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Hi just wondering if anyones ever had a problem mixing the two. Im worried my royal and flash will scrap some plastic off while grazing it for algea, is this a vadlid concern?

If the PVC is good quality product (such as US water-pipes), I wouldn't worry much about it. It's unlikely that the fish will be harmed by small amounts of PVC in the intestines.

Cheapo PVC stuff (that isn't designed to be in/around/under water and/or food) may contain some softeners or other matters that would potentially dirty your water, so I wouldn't recommend that - not for the scrapings, but more for the water getting polluted by chemicals that you may not want...

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Mats

Hello all,

A couple of years back I had picked up three recently imported large P. cf. nigrolineatus (eight to 10 inches TL) and to provide some immediate "greens" I had placed some algae coated large industrial grade pieces of PVC pipe in their holding tank. They quickly "gobbled" down the algae, and in the process of this, a decent amount of shavings from the PVC was also ingested. This was quite evident - both by visual observation and the gritty texture of the feces. I agree with MatsP that this probably does not create a problem in a chemical sense. But, I was concerned over the potential that some of this "awled" PVC might get lodged somewhere in the intestine creating the potential for a blockage or a foreign body reaction. With the long gut length of Panaque spp., there is ample opportunity for this to happen. I did not have any problems with the three Panaque, but it set me thinking. Consequently, and just to be sure to err on the safe side, I have made it a general rule not to use PVC as a feeding platform for Panaque spp.

Lee

I've yet to see a pleco that has eaten pvc. I would say it's a good choice for cheap decor. Especially when you have multiple cats and territory is an issue.

I was wondering about this myself when I read it yesterday, then I saw the darnedest thing at a local shop later that day..

They had a large L330 Panaque (9" SL or thereabouts) that someone traded to the store, and in with it was a 5" diameter thin-wall PVC pipe that was about a foot long & covered in green spot algae. There were many scratch marks in the algae that appeared to also scratch the PVC, but what shocked me most were the little white bits scattered sparsely around the bare tank bottom. First I thought PVC scrapings, but they were all around 2.5-3mm in length, much thicker than the scratches were wide or deep, and they all looked the same. The more I looked at them, the more they looked like actual dislodged Panaque teeth!

I had an employee move the fish around so I could get a look at it's mouth, and it did appear to be missing a few alright. Anyway the pipe was the only thing in the tank, so I have a feeling the teeth may have been hanging up on the edge of it.

Just another thing to keep in mind when debating over putting PVC in a tank housing woodeaters I guess..

Lee:

I agree, that these may lodge in the intestine - but so would, potentially, some of the wood-shavings that the fish normally eats. I think these fish would have a pretty tolerant intestine, from a mechanical standpoint. They may not be tolerant in the sense that they can tolerate bad feeding (like huge amounts of protein and/or a low-fibre diet), of course.

I'm certainly not saying that PVC is a GOOD thing for the fish, but I wouldn't be overly concerned.

All:
Of course, there are other materials available, such as Bamboo pipes and such-like that are natural materiaals and will be both digestible and esthetically more pleasing. I would very much recommend those alternatives. Should be available as "stakes" or similar at a local garden centre. Just cut to suitable length. And yes, the Panaques will absolutely eat bamboo!

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Mats