This is BJ and he is a plecostomus, he is from the Catfish family also known as a Pleco or sucker fish.
When I first adopted BJ he was about 2 inches long...he is now 13 inches long. He has gotten so big that he now has his very own 55 gallon tank which I am now looking to upgrade because of his size. BJ is 6 years old and wow do we have a history.
He came to me with 14 goldfish in a bucket. LOL I knew nothing about his kind at all so it was trial and error. At first he shared a tank with the Gold Fish (not all of them) but he is a warm water fish and the Goldfish are cold water fish so this was a very interesting balancing act. I had a Pleco years before that had died because honestly I didn't know how to meet his needs. I was determined that BJ would not have the same fate.
Living in the mountains for most of his life was also a challenge because every time it snowed we would lose power which meant no heater for BJ. I should of just purchased a battery operated heater for back up but that would have been too easy. LOL Instead I would get those hand warmers that you shake and they heat up and I would put them in zip-lock baggies and toss them in the tank. Sometimes it got too cold for even those and I would actually take him out of the tank and put him in a hospital tank and then take him downstairs by the fire. Yes we have been through it. LOL But you know what? I love him, I enjoy him so much. His tank is in my bedroom so I get to watch him all the time. He is spoiled, He gets zuccini and cucumbers and watermelon in addition to his regular diet of algae wafers .
Recently I rescued another Pleco from Walmart who was dying so now I have two but they are not in the same tank.
So no, Mikey's House is not just about cats in the feline form we have cats in fish form as well. LOL
