female chihuahua, both intact & 2 INDOOR tom cats.... The only one that's altered is the German shepherd (by previous owners  ), that isn't allowed inside! Sad really, but I suppose she feels that HER puppies
would never end up in a shelter & are a way to make $.... Ugh!!!


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## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

Morguex said:


> He's a very nice looking pleco
> 
> I have a 10" one on my tank and my 7 year old niece loves him, she calls him "Surfer fish" It was funny the first time she saw him, she was about 4 and he was hiding in the background and popped out all of a sudden and she screamed and ran away from the tank, I told her he is really good for the tank and keeps it clean, now she can't get enough of him.


"Surfer fish"? That's an awesome name!! My son keeps saying he wants 2 catch Big Fish on his lil fishing pole, but there's no way we'd EVER let him go "aquarium fishing".... Tho we have seen some guy do it on YouTube, lol!


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Infrequent water changes will kill fish. Reason is because as water sits in the tank and is used by fish, plants , and bacteria, it becomes depleted of minerals and loaded with biological metabolites. Ph falls causing ammonia to convert to ammonium. Ammonium is very much less toxic, so fish seem fine. Then when you add fresh, mineral rich water , the ph rises to normal level and ammonium is converted back to ammonia. The more toxic ammonia kills fish. Seems like the water change killed the fish, but it was actualy the LACK of water changes that set up the fatal conditions. No tank can remain healthy without water changes. Regular water changes keeps your tank stable. Irregular water changes causes instability.


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## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

I change my own tanks regularly, and I wish she would at least let me do partials.... I've been sneaking them while she's at work, lol. She says that all we can do is feed them &, add water as evaps, clean the filter intake & change cartridge out. I've told her how important water quality is, but she's stubborn


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## JellOh (Mar 13, 2013)

Could you get her to stop replacing the filter? Every time you replace filter media you're loosing the bulk of your beneficial bacteria. It's better to just swirl it around in old fish water about every other time you clean the tank. Maybe you could try selling some of the fish? Every once in awhile take out about 10 females and give them to a lfs. If she has so many then she probably won't relies some are missing and will eventually think they are just dying off. Plus, the fewer females breeding the better.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Your Mom is practicing the same methods I learned when I first started keeping fish. Over the years I SLOWLY learned a better way to maintain a stable tank, I'm still learning. Can't be stubborn with fishkeeping-only ones to suffer will be you and your fish. I agree with you that you should respect her ownership of the tank, and also agree with your sneaking to help the fish. Never stop learning; that's my motto.


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## PoissonsMom (Feb 11, 2014)

Thx 4 ur advice on this.... She watches the tank like a hawk & if I were 2 remove some of the girls, I'm afraid she would notice :-( I can't even begin 2 say how many guppies there actually are, but there were 4 dead (one, a huge & very old female) and she noticed they were gone, even tho I removed them b4 she ever got home. I don't think they had been dead b4 she left. Alot of them, while mostly red moscows, have different tail markings (even the girls), as there are several mosaic patterned endlers in there. Stripes, spots, etc... So she actually recognizes most of the fish in the tank (and when they go missing!)


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