L183 fish room journal ///

[bsmith]

I have had the pleasure of keeping this beautiful ancistrus for about 2 years now, Ancistrus dolichopterus to be exact. I purchased 3 for what one cost now from a local fish store, that from time to time has more oddball stuff than the others in my area. The striking "starry" patterning and clear, pure white of the line on their dorsal and anal fins. Now after quite a few territory disputes between them only one is left.

Since moving to a home with a proper basement I have been itching for a project like this and so it has begun. A few weeks ago a friend gave me a 37g that was no use to him after I found him a very nice 75g (who is a member of the sitem thanks Jon). Also in the mix is a 30gLong that was given to me by another member on this site and my current partner in an aquatic business/hobby forray (thanks Tim). I had a few extra Eheim filters after a bulk purchase for the aforementioned aquatic venture so it just had to have been fate. Tanks, Filters, I had some lights and even some left over spent ADA Aquasoil, which the L183's enjoy quite a bit of driftwood as most ancistrus do so the soil was a perfect match.

Here are the pics I have. Thee were some more of the building of the stand and the fish during acclimation but a camera malfunction has destroyed them im afraid.

Here is what I have right now, you cant see the 2215 under the tank but it's there.

Their current home, I have some more wood on the way!

Seeing this will make you want to put together a proper stand pretty quickly!

The 30long, im waiting on a 2217 to arrive. Ill have the 2217 in the 30L and the 2215 and 2213 on the 37.

Fish in the bag.

[bsmith]

The fish in their new home. Fenton, MO 63026.




The new stand. Not quite ADA but at least the color is right.

[CL]

Sweet. I was gonna have to scold you if you hadn't built another stand.

[bsmith]

Scold, what a funny word, im gonna have to use it today. Yeah that was scary for sure. I guess like canister filter tank size recommendations shelving manufacturers weight capacities are a bit optimistic. I am happy with it. When we moved in the previous owners left a bunch of 2x4's from finishing part of the basement so I didn't need to buy any of them. All in all I have $33 in it including $12 for the paint.

[CL]

Originally Posted by bsmith

Scold, what a funny word, im gonna have to use it today. Yeah that was scary for sure. I guess like canister filter tank size recommendations shelving manufacturers weight capacities are a bit optimistic. I am happy with it. When we moved in the previous owners left a bunch of 2x4's from finishing part of the basement so I didn't need to buy any of them. All in all I have $33 in it including $12 for the paint.

lol, before I clicked on this thread I was actually thinking I should have used the word chastise too haha.
That's a pretty sweet deal for a huge stand.

[bsmith]

72"Wx18"Dx24"T

[vca2004]

Where are all the other tanks of the "fishroom", I just see one...

[bsmith]

Its a room with fish in it, you must be spoiled.

[hydrophyte]

Nice. That is a cool fish. I followed the link.

"Scold", that's a good one too. We were just saying the other night that we want to try to re-popularize "yonder", as in "over yonder hill".

[bsmith]

Here are the latest pics. I have to thank my wonderful wife for helping me organize all the fish stuff I have accumulated over the years.
THE WHOLE DEAL

Left side of the 37g the 4 183's are in

Center

Right

37's 2215

37's 2213

30g that is next to the 37 for fry separation if necessary. It has some DW in that is soaking.

30g's 2217

[bsmith]

The STARS of the show!!!




Does anyone feel I should have the filtration any different? The 2213 on the 37 is just shooting out of the tube to reduce flow and I think im going to drill larger holes in the 2215's spray bar to decrease pressure as these fish are from a black water area in the amazon and don't have too much flow. I think though that the filter's are on the right tanks.

[bsmith]

I was reading some articles over at planet catfish and stumbled across a product called the screwcumber, this got me thinking about what I could use to do the same since I was not willing to pay $25 to have 2 of the screwcumber shipped from the UK to me. So I headed down to my local Lowes and here is what I did.

Purchased 10 stainless non coated I bolt screws and ground off the point with my Dremel. $4 cant beat it.




I wonder if they (my plecs) would like Celery, or if they would tolerate Grapes? I know they are horrible for dogs.

[bsmith]

I transferred the original L183 from my 55g into the tank in the journal. The conditions and feeding will be much more to his liking.

This was the first time I had ever held a pleco in my hand because of fear that I would get stuck. But after seeing people holding foot long Panaque in their native habitats I figured a 3" ancistrus could do no harm. It was really cool.




Here are pics of it in a bucket. I cay it because im still not sure if it is a male or female. Im more inclined to say male because the bristles go up the snout between the eyes but still they aren't quite a prolific as so man of its other brother.



Just some more random tank shots..



This is the remains of a cucumber from the night before. Hungry suckers.

[bherren1]

Great journal so far. Your plecos are beautiful. Your so lucky to have a fish room. Our house is on a crawl space and I don't have the money to build a separate building in the backyard, so no fish room for me. Since my wife doesn't care about this hobby I don't have to worry about her reading my post so I can say this: The only reason that a full basement is one of my criteria for our next home is so I can have a fish room. Selfish?

[hydrophyte]

THose fish of yours are really cool.