# sailfin pleco and flowerhorn (FH)



## jacobbonilla (Apr 22, 2010)

i just have a few questions to ask.

FH- baby supposedly to me it is 1"-1.5"
Sailfin leopard pleco- 4-5 years old supposedly to me it is 12-14"

i have them in a 25 gallon tank looking to rehome ASAP!. anyways i have been thinking of buying 2 55 gallon tanks as to rehome them seperately as if one fish dies i can use the 55 gallon tank to house other fish. but idk about this someone told me it would be better and save more money if i buy a bigger tank like 120+ gallon tank and house them together. my pleco and fh leave each other alone. what should i do continue with my idea buying 2 55 gallons or go with their idea buy 1 big tank. also how much gallons would i need minimum to house both together? my room is small and it's hard to clean the tank if too tall.

also they tell me fh hate plants should i plant some plants or leave it bare with bog wood?

my pleco tends to whack the bottom of the tank sending everything flying in the air will this be a big problem if i put a sandy bottom? if so what color gravel should i use i was thinking like whiteish gravel or colorful gravel like blue or pink. i dont like brown gravel as i have brown gravel already.

how do i keep my fh's color looking nice and do they have specific colors or is it like this * you feed them whatever color food say shrimp and it's red/pink so the fh turns pink/red*? if it's like that can i just dye food like blue or something and feed it that? if they have a set color already when can i tell? mine is still a baby and i want its color to look good.


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## Corwin (May 23, 2010)

your pleco would outgrow a 55g


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Fish don't get their color from dyes in the food, so that won't work. They get their color from making pigment proteins from the amino acids in the foods. Therefore, to get good color, you must give the fish a variety of good food to ensure providing the widest possible assortment of amino acids.

And by the way, 55's are too small for either of these fish. You really need 75's. These fish could barely turn around in a 55. Putting the two of them together in a 120 or a 135 would work well.


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## Peeps (May 24, 2010)

I would get a 120 gallon, I agree^^, they will outgrow it. My FH is in a 75 gallon for now but I plant to upgrade to a 120 gallon, he's only 3" now.

You could use black gravel or white. I like the natural look. But that's just my opinion.

They key to good colouring is good food and a huge variety of it. The more variety the better. I have so much food it's ridiculous but they grow so fast with a variety. I have FH food, you can buy it at Big Al's. That's my FH main staple food.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

I personally don't like white gravel. Reason being, if it starts to grow brown algae it makes everything just look dirty. That's a personal choice. Maybe that's what you're going for. I don't know. It's like buying a pair of white shoes. No matter what, eventually they're going to look dirty.


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