# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  gene's 3ft pleco tank

## genes

Changed my 3ft planted setup to pleco setup recently and here it is. 
Running 3 filters
1) Eheim 2026
2) Ehiem 2213
3) Internal Filter



Here's one of the undescribed Hypancistrus sp. in the tank

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## Panut

Wow. Beautiful setup! Genes, where did you get this pleco?

cheers,

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## genes

You should be able to find them at C328 and Fish haven.

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## Panut

Oh ok. Fish haven labelled them as L173 though  :Opps: 
What other plecos do you have in there?

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## johannes

nice set up there! Saw at fish haven, how come not as nice as yours ah?

Do you plan to breed them? :Smile:

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## genes

Yes there is. But they must have been netted already. Saw a couple of large and nicely patterned pieces in C328 last week but was gone already yesterday. Would have loved to bring them home.  :Smug: 

Not sure if they will breed though. There are no documentation on their breeding habits.

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## Jervis

Very nice genes! Love it  :Well done:  Mind sharing your tank parameters?

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## Gecko

wow, that's amazing! 

their breeding habits should mirror zebras.

very nice lapis coated embankment  :Wink:

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## wasabi8888

Eugene

your planter tank was awesome, and now your pleco tank also equally awesome....


i think you should help me do my tank

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## Pantera

Superb and beautiful setup, bro! How I wish I have something like that!

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## illumnae

wow amazing, eugene! I see you have been heavily poisoned by plecos  :Grin:  as always, your tank is beautiful and amazing...you have a great eye for beauty

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## iwishweallcouldwin

wow very nice, is your substrate sloped? like the depth effect you created.

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## johannes

wah so fast ah, didnt even manage to see them except for the 4 big ones left, btw most of them are big, wanna get those smaller specimens, would surely look cuter... :Grin:

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## genes

Thanks for all the kind comments. This is my first try in keeping plecos. Now...what pair of apisto should i put in this tank.. :Grin:  

Lawrence, as you can see, the plecos are living in a tank far more superior in terms of environment and water quality as compared to the tanks where my apistos are housed. So its discouraging when things go wrong.

Jervis, these are the parameters that was taken on Friday night. Lightings 8hrs/day, Co2 2bps.
GH - 60
KH - 0
PH - 6.5
Nitrite - 0.5
Nitrate - 20
Temp - 30

Jeffery, just give me a yell. Maybe if you do a semi planted pleco tank, your wifey will let you setup more zebra tanks?  :Razz: 

iwishweallcouldwin, yes the substrate is sloped. Front at around 8cm thick and back at around 15cm. It was suppose to go much higher at the back but i ran out of gravel.

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## Gecko

Every experienced plec keepers I know from all over has gone through a steep learning curve. Looking back next time, you might consider some of the challenges now as fundamentals which are easily addressed. You have an amazing collection and beautiful scape, way ahead already....staying focused might be your next challenge  :Smile: 

p.s. Is there a venturi or diffuser in your tank? Useful for keeping water oxygenated. Do watch the nitrate level, its a known slow plec killer....

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## genes

Thats the co2 reactor. I keep the tank oxygenated via 2 long bars of air-stone buried under the gravel at the back of the tank. Running 24hrs using air pump.

I hope Nitrate level at 20ppm is still acceptable. The next lower level on the strip would be 0. I've never bothered to measure water parameters except pH for my apisto tanks until now. But i suppose, the bio-load is different now and much more higher with plecos.

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## weiquan

a very well planned setup, thank you for sharing. 
I seldom read about plecos kept in planted tanks with Co2 injection,
your tank would be a excellant reference, do keep up with the updates.

i believe your undescribed hypan.sp is either a L333 or a lower xingu.
Whatever it is, its a beautiful hypan .sp.

cheers.

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## genes

You have no idea how long i planned for this setup.  :Razz: 

To date, its unsure if its a variant of the L333 or an undescribed new species. It was IDed as a Lower Rio Xingu / Porto do Moz but I decided not to use these terms in the picture because these terms are not definitive enough and covers a range of L-numbers (L236, L173, L399, L400 etc).

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## Gecko

> Thats the co2 reactor. I keep the tank oxygenated via 2 long bars of air-stone buried under the gravel at the back of the tank. Running 24hrs using air pump.
> 
> I hope Nitrate level at 20ppm is still acceptable. The next lower level on the strip would be 0. I've never bothered to measure water parameters except pH for my apisto tanks until now. But i suppose, the bio-load is different now and much more higher with plecos.


The airstone setup sounds great.

Got this from Algone.com:

"Therefore nitrate levels (NO3) should be kept under 10 ppm. As most of the test kits measure nitrogen  nitrate (N-NO3) the reading has to be multiplied by 4.4 to get the accurate nitrate (NO3) concentration."

Once things stabilize, you can retire the test kits.... :Grin:

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## quix

Wonderfully beautiful environment for your hypancistrus. Plecos are not that difficult to keep, just need to achieve the right balance in water quality, food and space. I *don't* really dig dat artificial hole though..hehehe

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## Merviso

Well done genes!  :Well done:  This is the most green pleco tank I have seen so far. This will be a great reference for me when I setup my pleco tank in the near future...  :Grin:

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## valice

Suddenly this unknown fish seems to have a blue based white under the flash. Hahaha.

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## genes

My latest addition to this tank. Couldn't resist them from the shipment at C328 today. There were others netting them before me as well. To the guy from AF, nice meeting you. Hope you are also a member in AQ!

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## stormchild

more pics of the fauna please. Especially the L134.

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## Pantera

> My latest addition to this tank. Couldn't resist them from the shipment at C328 today. There were others netting them before me as well. To the guy from AF, nice meeting you. Hope you are also a member in AQ!


Nice addition and nice meeting you too, bro! I'm Trix in AF btw... :Smile:

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## ranmasatome

Still got the scaper in you la... can't escape that.. its a good thing though. :Smile:

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## genes

Ya damn...i even try to scape my fry tanks....

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## genes

I think i may have a gravid female. What am i suppose to be looking for when she is going to breed? Also, i have another 4 pieces of the same species in another tank. It would be a bad idea to introduce them into the tank now if she is indeed gravid right?

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## celticfish

If she is gravid should be sufficient.
More important to her is avialable males.
If there are enough males in her tankleave it be.
Otherwise a move of the others may help.
Be prepared for them to fight out the new order in the group though.

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## genes

There should be a male or 2 in the group of 6. Particularly 1 piece that is always seen parking in one of the slate caves.

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## wasabi8888

hmmmm, i just realized something..

sorry to steal a little of your thread Eugene.

I used to put a charcoal bamboo tube in my community tank (I have since taken it out due to the worry of the release of toxins from the bamboo). I found that one of my L134 likes to stay in the tube. The tube is open both ends. Does that mean the L134 is male or female? ir is just a normal hiding place for them?

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## Cup

The hypancistrus in question is very likely one of the h. rio "gurupa"/porto de moz species.

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## genes

I read L134 likes to stay in caves regardless of male or female. Hence the difficulty in sexing them.

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## Vandecruz

Gene,its a simple awesome setup for your plecos,they will love your garden of heaven :Grin:

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## genes

Thanks! Welcome to AQ. Nice to see you here.  :Smug:

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## SCOPE

indeed a paradise for catfish.....nice setup

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## Vandecruz

> My latest addition to this tank. Couldn't resist them from the shipment at C328 today. There were others netting them before me as well. To the guy from AF, nice meeting you. Hope you are also a member in AQ!


This is a real nice catch bro,interesting little one :Grin:

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## genes

Happy CNY everyone! 

An update of my tank.

Most of the nanas and java ferns have been removed because they have become a magnet for BBA in my "washing machine tank" :Laughing:  .




Left hand side comprising of Ceratophyllum sp. and Micranthemum micranthemoides


Anyone know what plant is this? They break off very easily.

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## CK Yeo

_Najas guadalupensis_

ck

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## genes

Thanks CK. Getting to like this plant more...propagates quickly and no need to plant them at all!

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## celticfish

Nice scape with the tank!  :Well done: 
I think you just gave another generous dose of "pleconitis virus"!  :Laughing:

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## genes

Really ah...come come everyone, lets covert your planted to a pleco planted! Then add schooling plecos for this year's ADA entry!  :Grin:

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## ranmasatome

hahaha.. genes... that was a damn funny comment....

after seeing that pure black and white pleco at An aquarium.. i might be covinced now.. :Smile:

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## genes

Hehe, its still there are? So long liao. No rich japanese netted it.

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