okay im first lol xxx well this is what i do i have a 90g i have a aquarium pump which is 900ltres an hour into my hood which has five baskets, i use sponges and bio tubes,and carbon i have , two 6cm tigar oscars, and 2 plecos who are only 6 cm , ive had these two plecos for 8 months and they are still tiny so i dont know what they are pics are in my profile if you are interested let me know what you think they are,, okay here goes i do a 10 pesent water change twice a week using xtreme microbe lift in my exchange water, then once a month i use happy life liguid filtering medium which removes most harmful nasties so far all reading are perfect, xxxxx, tell me yours, xxxx.

Please post some photos of your Plecos. The fact that they have not grown in the six months makes me think that they may well be bristlenose catfish. Unless you have a fully grown adult, the chances are an adult Oscar will eat one of these fish. I think you'll find that oscars will grow quicker than bristlenose catfish so in a few months your oscars may well be able to eat them quite easily.

unfortunately I think your tank is going to be a tad too small for the fish you have got in a few months time. You need to be testing your water conditions just before a water change, this will determine whether or not you are changing enough water. I have no idea what the following means "xtreme microbe lift, then once a month i use happy life liguid filtering medium "

Come on Kazzy my fellow fish keeper..... Are you having a laugh? ..... lol

Its the photo's we all look for darling ... so get them up..... The photo's I mean.... lololol

I'm with Penn, not familiar with those products.

I do weekly 50% changes, and the occasional 20% if there seems to be a lot of gunk in the tank. Only thing I put in my water is Prime. Oh I take that back, I use Stress Coat on occasion as well, usually when the pleco decides to flip out and take a chunk out of the end of his nose. lol

x3 on the pics, please let us identify your plecos, so we can give you an idea of their growth potential.

hmmm, well, I'll probably get shot down here but I'll say what I do anyway...

I have a 4x2x2 tank, with 2 external filters (fluval 405 and eheim 2028) and also a large internal filter, bigger capacity then each of my external filters i think.. So basically I probably have 2 - 3 times the filtration that is required for a tank of my size...

because of this, my water quality (in MY opinion) is fine, my ammonia and nitrites are always 0, my ph is between 6.6 and 7.2 usually, and my nitrates are between 20 and about 60 (higher then recommended, but fine from my experience)...

I usually do a 50% water change once every 10 - 14 days, but this time around its been nearer a month as I'm waiting until I can use the old water on the new tank, which should be soon... the water quailty hasnt been affected much by the lack of a water change, but this could be because of the over filtration I have..

food is always hikari gold pellets as a staple, once or twice a day, then either mealworms, redworms, frozen bloodworm or mussels...

I dont overfeed, as well as the 2 x 7" oscars I have a 10" common plec, and 3 smallish clown loaches.. the plec never gets fed anything specifically for him, and has to make do with what he can clean off the inside of my tank, which must be enough as he is growing... the clown loaches occasionally get small catfish pellets, but usually just mop up after the oscars..

my tank is grubby at the minute, but when i do the water change that will be sorted... my fish are happy, and i REALLY dont like using any chemicals, so much so I dont use any prime or stress coat when i do water changes, and my fish seem fine with that...

as I said, my methods may not be what everyone thinks is right, but they work for me and my fish..

T

Here! here! Well said.

I Love it when a man says what on his mind and does his own thing. That way nobody can tell him what to do....... Right TonyT its your round at the bar.... lololol

I say a growing pleco can survive on algae and leftovers, BUT to thrive and reach it;s full potential, they should be fed veggies or pleco wafers.
I say up the wc frequenty, Tony and feed your pleco some food, especially for him.
Not only will this give extra nutricion, but will give your pleco something to do for many hours a day.
Mine spent 12 hours non stop gnawing on the zuchiini i feed, and they still clean the whole tank and eat they leftovers...

The Plec could well be a pitbull plec. they only grow to about 6cm, very lively and very active. i used to have one in my community tank a very long time ago.

as for my tank maintenance, i have changed it a little about 2 month ago but this is what I do now. 150uk gallon. 2xfx5. 15" arowana, 5 clown loach between 8" & 4.5" and a parrot.

To start: mid week I fill a 50 gallon water tank thats in my garage with filtered water(to remove all nitrate) this takes about 4hrs so is left slowly filling while I surf the net or other things around the house.this water is heated the before day I need it. Nitragone filter.£70ish wetpets romford.lasted me many yrs still working.

on water change day(once a wk. usually Friday) i treat the stored 50g of water with "Prime". I siphon off 50g from my tank (I have a little line on the side of the tank to mark 50g) while I syphon I use a vacuum fitted to the same hose to remove crap. sometimes a stir up the sand other times not.depends how i feel. both my filters outlets are below the mark so i don't need to turn them off. when the tank is down 50g I plug the syphon end (drain end) with my finger and fit the hose to a pump. then switch on and leave to fill. I don't have to watch it fill cos I only have 50g, the same amount as i removed so i can't flood anything.

i clean the front glass only, anytime i notice any green starting to form. I keep the front glass spotless.sides and back i don't touch.

once a month-ish I open 1 filter(i run 2) and replace the sponge mechanical media. I have spare sponge. the dirty sponge is washed for another day and stored. the bio media is rinsed in the canister filter water before I empty it and replace. from cycling my current tank about 6yrs ago I haven't had any ammonia/nitrite. PH is between 7&7.2 nitrates are now 10pph or below. my tap nitrates are currently 20pph. thats why I decided to filter it. I keep a spare hospital tank 100L plastic so if i need to I can move it unlike glass.(handy if you want to go to a vet)