Catfish and/or Pleco's in AP systems - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T14:02:50Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454447&groupId=4778851%3AGroup%3A28135&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI too have plecos in every si…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-28:4778851:Comment:4554532013-03-28T19:24:59.484ZJon Parrhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JonParr
<p>I too have plecos in every single tropical tank to clean the walls. Like TC said, the small ones do a splendid job of eating slime and algae, and the big ones tend to play dead until feeding time and then steal food. Plecos are nocturnal, and can definitely wreak havoc to tankmates at night. I also have catfish in every single tank and raft trough, just as sweepers and to eat what they can find. If green water is the problem, then mossambicus tilapia are your friend, as are daphnia and brine…</p>
<p>I too have plecos in every single tropical tank to clean the walls. Like TC said, the small ones do a splendid job of eating slime and algae, and the big ones tend to play dead until feeding time and then steal food. Plecos are nocturnal, and can definitely wreak havoc to tankmates at night. I also have catfish in every single tank and raft trough, just as sweepers and to eat what they can find. If green water is the problem, then mossambicus tilapia are your friend, as are daphnia and brine shrimp. </p> Thanks for that feedback. Ve…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-27:4778851:Comment:4548712013-03-27T04:06:49.731ZLinda Loganhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LindaLogan
<p>Thanks for that feedback. Very helpful to have an understanding of what it is and it's function.<br></br> <br></br> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454966&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454966"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I wouldn't worry about cleaning out the brown slime. It is probably a combination…</p>
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<p>Thanks for that feedback. Very helpful to have an understanding of what it is and it's function.<br/> <br/> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454966&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454966"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>I wouldn't worry about cleaning out the brown slime. It is probably a combination of bio slime (the bacteria that convert the ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate) and small particles that get caught in it.</p>
<p>A healthy system should have a fine coating of bio-slime on every surface in the system.</p>
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<p>Only real reason to clean things off is if you are running a display tank and need it all crystal clear so people can view your fish and the pretty display you have set up with them.</p>
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</blockquote> I wouldn't worry about cleani…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-27:4778851:Comment:4549662013-03-27T02:43:42.793ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>I wouldn't worry about cleaning out the brown slime. It is probably a combination of bio slime (the bacteria that convert the ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate) and small particles that get caught in it.</p>
<p>A healthy system should have a fine coating of bio-slime on every surface in the system.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Only real reason to clean things off is if you are running a display tank and need it all crystal clear so people can view your fish and the pretty display you have set up…</p>
<p>I wouldn't worry about cleaning out the brown slime. It is probably a combination of bio slime (the bacteria that convert the ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate) and small particles that get caught in it.</p>
<p>A healthy system should have a fine coating of bio-slime on every surface in the system.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Only real reason to clean things off is if you are running a display tank and need it all crystal clear so people can view your fish and the pretty display you have set up with them.</p> I have the white liner on my…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-26:4778851:Comment:4547602013-03-26T18:02:27.366ZLinda Loganhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LindaLogan
<p>I have the white liner on my fish tank. What I see is a brown coating on the bottom and sides. I don't know if this is algae as I think of algae as green. I can clean it off easily. From suspension it mostly flows into my sump which is where I pump from into the beds. Once a month or so I clean this out with a vacuum pump. It is this brown stuff that I wanted the pleco's to clean.</p>
<p>I have a DO meter and checked my DO,it is running around 8+ in water about 75 degrees. I think of…</p>
<p>I have the white liner on my fish tank. What I see is a brown coating on the bottom and sides. I don't know if this is algae as I think of algae as green. I can clean it off easily. From suspension it mostly flows into my sump which is where I pump from into the beds. Once a month or so I clean this out with a vacuum pump. It is this brown stuff that I wanted the pleco's to clean.</p>
<p>I have a DO meter and checked my DO,it is running around 8+ in water about 75 degrees. I think of myself as such a novice that I'll have someone else check this to verify my results.</p>
<p>I also don't know how clean the FT should be. I've seen some with water you can't see into and then heard other say there's is totally clean on the sides and bottom. Any guidelines here other than fish seem well and plants are growing.</p>
<p>As always, thanks for your help</p>
<p>Linda<br/> <br/> <cite>TCLynx said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454691&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454691"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>If you are having green water issues, I don't think the Plecos will help.</p>
<p>If you are having green surface algae in the tank, the plecos will eat that but I don't really think surface algae is generally much of a problem in aquaponics and tilapia will eat it some too.</p>
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</blockquote> If you are having green water…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-26:4778851:Comment:4546912013-03-26T17:39:53.103ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>If you are having green water issues, I don't think the Plecos will help.</p>
<p>If you are having green surface algae in the tank, the plecos will eat that but I don't really think surface algae is generally much of a problem in aquaponics and tilapia will eat it some too.</p>
<p>If you are having green water issues, I don't think the Plecos will help.</p>
<p>If you are having green surface algae in the tank, the plecos will eat that but I don't really think surface algae is generally much of a problem in aquaponics and tilapia will eat it some too.</p> That helped clear things up.…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-26:4778851:Comment:4546352013-03-26T03:09:13.919ZRobert Rowehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobertCRoweBob
<p>That helped clear things up. My concern is that I want the Pleko's to keep algae under control but not interfere with Tilapia breeding. I sense going forward I will have to curtail the breeding.</p>
<p><br></br> <br></br> <cite>Pat James said:…</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454627&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454459"></blockquote>
<p>That helped clear things up. My concern is that I want the Pleko's to keep algae under control but not interfere with Tilapia breeding. I sense going forward I will have to curtail the breeding.</p>
<p><br/> <br/> <cite>Pat James said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454627&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454459"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>i stand corrected. they are in the same family. To some of the texts, any bottom feeding fish is a catfish. But not in the same genus: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish</a> So they do behave very differently.</p>
<p>I would not worry about a plecostomus injuring fry unless those fry just swam into the pleco's mouth...</p>
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</blockquote> Plecos you will likely find i…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-26:4778851:Comment:4546272013-03-26T01:49:14.334ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Plecos you will likely find in pet stores or from tropical fish suppliers.</p>
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<p>Channel Catfish and other types of "farm pond" catfish you probably want to find the pond stocking suppliers to get them from unless you need only a tiny quantity. Beware the channel catfish can grow big, relatively fast. Here in central FL in outdoor unheated systems, I've found the channel catfish grow far bigger, far faster than any of my tilapia did. (I can usually get from fingerling to between…</p>
<p>Plecos you will likely find in pet stores or from tropical fish suppliers.</p>
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<p>Channel Catfish and other types of "farm pond" catfish you probably want to find the pond stocking suppliers to get them from unless you need only a tiny quantity. Beware the channel catfish can grow big, relatively fast. Here in central FL in outdoor unheated systems, I've found the channel catfish grow far bigger, far faster than any of my tilapia did. (I can usually get from fingerling to between 3-5 lb with the channel catfish in a year and I've never gotten a tilapia over 2 lbs, actually I was usually lucky to get over 12 ounces with my tilapia since I was growing mixed gender (if it was warm enough for them to eat well, they were into breeding behavior even through I had them caged up off the bottom of the tank) and by the way, you can't expect a well fed channel catfish to go to much effort to eat the tilapia fry or fingerlings. Large well fed channel catfish are really quite lazy and not nearly as maneuverable as the little tilapia. Catfish may make good work cleaning up the lethargic tilapia when the weather gets too cold for them but I wouldn't count on catfish taking care of a breeding problem with tilapia if you are feeding the fish any pellets.</p> i stand corrected. they are i…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-25:4778851:Comment:4544592013-03-25T23:44:48.616ZPat Jameshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatJames
<p>i stand corrected. they are in the same family. To some of the texts, any bottom feeding fish is a catfish. But not in the same genus: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish</a> So they do behave very differently.</p>
<p>I would not worry about a plecostomus injuring fry unless those fry just swam into the pleco's mouth...</p>
<p>i stand corrected. they are in the same family. To some of the texts, any bottom feeding fish is a catfish. But not in the same genus: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_catfish</a> So they do behave very differently.</p>
<p>I would not worry about a plecostomus injuring fry unless those fry just swam into the pleco's mouth...</p> Reply http://en.wikipedia.org…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-25:4778851:Comment:4544472013-03-25T21:44:20.891ZRobert Rowehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobertCRoweBob
<p>Reply <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleco" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleco</a><br></br> <br></br> <cite>Pat James said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454196&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454196"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Robert, I think you will find a pleostomus is in complete different…</p>
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<p>Reply <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleco" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleco</a><br/> <br/> <cite>Pat James said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/forum/topics/catfish-and-or-pleco-s-in-ap-systems?groupUrl=aquaponicsforbeginners&commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A454196&xg_source=msg_com_gr_forum#4778851Comment454196"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Robert, I think you will find a pleostomus is in complete different family from catfish. They also are pretty much a total vegetarian.</p>
<p>Matt, I am sure you can find small cats pf several different species at your local pet store but be prepared to pay several dollars each. Your best bet is go down to the local feed and seed store or farmer's coop and see if they know fish suppiers for pond stocking. In my area they all do.</p>
<p>I talked with 2 stores, each using different suppliers and getting deliveries monthly. They do not hold the fish..your contract is with the fish breeder, I imagine the store might get a small percentage of sales for hosting. Plus they sell fish food.</p>
<p>One of those suppliers offers 4-6 inch channel cats for 40 cents (in lots of 100) each. the other supplier offers 3-5 inch fingerlings for 27 cents each, but 25 cents if you make your order online.</p>
<p>You might find somebody in your area to split an order if you can't handle that number of fish, but $25 will NOT buy you many fish at a pet store... AND you can eat channel cats if you keep them alive long enough to grow up.<a rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a><a rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a></p>
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</blockquote> Robert, I think you will find…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2013-03-25:4778851:Comment:4541962013-03-25T21:21:33.214ZPat Jameshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/PatJames
<p>Robert, I think you will find a pleostomus is in complete different family from catfish. They also are pretty much a total vegetarian.</p>
<p>Matt, I am sure you can find small cats pf several different species at your local pet store but be prepared to pay several dollars each. Your best bet is go down to the local feed and seed store or farmer's coop and see if they know fish suppiers for pond stocking. In my area they all do.</p>
<p>I talked with 2 stores, each using different suppliers …</p>
<p>Robert, I think you will find a pleostomus is in complete different family from catfish. They also are pretty much a total vegetarian.</p>
<p>Matt, I am sure you can find small cats pf several different species at your local pet store but be prepared to pay several dollars each. Your best bet is go down to the local feed and seed store or farmer's coop and see if they know fish suppiers for pond stocking. In my area they all do.</p>
<p>I talked with 2 stores, each using different suppliers and getting deliveries monthly. They do not hold the fish..your contract is with the fish breeder, I imagine the store might get a small percentage of sales for hosting. Plus they sell fish food.</p>
<p>One of those suppliers offers 4-6 inch channel cats for 40 cents (in lots of 100) each. the other supplier offers 3-5 inch fingerlings for 27 cents each, but 25 cents if you make your order online.</p>
<p>You might find somebody in your area to split an order if you can't handle that number of fish, but $25 will NOT buy you many fish at a pet store... AND you can eat channel cats if you keep them alive long enough to grow up.<a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a><a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Grin.gif"/></a></p>