my first Gibby

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 04 Jan 2004, 09:21

Well, ive been looking around and reading a lot about catfish lately and after some ideas about fish for my tank i finally started populating my aquarium. the first fish is a small gibby. its around 6 cm now and looks great. it has a very good color sceme and im really happy with it. now ill have to look for some suitable species that also look very great!

edit--

the color of the animal has changed a bit. its not as striking, lighter as it was when i bought it. is this because of the stress from a new tank??

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 05 Jan 2004, 12:53

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

ive just ordered the rest of my fish.
- 1 royal pleco
- 1 vampire pleco
- 3 Pimelodus pictus

the only problem with all this fish together might be that the ecosystem in my tank gets fecked up!

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 05 Jan 2004, 13:22

the ecosystem in my tank gets fecked up!

Do you think this is a proper description of what could happen? Maybe next time you chose different words...

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 05 Jan 2004, 14:20

whats wrong with this word?

how can the change of color be explained?? its still lighter on some places of its body. what can this be??

MackIntheBox · Post by **MackIntheBox** » 05 Jan 2004, 19:40

lots of plecos change color with their environment. Is it close to the same shade or color as the substrate it is on? I dont have any experience with Gibbis but I do have a common pleco, he changes color all the time from nearly black to a light brown, its absolutely amazing

Fiskars the Whiskers · Post by **Fiskars the Whiskers** » 05 Jan 2004, 20:46

Yaaay, you are getting three pictus! They are absolutely cool fish. When I get a bigger tank I would love to keep them again.

(Mine died, hence my signature.) I, too, have a common pleco that changes color depending on his temperment. Lovely choice of fish!

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 05 Jan 2004, 21:12

thx!! hope they will all live very happely together.think i can/need to add a few cory's for some cleaning?? or will the pleco's do the job?

Here is a pic of my gibby. its not very good quality, but my cam is half broken. see the dark and light colors... btw, hes eating here. he often lays in this corner while it is quite lighted there.

and a pic of the whole tank as it is after 2 weeks. (it looks a bit strange cuz of all the lights...)

Fiskars the Whiskers · Post by **Fiskars the Whiskers** » 05 Jan 2004, 22:12

Oh, I love your tank! It's so pretty! Any fish would love to live in there. *L* Your gibby is darling! How big will it get?

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 05 Jan 2004, 22:13

in this tank, i hope around 20-25 cm. but next year ill get a bigger tank so then he can become the monster he is meant to be...

Meganfitz · Post by **Meganfitz** » 05 Jan 2004, 22:42

Nice tank! I too, have plecos that change color, whether it be mood, camoflage, etc. I wouldn't worry too much, as long as he's eating.

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 05 Jan 2004, 23:27

well, eating he is... but he is mostly eating during day?!? as this is my first cat ever, i give him food when the lights are out ( thought they are night active). but when i wake up it is still lying there and after i while he starts eating...

-edit-
last night he did eat during night so now i give him a 2 quarters algae wafer ( tablet with diameter 1,5 cm) a day. im really exited by the way he acts. he takes the quarter to his corner ( the place on the pic) and starts eating there. really cool!!

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 07 Jan 2004, 20:59

I take it you are aware of the plant eating abilitys of the gibby and the royal.

plus as the tank is only two weeks old, i would recommend you have a few test kits on hand if you are introducing these fish all in one go.

tiffnseve · Post by **tiffnseve** » 07 Jan 2004, 21:41

My Gibby also did the lighter thing when I first got him/her. After a while he/she settled in and has now gone back to his normal tones. He/she has also doubled in size since then. I just added in another gibby and he/she is going through the same thing. My first gibby now comes out and feeds during the day. His favorites are shrimp pellets and algae flakes. I love how they look like a mess of flailing sails as they swim through the tank.

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 07 Jan 2004, 23:56

yeah, mine is just a sneaky bastard! he turns on his best colors as the lights go out! in the dark is very very beatiful... so hes obviously camouflaging when the lights are on. must be something with the plant hes lying under. and yes, im aware of his eating capabilities. ill see what survives... people i know with a gibby have a very beatifully planted tank. and the beast is quite big...
ill put the new fish in a Q.tank first. and ill buy me a few cory's this week. to disturbe the natural ecosystem in smaller steps.

Fiskars the Whiskers · Post by **Fiskars the Whiskers** » 08 Jan 2004, 00:17

What kind of cories are you planning on getting?

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 08 Jan 2004, 08:37

well, it depends a bit on what the store has.they usally have around 10 species in stock... im planning on C. arcuatus and C. schwartzi or sterbai. i like these species for their colors. the first has a very nice basic color, more like a bit of pink/orange ( the ones in store at least) but that could also be a C. nattereri?!?

StiffMeister · Post by **StiffMeister** » 08 Jan 2004, 12:36

alright. change of plans. no cory's in my tank. been looking at them quite long today and i just dont find them any fun! they are ugly!!

so back to the gibby, i wanna vary a bit with food. i now give him algue wafers and tetra tabimin. he preferes the first tho. i wanna give him a bit of living or frozen stuff. what is best for such a small fella? i know larger fish can eat lots, but as he is soo small, i must think of something good...

tiffnseve · Post by **tiffnseve** » 09 Jan 2004, 00:15

I have chunks of natural slate in my tank. (it is actually untreated slate cut into tiles for tiling floors, I just broke it up into small odd sheets) My gibby's both spend most of their time when not eating staying on the slate. They blend into a little bit and its not smooth enough for them to slide on. I think "Salty" my bigger one took at least 2 weeks to get his color back and about two months to adjust to eating with the lights on. He likes to tease and chase golsfish.

my first Gibby

my first Gibby

Re: my first Gibby