Hello guest! Are you an Apistogramma enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Apisto enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your fish and tanks and have a great time with other Apisto enthusiasts. Sign up today!
My advice on keeping the tank dark is to reduce stress on the fish, and allow the fish to fight off the ich on its own. With the lights on, and perhaps people or something moving in front of the tank, this could stress the fish.
Sounds like ich. Heat the water to above 80 degrees F, add extra aeration and keep the tank dark.
What are your water parameters (temp, pH, hardness, etc)?
Some folks in our fish club in the DC area regularly go on Margarita Tours to collect fish. Some folks in the past at the catfish convention have one the raffle for the "free" trip ($50 per raffle ticket). I don't remember the exact cost, but I think $600-800 roundtrip airfare, maybe another...
Check Craigslist to see if a double stack 125 stand is available?
What's wrong with having 6 inches in the back? You could use it for storage, or maybe put canister filters there (will need a little more clearance), or the HOB filter(s).
PhD candidates need to get their degrees, and academic taxonomists need to tenure. How do they does this? Revise the taxonomy and write papers on this. Ughh splitters...
If you pre-sell fish to deliver, that would help with a guaranteed market. If you want to "test the waters," get in touch with Jessie. At the last convention, Jessie was selling the captive raised L600 for Jim K., and they sold like hot-cakes.
Nice plecos. Have you thought about posting on PlanetCatfish or MonsterFishKeepers?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=24
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?123-Plecos