New World Cichlid Tank Problem

[mrjames]

i have a strange problem... i have a juvi tiger oscar, a pearl cichlid and small common plec in a temporary tank with a sand bed and a peice of bogwood. there seems to be loads of stuff all over the sand now the same colour as the bogwood but looking like stringy poo... can anyone anser y?

thanks

 

[tophat665]

i have a strange problem... i have a juvi tiger oscar, a pearl cichlid and small common plec in a temporary tank with a sand bed and a peice of bogwood. there seems to be loads of stuff all over the sand now the same colour as the bogwood but looking like stringy poo... can anyone anser y?

thanks

Plecos crap an awful lot. That's almost certainly what it is.

 

[ox5477]

i have a strange problem... i have a juvi tiger oscar, a pearl cichlid and small common plec in a temporary tank with a sand bed and a peice of bogwood. there seems to be loads of stuff all over the sand now the same colour as the bogwood but looking like stringy poo... can anyone anser y?

thanks

Haha, its your pleco's poop prob. They will eat the wood and whatever they eat, their poop will turn close to if not exactly that color. Now that I have sand in my tank, my pleco's poop is sand colored because the algae discs he eats are usually on the sand he sucks up some sand with it.

 

[mrjames]

thought it was him lol il take him out lol thanks ppl!! will a small catfish eat the bogwood?? because id like somethin to oviously keep the tank clean with the oscar in there.

thanks again

james

 

[ox5477]

thought it was him lol il take him out lol thanks ppl!! will a small catfish eat the bogwood?? because id like somethin to oviously keep the tank clean with the oscar in there.

thanks again

james

Don't take him out, you won't even notice the wood he eats so don't worry.

I dont think any cats eat wood (except for plec's obv)

 

[mrjames]

ive taken him out now. fed up with the mess!!! thanks for replys guys

 

[LisaLQ]

Your other fish will poo too you know

All plecs poo a lot - it's a common misconception that they keep your tank clean - as although they will clean up some algae, they will make twice as much mess doing it Contrary to what's said in an earlier reply - not all plecs eat bogwood, but all plecs poo a lot - colour could be anything they've eaten.

If you do regular gravel vacs anyway as part of your normal clean up, a plec shouldn't cause too many problems If a lot of waste bothers you, get a smaller one. But to be fair - all fish poo, so it's likely you'll still have some waste around the tank whether or not the plec is in there

I'd say your oscar will be even worse, but then he might end up needing a new home too...this is why people should research their fish before they buy them! If you dont like poo - you made a really daft choice getting an oscar and a plec...

Edited to add - how big is your temporary tank, and how big is your permanent one going to be?