Sure, no prob. My father-in-law had kept Water Sprite in his 55 US gal. tank for years. He also kept Ancistrus. Recently, all of his Water Sprite began dying off and attempts to place more in from my tanks proved unsuccessful. All else seemed ok. Without apparent warning, his Ancistrus, of six years ...

Thanks. Seems the problem is with old copper plumbing which can apparently increase copper level without obvious detection.

What are acceptible low and high levels of copper for plecos, particularly Ancistrus? Since the lake the house is on has been treated with higher levels of copper sulfate, can't keep any plecos for long; whereas prior to that no problem ever encountered.

I've had C. aeneus that were so far from active it was boring. Others I've seen are active here and there. I like cories, but I'd like to try some that are really active and playful.

Wishing you good fortune, congrats!

I have never had any success with feeding Otocinclus. They would not accept manufactured foods I tried like Sinking Algae or Spirulina Wafers. Granular and flake veggie foods were totally ignored. They only would survive in older, algae-ridden heavily planted tanks. Would they take to Ocean ...

Watch book sales increase. Will Cuban fish become the next Cuban (cigar)?

Impressive! More of the kind of eye candy we need.

Go with the Brochis. IMHO you're a bit heavily stocked.

Maybe consider getting a couple of Neritina reclivata (Nerite Snails). They don't reproduce (except in brackish water), are small - 3/4", eat algae, and don't add to fish load.

Will Ancistrus be OK in GH=18, pH=7.6? Or is there any other smallish algae-eater that would do better?

Are you certain that they were carbon only? Peat granules will affect pH, but I have not heard of carbon doing much more than reducing DOC and removing trace minerals. If there were unknowns mixed in with carbon, who knows?

I'll throw my two cents in: Brochis splendens or Dianema longibarbis.

I've been told that Emeralds can live up to 10 years. Does anyone know how long they typically will live for?

Wow! I'm impressed. I had no idea that they could live that long. I was hoping for around ten years plus; that's some plus! Sorry about her untimely demise. Thanks for your input.

How long will Ancistrus sp. generally live for?