Hi GBD! I am like Rebecca also an Ichthyologist (Fish Biologist) and it gets slightly trickier even so with Plecos especially but also cichlids. Plecos can be divides into several more categories than detritivores and herbivores (algae, plants) there is also carnivores and omnivors but the group that people often miss is a special kind of herbivore and that is xylophagous mostly sapro-xylophagous but also sometimes living wood, This is as important to know as knowing if your Plec is a true "obligate" carnivore or a what kind of herbivore you have. The same can and should be applied to cichlids while I do not know any xylophagous herbivores you have many detritivores "geophages", obligate herbivores and carnivores as well as omnivores ofc. So what do you then feed xylophagous and geophagus fish well driftwood for the first prefarbly different kinds mangrove etc and the later a fine sand so that they can sift it easily through their gills geophagus is then a kind of detritivore. So it is very important to know what kind of catfish/pleco you are dealing with and/or cichlid. Some even changes their diet as the grow may start as a carnivore the gradually phasing over to an obligate herbivore. I use Repashy and mix it with greens, meaty, or other stuff depending on what kind of fish is in the tank especially good since you can freeze it when it is done and by many ingredients yourself to upvalue the nutrition intake per dollar(GBP/Euro spent much much cheaper than only buying just from the store and fun too. There are a lot of good videos out there on YT to show you have you can prepare your Repashy mix and make your on formula just for your Genus or Species. Cheers from Sweden
Excellent comment mate, thanks for sharing! I'm guessing this is why one of the top comments on Rebeccas video is from someone saying their pleco ignores the Fluval Pleco sticks and doesn't even nibble on them.
It is a minefield when trying to buy the 'right stuff' for fish keeping. I'm new to the hobby, and I've learnt so much from watching UA-cam, etc. Thanks for another great video 👍
Cheers mate, tell me about it, I think that's one of the reasons ecosystem tanks are becoming so popular as the macrofauna and macroflora act as the food.
honestly, I feel that the modern over-bred Bettas with really long fins do really well in the 2.6-to-3-gallon Fluval planted aquariums since they have such a hard time swimming around a lot anyways...I just make sure that the flow is adjusted to be as low as possible. My 'long-finned' Betta rarely explores the whole 2.6 gallons he lives in.
With the price differences yes, but I don't know enough about plecos to say if their "Pleco sticks" formula is a suitable food option but judging by Rebeccas video, it's not the best.
Well spotted. And sneaky marketing by Fluval. Maybe send them an email asking if they can tell you the difference! I have an API pH test kit that says add 5 drops of the testing fluid to a vial filled to the 5 ml line, so I just use 1 drop to 1 ml of water measured with a syringe. Five times the tests for the price. Then there's the well known cutting in half lengthways of those dip test strips to get double the amount of tests.
@@GlassBoxDiariesYou're better off with the comment section, Saturday morning is when they put out their videos !!! They are all about maximum profits and they prove that in many of their suggestions and I don't really care since they have really good warranty coverage 😂
yes, but the thing is it gets more accurate as you use more. for example, if you are off by 0.1ml on a 5ml sample its only a few% but if you are off by 0.1ml on a 1ml sample its pretty big. also there is the chance there is something still in the vial, like minerals from a evaporated drop of water or stuff like that. if that gets in the the test water sample, the bigger the samle is the less it will affect that. for the experienced aquarium hobbyist, they can easily use smaller quantities no problem, but for someone who is a bit newer this might lead to wildly inaccurate readings. like you i use the same method, but i can definetly not recommend this for everyone who is new(ish) to the hobby.
@@jordyp3696 I actually tested that too, as in did a normal 5 ml test, then a 1 ml test and both showed exactly the same colour. And to be honest, tiny inaccuries wouldn't even matter that much on a pH test where the colour chart itself only shows readings in .2 variances.
i am watching rebecca's channel too, even though i am not into plecos at all, also she doesn't care about the plants, and i am into plants, find her hard to understand many times, her talking style, but she is charming yeah
Agreed mate, i'm really into my aquarium plants but shes a subject matter expert on Plecos so thought I would give her a shout out because I don't know anything about plecos.
I feed my fish Fluval bug bites too, I think its a good food as well as a variety of other dry, live and frozen foods. Just going by the guaranteed analysis it does seem that all bug bites are the same. If you peel the label back where it says pull there is a ingredient list. The ingredient list breakes it down in order of max to min of each ingredient by weight or measure. There are differences in the amounts and some differences in the ingredients one to another in some of the bug bites. Tropical ingredients differ somewhat from Bottom feeder. Bottom feeder and Pleco sticks are the same but differ from Algae crisps. I can't comment on Cichlid bug bites I haven't bought them yet.
@GlassBoxDiaries Thanks for your reply and I stand corrected. I apologize for that bit of misinformation "You are correct" Pleco sticks and Bottom feeder do indeed have the same ingredients in the same order. I will edit my original comment. I hope it hasn't mislead anyone reading it. I peeled back 4 different bug bite labels and got a bit mixed up posting the sticks instead of Crisps. I'm getting too old too fast. Thank you for your video's they are very informative.
Now I only use food made by the store. They make in small scale and I know they use better ingredients than the brand products plus they absolutely doesn't use preservation. My bottom of 100g just get mold after a month and half. Luckily it down to the 10% of the bottle
Nice catch, and fair shout for flagging it, props to the fish biologist also. Gotta agree with you reference their relying on brand recognition to get by lately. Without getting in to the details, steer clear of their U series of internal filters guys, absolute hardship with the two I've used from new within the last 10 months, a U2 and U3 respectively are . An awful filter in my opinion. Good luck with the channel, liked and subbed.
@@GlassBoxDiaries I hear you, internal filters have their place but I'd be very picky now. I 've recently got back in to the hobby after a ten year hiatus, and was blown away by the leaps and bounds in equipment made during that time, particularly in lighting, it just so happened that that I ended up using a U2 in a 60ltr nano planted and got a U3 included in a larger aqaurium I recently purchesd. The U2 is still in use albeit begrudgingly, and as for the U3, I pimped that out with nothing but floss to help clear the water on a new setup but have an e402 canister on it now. Savage filter for the price btw, back when I was last keeping fish, it was Eheim or Fluval, and you paid for it...
I love fish and take care of my fish (and my many fish tanks) like my kids. However, I wish society was also as concerned with homeless people and why they don't even have housing as they are about a betta fish in a small tank. My bettas are in various tank sizes from 6 to 10 gallons, including those in divided tanks. Yes, we're entitled to our own opinions and we all have different experiences, but to each their own. I rather see a well taken care Betta in a bowl (frequent waters, right parameters, etc.) than a Betta in a 40 gallon that is not taken care of.
Hi GBD! I am like Rebecca also an Ichthyologist (Fish Biologist) and it gets slightly trickier even so with Plecos especially but also cichlids. Plecos can be divides into several more categories than detritivores and herbivores (algae, plants) there is also carnivores and omnivors but the group that people often miss is a special kind of herbivore and that is xylophagous mostly sapro-xylophagous but also sometimes living wood, This is as important to know as knowing if your Plec is a true "obligate" carnivore or a what kind of herbivore you have.
The same can and should be applied to cichlids while I do not know any xylophagous herbivores you have many detritivores "geophages", obligate herbivores and carnivores as well as omnivores ofc.
So what do you then feed xylophagous and geophagus fish well driftwood for the first prefarbly different kinds mangrove etc and the later a fine sand so that they can sift it easily through their gills geophagus is then a kind of detritivore. So it is very important to know what kind of catfish/pleco you are dealing with and/or cichlid. Some even changes their diet as the grow may start as a carnivore the gradually phasing over to an obligate herbivore. I use Repashy and mix it with greens, meaty, or other stuff depending on what kind of fish is in the tank especially good since you can freeze it when it is done and by many ingredients yourself to upvalue the nutrition intake per dollar(GBP/Euro spent much much cheaper than only buying just from the store and fun too.
There are a lot of good videos out there on YT to show you have you can prepare your Repashy mix and make your on formula just for your Genus or Species. Cheers from Sweden
Excellent comment mate, thanks for sharing!
I'm guessing this is why one of the top comments on Rebeccas video is from someone saying their pleco ignores the Fluval Pleco sticks and doesn't even nibble on them.
It is a minefield when trying to buy the 'right stuff' for fish keeping.
I'm new to the hobby, and I've learnt so much from watching UA-cam, etc.
Thanks for another great video 👍
Cheers mate, tell me about it, I think that's one of the reasons ecosystem tanks are becoming so popular as the macrofauna and macroflora act as the food.
honestly, I feel that the modern over-bred Bettas with really long fins do really well in the 2.6-to-3-gallon Fluval planted aquariums since they have such a hard time swimming around a lot anyways...I just make sure that the flow is adjusted to be as low as possible. My 'long-finned' Betta rarely explores the whole 2.6 gallons he lives in.
My long fin definatley had lower activity levels the older he got but there's still a lot of people keeping short tails in the hobby.
@@GlassBoxDiaries yes and if I had a short-tailed Betta, I would keep it in a minimum of at least 5 gallons, 10 gallons being ideal in my mind.
So it’s not the producer trying to scam you, it’s the distributors. Fluval not trying to rip you off, the stores are.
With the price differences yes, but I don't know enough about plecos to say if their "Pleco sticks" formula is a suitable food option but judging by Rebeccas video, it's not the best.
Great information
Cheers mate :)
Well spotted. And sneaky marketing by Fluval. Maybe send them an email asking if they can tell you the difference!
I have an API pH test kit that says add 5 drops of the testing fluid to a vial filled to the 5 ml line, so I just use 1 drop to 1 ml of water measured with a syringe. Five times the tests for the price.
Then there's the well known cutting in half lengthways of those dip test strips to get double the amount of tests.
Thats a great little tip for the water test kit mate! I have emailed fluval about stuff before like the foam PPI in the FX range and they never reply.
@@GlassBoxDiariesYou're better off with the comment section, Saturday morning is when they put out their videos !!! They are all about maximum profits and they prove that in many of their suggestions and I don't really care since they have really good warranty coverage 😂
yes, but the thing is it gets more accurate as you use more.
for example, if you are off by 0.1ml on a 5ml sample its only a few% but if you are off by 0.1ml on a 1ml sample its pretty big.
also there is the chance there is something still in the vial, like minerals from a evaporated drop of water or stuff like that.
if that gets in the the test water sample, the bigger the samle is the less it will affect that.
for the experienced aquarium hobbyist, they can easily use smaller quantities no problem, but for someone who is a bit newer this might lead to wildly inaccurate readings.
like you i use the same method, but i can definetly not recommend this for everyone who is new(ish) to the hobby.
@@jordyp3696 I actually tested that too, as in did a normal 5 ml test, then a 1 ml test and both showed exactly the same colour.
And to be honest, tiny inaccuries wouldn't even matter that much on a pH test where the colour chart itself only shows readings in .2 variances.
i am watching rebecca's channel too, even though i am not into plecos at all, also she doesn't care about the plants, and i am into plants, find her hard to understand many times, her talking style, but she is charming yeah
Agreed mate, i'm really into my aquarium plants but shes a subject matter expert on Plecos so thought I would give her a shout out because I don't know anything about plecos.
I feed my fish Fluval bug bites too, I think its a good food as well as a variety of other dry, live and frozen foods. Just going by the guaranteed analysis it does seem that all bug bites are the same. If you peel the label back where it says pull there is a ingredient list. The ingredient list breakes it down in order of max to min of each ingredient by weight or measure. There are differences in the amounts and some differences in the ingredients one to another in some of the bug bites. Tropical ingredients differ somewhat from Bottom feeder. Bottom feeder and Pleco sticks are the same but differ from Algae crisps. I can't comment on Cichlid bug bites I haven't bought them yet.
Cheers mate, the official bug bites website has the pleco sticks and bottom feeder formula listed as the same thing in the bottom right.
@GlassBoxDiaries Thanks for your reply and I stand corrected. I apologize for that bit of misinformation "You are correct" Pleco sticks and Bottom feeder do indeed have the same ingredients in the same order. I will edit my original comment. I hope it hasn't mislead anyone reading it. I peeled back 4 different bug bite labels and got a bit mixed up posting the sticks instead of Crisps. I'm getting too old too fast. Thank you for your video's they are very informative.
@@BraveOn No worries mate :)
Now I only use food made by the store. They make in small scale and I know they use better ingredients than the brand products plus they absolutely doesn't use preservation. My bottom of 100g just get mold after a month and half. Luckily it down to the 10% of the bottle
Thats a good idea mate, I didnt thnk of checking if any of my local stores do their own food, I will have to check it out :)
Nice
:)
Nice catch, and fair shout for flagging it, props to the fish biologist also. Gotta agree with you reference their relying on brand recognition to get by lately. Without getting in to the details, steer clear of their U series of internal filters guys, absolute hardship with the two I've used from new within the last 10 months, a U2 and U3 respectively are . An awful filter in my opinion. Good luck with the channel, liked and subbed.
Cheers mate, I have one of their U series filters and totally agree, I'm not a big fan of internal filters anyway though if I'm honest.
@@GlassBoxDiaries I hear you, internal filters have their place but I'd be very picky now. I 've recently got back in to the hobby after a ten year hiatus, and was blown away by the leaps and bounds in equipment made during that time, particularly in lighting, it just so happened that that I ended up using a U2 in a 60ltr nano planted and got a U3 included in a larger aqaurium I recently purchesd. The U2 is still in use albeit begrudgingly, and as for the U3, I pimped that out with nothing but floss to help clear the water on a new setup but have an e402 canister on it now. Savage filter for the price btw, back when I was last keeping fish, it was Eheim or Fluval, and you paid for it...
All of thier products are the same and but pretty much most fish food ianthe same stuff made by big gactories and packaged up for different companies
Good point mate.
I love fish and take care of my fish (and my many fish tanks) like my kids. However, I wish society was also as concerned with homeless people and why they don't even have housing as they are about a betta fish in a small tank. My bettas are in various tank sizes from 6 to 10 gallons, including those in divided tanks. Yes, we're entitled to our own opinions and we all have different experiences, but to each their own. I rather see a well taken care Betta in a bowl (frequent waters, right parameters, etc.) than a Betta in a 40 gallon that is not taken care of.
Thanks for sharing :)
My apistogrammas only eat live food. For this reason my other fish get live food also. I have a pot of dry food which I feed occasionally.
I wanting to try live food in some tanks next year :)