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the
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shown
just
above,
try
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DrTom's Angelfish
Aquarium contains
about 55-gallons of
water and about fifteen
young Angelfish at the
time that this video was
recorded. The aquarium
also contains one
Bushynose Plecostomus,
which is a member of the
genus of catfish named
Ancistrus.
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The Complete Details
about this Aquarium
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The
list just below gives
details about all the
equipment and supplies
that were used to
assemble this aquarium.
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Owner
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DrTom Bailey
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Location
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DrTom's
basement in
Point Loma,
a suburb of
San Diego,
California.
Point Loma
is
surrounded
by San Diego
Bay and the
Pacific
Ocean.
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Size
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This
aquarium
contains
about
55-gallons
of
freshwater.
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Material
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This
aquarium is
made of
acrylic
plastic.
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Dimensions
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Width from
left to
right48",
Height 20",
Front to
Back 12.75"
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Filter
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Hi-Q
Complete
Cycle Filter
System. This
filter
requires a
layer of
gravel about
3" deep. We
decided to
test this
filter,
otherwise
this
aquarium
would have
probably had
a Penguin
350B Filter
and the
aquarium
would have
no gravel.
Click
here
for more
information
about this
filter.
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Heater
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250-watt
Marineland
Visi-Therm
submersible
Heater |
Water
Temperature
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Water at
about 76
degrees F.
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Installed
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Aquarium set
up in
October 2008
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Videos
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Recorded
during
February
2009
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Fish
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About
fifteen
Angelfish
and one
so-called
Bushynose
Plecostomus.
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pH of the
Water
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7.6 to 7.9.
A lower pH
would be
better for
both types
of fish. But
they seem to
be doing
well in this
water.
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Aquarium
Ornaments
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Four Ceramic
Driftwood
Logs and one
Ceramic
Quonset Hut
3" deep plus
#2 size
gravel
labeled for
use in
aquariums.
You could
use any
color of #2
size gravel
that's
labeled for
use in
aquariums.
But the
filter in
this
aquarium
requires a
layer of
gravel about
3" deep.
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Lighting
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Fixture
containing
two 36"
30-watt
4100K
fluorescent
bulbs, but
usually one
bulb is on
and the
other is
off.
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Timer
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Turns lights
on at 10:00
am and turns
off at 10:00
pm.
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Aquarium
Stand
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Made of
hardwood
with a black
finish
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Canopy
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Matches the
aquarium
stand
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Other
Equipment
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Magnetic
Scrubber
Python
Products
siphon,
water
changing
device
A
set of 3
aquarium
nets
A
plastic
5-gallon
utility
bucket |
Water
Conditioner
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When doing
10-gallon
partial
water change
twice each
week, just
before
adding
replacement
water from
the faucet,
a high
quality
Water
Conditioner
is added to
the aquarium
water to
neutralize
the
chloramines
in
10-gallons
of tap
water.
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Food
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Premium Food
Pellets and
Flakes fed 3
to 5 times
each day.
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Maintenance
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1. Use
magnetic
scrubber to
clean inside
surfaces of
aquarium as
needed.
2.
20% partial
water
changes
twice a
week, using
Python to
clean the
gravel.
3.
Rinse filter
pads and
scrub filter
as needed.
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The Fish
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Ten
Angelfish
and four
Bushymouth
Plecostomus
Catfish.
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Comments
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At the time these videos
were recorded this
aquarium had been set up
for about four months.
It ran for about
10-days, before the fish
were first added. This
is much longer than
usual and longer than
needed. Usually it's a
good idea to set up a
new aquarium. Fill it
with tap water and add
water conditioner, then
let it run for about
three days. During that
time the water will
completely stabilize and
the heater can be
accurately adjusted to
the preferred
temperature. It's also a
good idea to always let
a new aquarium run for a
few days to be sure that
it will not leak or have
any other problems,
before adding the first
fish.
The new
Angelfish and Bushynose
Plecostomus were small.
The Angel's bodies were
less than the size of a
dime, and the Bushy was
about 2" long. They've
been eating a lot and
growing fast. They
should probably get two
or three feedings a day,
but they're getting four
to six feedings, but
each feeding is not too
heavy. When they were
small, they got premium
flakes. But it wasn't
too long before they
could eat pellets made
of the same premium
food.
Each Angel has a
different personality.
Fast or slow, bright or
not so bright, etc. They
are fascinating to
watch. It's revealing to
pick out one of the
angels, usually a
different one each time,
and just watch that
Angel swim around in the
aquarium, looking for
food on the bottom, or
interacting with the
other Angels.
Shown just below are
pictures of some of the
Angelfish with brief
comments about each. |
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In this picture you can
see most of the
55-gallon aquarium with
some of the the Angels,
the Ceramic Driftwood
Logs, and the gravel.
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Just above: This is a
Silver Veiltail Male
Angel. He actually shows
lots of green
coloration, which is a
surprise to DrTom. He
also has lots of small
red spots. This fish
illustrates the fact
that you never know what
these Angelfish will
grow-up to look like.
Each one seems to be
uniquely beautiful,
especially when they are
given very good care. |
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Above: Here is a Gold
Veiltail Female Angel.
Her body is a metallic
gold coloration and her
fins have orange
stripes. She is very
beautiful, very healthy,
and very energetic.
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Above: Here is Leopold a
male Leopard Veiltail
Angel. |
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This Angelfish is a Gold
Marble Veiltail.
Angelfish can 0, 1, or 2
genes for marble. If an
Angel has 0 genes for
marble, it will show no
black marbling. With one
gene for marble an Angel
will show light marbling
like the fish shown
above. With two genes
for marble, it will show
heavy marbling like the
Marbled Veiltail Angel
that is shown just
below. A lot is known
about various Angelfish
genes and the affects of
those genes on the
appearance of Angels. |
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Bushymouth Plecos
This 55-gallon
aquarium also contain
four so-called
Bushymouth Plecos. |
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This video
will take
some time to
load. The
faster your
internet
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time it
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load. If you
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the video,
shown just
above, try
clicking
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This catfish, shown in
the video just above, is
a male Bushymouth Pleco,
and he regularly
scourers the gravel on
the bottom of this
aquarium for bits of
food.
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In the two pictures just
below, you can see the
big tubercles that have
grown between his eyes
and the shorter
tubercles along edge of
his mouth. This male is
about 4" long and
probably full grown.
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A
female Bushymouth
Pleco., like the one
shown just above,
will sometimes have a
few tubercles along the
edge of her mouth. This
female is now about 3.5"
long and is nearly full
grown.
Sometimes the
Bushymouths are called
Bushynose or Bristlenose
Plecos. All the
Bushymouth Plecos. are
in a genus named
Ancistrus, and there are
lots similar looking
catfish in that genus.
Investigators say
the tubercles have
something to do with
raising baby fish, which
is the male's job, and
apparently a female
prefers to pair with a
male with lots of big
tubercles. Bushymouth
Plecos. have been
spawned in aquariums
many times, but I
haven't done it yet.
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The Three Beacon Pleco.
This aquarium
also has one so-called
Three Beacon
Plecostomus, shown just
above. This is almost
surely a fish that was
collected from the wild
in the Upper Orinoco
River basin in Columbia
and Venezuela in South
America. This Pleco. was
about 3" long and a
resident of this
aquarium, when I was
given this aquarium. Now
this Pleco. has grown to
be about 5" or 6" long
and is doing very well.
In the beginning it
stayed in a ceramic
log-shaped ornament
almost all the time. The
opening in this ornament
seems to just match this
fish's cross-section.
Recently this Pleco.
seems to be coming out
of the ceramic log and
moving around in the
aquarium more often.
Everybody who sees this
fish, says "Ooooo" or "Ahhhh",
and watches it for a
while. Its tail and body
are covered with spines,
or perhaps they are more
like bristles. It's a
very interesting fish
and a fun fish to watch.
In the wild it ate
caddis flies, snails,
and freshwater sponges,
which is a very odd
diet, but in this
aquarium it eats the
premium food and does
very well.
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Concluding Remarks
This
55-gallon aquarium is a
good size for keeping
and raising these fish.
A 30-gallon aquarium
would have been be too
small. These Angels do
better in a big group
like this one with
15-Angels. A common
Trinidad Plecostomus can
grow to 30" and would
soon get too big for
this and most other
aquariums. The
Bushymouth Plecos. are
ideal.
This aquarium is
very easy to care for.
It's lots of fun and
very enjoyable. It would
be nice to add some
plastic plants and
Corydoras Catfish.
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