PlanetCatfish.com

I have the opportunity to get a pair of the cool white dotted black ancistrus sp.2.

Are they any different from other ancistrus? Also, the site says they are WC from Brazil. Would they have problems adjusting first to my 72 gallon Malawi cichlid tank(PH 8.0), and later to a private 30 gallon(90x30x45) breeding tank?

I wouldn't think that pH 8 would be the ideal water condition for these fish. Ancistrus sp(3), in my experience work quite well with hard, high pH water, but I don't expect all other Ancistrus to follow that pattern. Although I'm not sure.

Edit: This says pH 5.8-7.2, so quite a wide range away from pH 8.

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Mats

I do keep 2 sp.3, and yes, they thirve in hard water as you say.

Would keeping them temporarily in a 11 gallon be possible? Or should I wait until I set up that 30 with a external power filter ages? Because I have to be quick, people aren't gonna leave such a beautiful species alone.

They could probably go in an 11g tank for a while, if they are not too big - assuming you do your water changes quite frequently.

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Mats

Yeah. Being a guy on impluse(Though I've been waiting for 3 months to execute the plan) I already bought the power filter for the 30. So I'll get the ancistrus for my Christmas present, and they'll just live in the 11 for a while during the aging of the filter. Or I could use a quick cyler ad/or aged filter medium from my other filters.

Could I keep decorations to a minimum, just some driftwood and PVC caves for a while? And is putting a sucking catfish with a DIY styrofoam background a bad idea?

I would expect the DIY styrofoam panels will become scratched. I doubt the fish will take any harm, but the keeper may not think it very nice.

If you set up a tank by squeezing old filter media, you should let the tank settle for approx 48 hours before you squeeze the media into it, and let the first fish in as soon as the water is clear again.

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Mats

Darn. Just out of the point for a momoent, I never had good luck with internal backgrounds. The first I had was very bumpy, so waste, uneaten food and fishes could get behind there. And now I have these syrofoam backgrounds that I had to cut down to size to fit, and they look a bit ugly, with the cut lines and fixing together. Also, they are light, so unless I use silicone it'll be difficult. Maybe I'll just use a black film background.

For filtration, I'll do what you said. First I'll add some of my aged filter media to the filter, and after 48 hours my brother could squeeze his Tetra Brillant sponge filters(All 5 of them) for me, and I'll just wait.

For decor, could I keep it to a minimum, just bare bottom(Black) black background, 2 chunks of wood and PVC pipes as shelter?

Oh yeah.....Should I make the flow of the filter powerful or slow?