watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was the BIG
Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at the water
slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune moment
so we can get him inside for the winter.)

I'll try to post pics.

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 00:27:59 -0400, "*muffin*"
wrote:

watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was the BIG
Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at the water
slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune moment
so we can get him inside for the winter.)

I'll try to post pics.

I had to go looking for a picture of a pleco and found this
interesting.

Feeding

Plecos should not have to rely on naturally growing algae alone as
their only diet. As they mature they lose their algae eating
tendencies somewhat and must be fed a basic diet of sinking
herbivorous foods. Lettuce or zucchini strapped to a rock with a
rubber band makes a great snack for your Pleco. Dried algae tablets
can also be purchased and make a great daily food. Plecos will
generally leave plants alone providing they get enough vegetable
matter in the diet.

Water Chemistry

Hypostomus plecostomus is a very hardy species that will adapt to most
aquarium conditions. Avoid keeping the fish in extreme pH levels or
temperatures and it will usually thrive.

Breeding

Due to the adult size of these catfish, most successful breedings have
occured in ponds with steep clay or mud banks. They dig tunnels close
to the water level and the males guard the eggs until they hatch.




Hypostomus Plecostomus


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Name(s):
Plecostomus; Pleco; Sucker Mouth
Family:
Loricariidae
Origin:
South American rivers
Max Size:
18"
pH:
Neutral
Temp:
74-82 F.
Tank Size:
45 Gallons
Feeding:
Herbivorous

"*muffin*" wrote in
:

watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was
the BIG Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at
the water slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune
moment so we can get him inside for the winter.)

I'll try to post pics.



Here in zone 5 I won't even try a pl*co outside, but when I have to catch
one in an aquarium I'll put a piece of appropriately sized PVC pipe in
and when he goes in, reach in, cover bothe ends and lift out the pipe
with occupant. This works on small ones and my (approx) fifteen sailfin
pl*co in a 90 gal tank...m

? Why are we not spelling out the word Pleco?

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"magus kent" wrote in message
...
"*muffin*" wrote in
:

watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was
the BIG Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at
the water slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune
moment so we can get him inside for the winter.)

I'll try to post pics.



Here in zone 5 I won't even try a pl*co outside, but when I have to catch
one in an aquarium I'll put a piece of appropriately sized PVC pipe in
and when he goes in, reach in, cover bothe ends and lift out the pipe
with occupant. This works on small ones and my (approx) fifteen sailfin
pl*co in a 90 gal tank...m

"*muffin*" wrote in message
(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune
moment
so we can get him inside for the winter.)

An easy but dangerous way to catch them in the fall is to wait for the first
chilly morning below about 55 dgr.F.More than likely your pl*co will be
lethargic and trying to sun itself in shallow water to warm up. Scoop it up
in a bucket, bring it inside, and gradually let it warm to room temp(in the
bucket) using a low wattage aquarium heater (like one made for a 5 gallon
aquarium). I say dangerous because I've had about an 80% success rate but it
was the only way I could catch mine because of the water plants and the
pl*co's normal nocturnal behavior. And yes, the first year it was totally by
accident, that I found three in different ponds on the same morning. If you
try it this way, you MUST check every morning once the weather begins to
cool down and your surface pond temp drops to near 70 F. because you never
know exactly which morning the water temp will drop to the critical temp.
and you MUST warm them back up gradually or that shock might also kill them.

RGB
Zone 5 OH

Nedra wrote:

? Why are we not spelling out the word Pleco?

Someone in an earlier post (not this subject line) said that there was some
superstition on aquarium news groups that if you spelled out pleco the pleco
in question would die, hence pl*co.

Weird.

Joe



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On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 13:30:03 GMT, "Nedra" wrote:

? Why are we not spelling out the word Pleco?

There's a superstition (forget the origin) that if you spell out the word your
Pl*co will die (I have 4 in my aquarium, mom, pop, brother and sister and I
don't want anything to happen to them :-).

"*muffin*" writes:

watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was the BIG
Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at the water
slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune moment
so we can get him inside for the winter.)

One thing I remember about plecos is when you catch them they stick their
fins straight out and they are very sharp! Be careful.

"Nedra" writes:

? Why are we not spelling out the word Pleco?

The myth is that if you had one he would now be doomed.

It started years ago in rec.aquaria when several people post things like "I've
had my pleco for years and he's doing well" then a few days later said pleco
would have died.

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 00:27:59 -0400, "*muffin*"
wrote:

watching the pond last night (with the lights on in the pond)
it was fascinating watching these fish swim around.... and there was the BIG
Pl*co (which is over 10") swimming on its back,, sucking at the water
slurping in the floating fish food.

(awww he was soooo cute ...I hope we can catch him in an inopportune moment
so we can get him inside for the winter.)

I'll try to post pics.


I've found the best way to catch mine was to put a chunk of
zucchini in the net... and put the net into the water... and
wait....then just lift the whole bunch out when he/she is in the
net feeding.. those things are strong and very fast when they
want to be.

Thanks for the information, guys. I appreciate it ...

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"Andrew Burgess" wrote in message
...
"Nedra" writes:

? Why are we not spelling out the word Pleco?

The myth is that if you had one he would now be doomed.

It started years ago in rec.aquaria when several people post things like
"I've
had my pleco for years and he's doing well" then a few days later said
pleco
would have died.

I am in zone 5 northern Ohio. he was purchased in may with the goldfish &
has been outside since.

do you 'bait' the pipe with anything??



Here in zone 5 I won't even try a pl*co outside, but when I have to catch
one in an aquarium I'll put a piece of appropriately sized PVC pipe in
and when he goes in, reach in, cover bothe ends and lift out the pipe
with occupant. This works on small ones and my (approx) fifteen sailfin
pl*co in a 90 gal tank...m

Buy some gloves and be patient I had enough trouble catching a 10" pl*co in
a 4 foot tank. They are quick and feel like rough sandpaper.

Paul

"*muffin*" wrote in
:



I am in zone 5 northern Ohio. he was purchased in may with the
goldfish & has been outside since.

do you 'bait' the pipe with anything??

No. Idea is to give the pl*co somewhere dark to hide in. For my 15 inch
pl*co I'll use a piece of pipe about two foot long..m

mine always loved romaine lettuce - I use a clip on a suction cup to keep it
in place in the tank and they come up and eat it. If you have a pond you
could simply hold the lettuce in place w/a rock so it doesn't float about.

Do not use iceberg lettuce as it has zero nutritional value.

LeeAnne

"jammer" wrote in message
...

I had to go looking for a picture of a pleco and found this
interesting.

Feeding

Plecos should not have to rely on naturally growing algae alone as
their only diet. As they mature they lose their algae eating
tendencies somewhat and must be fed a basic diet of sinking
herbivorous foods. Lettuce or zucchini strapped to a rock with a
rubber band makes a great snack for your Pleco. Dried algae tablets
can also be purchased and make a great daily food. Plecos will
generally leave plants alone providing they get enough vegetable
matter in the diet.

Water Chemistry

Hypostomus plecostomus is a very hardy species that will adapt to most
aquarium conditions. Avoid keeping the fish in extreme pH levels or
temperatures and it will usually thrive.

Breeding

Due to the adult size of these catfish, most successful breedings have
occured in ponds with steep clay or mud banks. They dig tunnels close
to the water level and the males guard the eggs until they hatch.




Hypostomus Plecostomus


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Common Name(s):
Plecostomus; Pleco; Sucker Mouth
Family:
Loricariidae
Origin:
South American rivers
Max Size:
18"
pH:
Neutral
Temp:
74-82 F.
Tank Size:
45 Gallons
Feeding:
Herbivorous