Pleco photo shoot

[Pure]

Last night before lights out I fed this tank like always, well this time every body decided to come out n get them some. I had to grab my camera. The pics aren't the best, thanks to the POS camera and tannic acid in the water.

The L399 sisters plus a L136.

Dominant female. She kept chasing the other girl off. Thats what was happening in that first pic. These guys are very territorial. I'll have to work on getting a shot of the other one.

I'm one of only a handful of people with these. I was probable the first in the country to have them. I've had these two for going on 6 yrs. During that time I've never been able to find them a male. I had one but their first night they ate his skin off fighting over caves. I thought 3 caves would be fine for 3 plecs..I was new with these guys.

L114 Leopard cactus plec. I have 3 of these and in about 2 yrs they will be moved to a 75 for breeding. They take 4-5 yrs to mature to breeding size.

L254

Just a cool pic

All that I've shown here are carnivores, well besides that big a** green one.

 

[Lizardlover]

NIICEE! so the stripy one is sorta like the Parson's of the Pleco world??

 

[Pure]

Yes and no. They are not rare in the wild. Just not sent to the states. I haven't checked in a wile but 6 months ago they were banned from export in Brazil. They banned all non described plecs.

China and Germany are sent the best fish. The will pay more for them than most Americans. I've seen plecs in china being sold for 2500 usd. So when SA exporters are figuring out what is going to who, we are 3rd on the list.

I had to have my three imported from Germany to get them.

 

[Syn]

I have a MASSIVE walmart pleco.. probably like 14" by now.. haven't seen him for a while though, since I moved out of my Dad's house, so I might be remembering the size wrong.

Still massive, either way.

Get a watersafe body for your POS camera LOL!

 

[chameleon guy]

I used to have a rubber lipped one but the water over heated.

 

[Syn]

Rubber Lipped: KEES ME!

 

[Pure]

Rubber Lipped: KEES ME!

LOL

Rubber lips are the only species that can eat spot algae. So wile not very pretty, they are very useful.

Spot algae usually has to be scraped off of the glass with a credit card or sometimes a razor. So it's pretty amazing that they can eat it.

Syn I would love to see some picks of your common. I would even more, love to see some with a ruler next to him. There has been an ongoing debate over the max size a common can reach. It seems everyone and their brother has at one time or another seen a 2 foot common. "I was at XXX yesterday and they had this pleco that must of been 2 ft easy" But as of yet no one has ever been able to produce a pic of one over 13 inches. Shane the owner of planetcatfish.com has gone on collecting trips to SA and hasn't seen any in the wild over 12 inches. So...pics please.

 

[Redeye]

I work at a pet shop that has over 35 types of plecos on hand at any given time
Favorite is the large spot inspector, or the blue phantoms

Everyone loves our Zebra, but only sold one of them at $450 so far

 

[WelshOneEmma]

Do you find they cope ok in a tank? We currently have two in a tank, each about 5 inches long, and we have noticed that one of them has had the end of its tail stripped down to the bone, which looks quite painful!

 

[reptimom]

Love your plec pics! I have a pair of brislenose plec - their awesome!

 

[hallenhe]

The bristlenose are my favorites; ours (Hoover) only shows himself once in a blue moon, but it's always a treat to see him.
I'll try and get a picture of our common (with ruler) - he's not two feet, but I would guess over 13". Poor guy has a kink in his tail and has been missing one eye as long as I've known him (since 2003); doesn't seem to trouble him unduly.
I love the spotted ones, like your L136 and L254.
Ever read "Practical Fishkeeping" (British magazine)? - They seem to have a lot of plec articles.

 

[SimonBolivar]

Thats a bad ass fish.
I used to have piranhas I feed em a mouse once... had to change the water and wash the tank after Blood is so hard to cleannn.

 

[Pure]

Favorite is the large spot inspector, or the blue phantoms

I've had both. The phantoms are very sensitive to water quality.

Do you find they cope OK in a tank? We currently have two in a tank, each about 5 inches long, and we have noticed that one of them has had the end of its tail stripped down to the bone, which looks quite painful!

Well they all cope OK in a tank. Some are more sensitive than others when it comes to water quality. Also what species you have dictates how many you can have and what size tank you keep them in. 2 commons need to be in nothing less than a 55 preferably a 75, and to keep them long term you will need large caves on both ends of the tank. Each plec will pick his end and defend it. Sometimes to the death. You are seeing an example of how territorial they can be. Like I mentioned my 399s literally stripped the skin off of the entire back half of the (at the time) smaller male.

They are resilient so your guy should heal. Put a 50% dose of melifix and premifix in the tank to keep it from becoming infected. Careful not to overdose it. I say 50% not knowing what species you have..Some are sensitive to meds.

Ever read "Practical Fishkeeping" (British magazine)? - They seem to have a lot of plec articles.

Yep, I'm an avid reader of that site. They are the only ones to do an article on one of my favorite (non plec) species. "The prehistoric monster fish"

LOL Simon, you found out the hard way..not a smart idea in a closed system.

Thanks guys. Wile I've slowly been moving from tanks to chams I will be keeping what I have ATM and may breed some more in the future. Currently I have 10 species of pleco. This is down from over 70. I have an addictive personality. Tis why I don't drink.

edit: about the BNs, Ancistrus are one of my favorite genus. I've had over 10 species of BN. They are easy to breed, do a good job of cleaning the tank of algae, and some species are quite striking.
L183

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I think mine are pretty common plecs. They cost a couple of pounds each, so nothing major! They are currently in a 190litre tank, which is proabably too small (we found out how large they grow after we got them). Water is all within normal levels, and have been treating it with Melafix since we noticed his tail.

YOu have some lovely looking fish. Mine are very plain!

 

[Syn]

Syn I would love to see some picks of your common.

Next time I'm over at my dads I would love to.. but that SOB's fins are sharp, and hurt! I'll have to be careful because there are some sensitive fish in there as well.

I wouldn't stick my hand in that tank but he has this log that he ALWAYS hides inside, anymore.

As for the 14" ... my eyesight is pretty terrible and the water does magnify him, so we shall see ahahahahaha.

 

[Pure]

I'll take some pics and post "the proper way to pick up a large plec" for you. I pull my royal out all the time. It freaks guests out. LOL It's easy but yeah there is a trick to it.

Thanks Emma! 190 ltrs is 50 gals. Depending on how big they are now you should have some time to do something about it, if they won't tolerate each other. If you add enough caves they may get along. Time will tell.

Commons are fast growers usually hitting 12 inches in about a yr and a half. You can slow them down by not feeding them as much. Just keep an eye on their tummies. If they become sunken in, feed more. To do this successfully you have to starve the whole tank, inevitably slowing down the growth of every one else. Sensitive fish do not respond well to this and will stunt. It's next to impossible to stunt a common.

Your fish Emma
Pterygoplichthys pardalis
or
Hypostomus punctatus

The first being the most likely. The second is a not so common, common. They aren't seen much but are showing up from time to time. More so on your side of the pond.

 

[Syn]

Thanks, will look forward to those pics.

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I'll take some pics and post "the proper way to pick up a large plec" for you. I pull my royal out all the time. It freaks guests out. LOL It's easy but yeah there is a trick to it.

Thanks Emma! 190 ltrs is 50 gals. Depending on how big they are now you should have some time to do something about it, if they won't tolerate each other. If you add enough caves they may get along. Time will tell.

Commons are fast growers usually hitting 12 inches in about a yr and a half. You can slow them down by not feeding them as much. Just keep an eye on their tummies. If they become sunken in, feed more. To do this successfully you have to starve the whole tank, inevitably slowing down the growth of every one else. Sensitive fish do not respond well to this and will stunt. It's next to impossible to stunt a common.

Your fish Emma
Pterygoplichthys pardalis
or
Hypostomus punctatus

The first being the most likely. The second is a not so common, common. They aren't seen much but are showing up from time to time. More so on your side of the pond.

Yeah, mine are the top one. We have one black one and one 'albino' one, The black one is slightly longer and wider, and it's the albino one that has lost the tip of the tail. We have had them about 2 years, and they are about 6 inches long, but they are kept in a coldwater tank, which I presume has an effect on their growth. We originally got them to keep the algae under control, but as they have got bigger they have eaten less algae! I will add some caves and things in to see if that helps. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Pure]

Yes cold water will slow them down as will high nitrates, common in goldie/koi ponds/tanks. Water changes or some floating plants like hornwort will help. Actually Hornwort is a nitrae sponge but carp eat plants so isn't something you can use unless you have so much of it you cover the top of the pond/tank.

The cold water will also shorted the life span. Wile being cold slows down the metabolic rate of the pleco, slowing growth. They are tropical and prolong exposure to cold will shorten their life. Rubber Lips are one of the few plecos that can tolerate cold water (within reason) and not be effected much. They are also cheap and readily available. Here in the states any way.

Yes caves will help immensely. Plecos are a cave dwelling species and having 2 territorial animals who have no where to go to get out of site from each other is bad for the smallest one.

HTH