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I want to completely clean out my tank, with hot water i'm guessing soap is out of the question, and I want to turn it into a tropical tank, with small tropical fish, only problem is I have a pleco Fish, a really big one, is he cold water only...or would he be able to adapt to the tropical water?

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a pleco is tropical...i have a big one and a small one and both are kept in heated tanks and were bought from heated tanks

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Why not set up a second tank?

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I could set up a second tank, but it seems like quiet a waste of money if I can put the pleco in the tank with other fish, he seems so lonely on his own

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put him with the other fish. the only thing you have to do to get his used to the wamer water is put him a LAGRE clear bag and float him in the warmer tank for 20 minutes and then take him out of the bag but dont let the water from in the bag get into the tank...and volia, he is not a warm water fish!!!

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Awesome thanks

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you are more then welcome!! good luck with the tank. i have 2 and they are my pride and joy (the 65g more so then the 30g...dont tell the fish in the 30g that!)

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Hehe I came across my 20 gal fish tank by luck, they were on sale for 20$, at the time i had NO idea that was a good sale I havent started to clean the tank out due to pure laziness, but maybe when I get a day off, i'll do it.

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Do NOT DO A BIG CLEAN OUT!! The idea is 1) grow bacteria that will process toxins into less toxic forms. 2) dilute this less toxic form with frequent partial water changes. Remember the more bacteria you have in your filters, gravel and ornaments the more waste you can proccess. Being able to proccess waste means you will not get cloudy water or algae blooms. To answer your question, You can use hot water but I usually wipe out with metho. I VERY very very rarely do big clean outs. I have a lot of tanks and I do everything in small amounts. It stresses the fish less this way. At the minimum you should remove 25% of the water from the tank every 14 days. Give the filter sponges a squeeze out in a bucket of the aquarium water you are taking out. Squeezing them out unblocks the sponge cells allowing water to flow thru them better, doing it in water drawn from the aquarium ensures most of the helpful bacteria survive. To convert your tank accross to 'tropical' all you require is a heater and a thermometer. Remember the plec is a vegetarian (or maybe not, try get a better name there are thousands of armoured catfish!) and most small fish like neons need a more meaty diet. Most of my plecs get vege scraps from the kitchen. cheap pets and with the bristlenose they can pay for their way with babies.

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I've got a question for you. How do you grow microworms or vinegar eels without ordering anything online?? This has been a big problem for me since my parents don't like me ordering online and I need microworms or vinegar eels to breed my bettas... so if you have an answer many thanks!!

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I have 4 Pink Kissing Ghouramis and 4 Gold Fish that I have had for 1 whole year without any problems yet, people are dumbfounded how we can have tropicals with cold water fish. Good question, I always tell them, "Pure luck I guess". We had them in a 30 g but that burst, "thank god we were home at the time it happened". Got them into a 75 g and boy, they are too happy now. The Large Pink Kissing Ghourami (6 1/2 in. now) can turn around in a dime at full speed. She doesn't even bother the gold fish, but the babies (pink kissing ghouramis) always do and it doesn't even fase them. I called the big PKG Princes because she knows she's the star of the aquarium, they are all spoiled though. I never knew that fish pick their fav. food. !!!! Oh ya, we have 4 lg guys and one snakey bottom feeder we call Whiskers. Those guys are VERY hard to find in pet shops. I named all my fish, a pet shop owner told me that if you name your fish, they're family to you, you must love them, of course I do!

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I have a question I hope someone can answer.I have a Betta and got it today.When can I start breeding,and what is the best enviorment for a Betta?Eg.Planty,roomy,half and half,ect.

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breeding bettas is a very hard thing to do and takes a lot of tanks to do so. i personally think a 2 gallon tank is great for a betta with a plant in there for cover. i think the bottles you buy them in is cruel! who would want to be kept in such a small place?!