Help with L134

psionic001 · Post by **psionic001** » 26 Dec 2006, 21:21

Hi,

I also posted this at PF so some of you may have read this twice today, but I'm getting a bit desperate with my L134 situation....

I purchased a numbere of L134's over a week ago. I have made some other posts at PF about them but now I feel I really need some help.

I havn't observed them eating, and all food I have left for them remains uneaten. I've tried pretty much everything including brine shrimp, spirulina, flakes, algae wafers, protien wafers and they are just not interested.

There are seven of them in a BB tank with 3 caves and 2 pieces of drift wood planted with Anubias. They came to me really fat, but I'm keen to see them eat.

I have also heard that these fish are supposed to be quite outgoing, yet I have bareley seen them in a week.

So my questions are:
Would they not be eating because they are shy?
Have I offered them too many hiding places?
Would it help them if I introduced some more outgoing tank mates like some standard BN's or a handfull of BN fry?

Any help or suggestions, even similar situations, would be very much appreciated,

thanks

Matt

plecoboy · Post by **plecoboy** » 26 Dec 2006, 23:31

I wouldn't worry. Mine still hide just as much as a hypancistrus. Try feeding some bloodworms. They don't really appreciate algae based wafers too much.

psionic001 · Post by **psionic001** » 26 Dec 2006, 23:49

plecoboy wrote:I wouldn't worry. Mine still hide just as much as a hypancistrus. Try feeding some bloodworms. They don't really appreciate algae based wafers too much.

I wonder why some just hide, yet other reports have very outgoing, even rough, L134's.

I have no substrate which reveals the white poly foam on the bottom, maybe they don't like that.

@plecoboy, what substrate do you have?

plecoboy · Post by **plecoboy** » 26 Dec 2006, 23:52

I prefer sand, but gravel is good too.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 31 Dec 2006, 09:10

L134 seem to prefer and do better in a planted tank with a substrate. I would consider feeding them something like Tetra Color Bits soaked in Prazipro or Ultracure PX by Gel-Tek to control internal parasitic worms common to these wild caught fish. I find them to be very fond of the Color Bits so that food is a good delivery vehicle. Add at lights out. They are fairly outgoing once they have become fully acclimated. They can make rapid weight gains after you beat the worms into recession. I recommend repeat treatments of all wild plecos at regular intervals as long as you keep them. The worms come back in force as it is impossible to completely eliminate them.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 31 Dec 2006, 10:59

What temperature is your tank?
How do you know they haven't fed?
What are your water parameters?
Could you post a photo of the tank?

Would they not be eating because they are shy?

Perhaps, but if you feed at lights out when nobody is in the room this should be less of a problem.

There are seven of them in a BB tank with 3 caves and 2 pieces of drift wood planted with Anubias.

Have I offered them too many hiding places?

No, the more hiding places the better. Don't just provide isolated caves, but rather a connected network of hiding places/tunnels. This could be stacks of broken plant pots, piles of rocks or loads of driftwood.

Would it help them if I introduced some more outgoing tank mates like some standard BN's or a handfull of BN fry?

Yes perhaps. I have lots of various plecs in my big tank and they are always active when fed.

I have no substrate which reveals the white poly foam on the bottom, maybe they don't like that.

I would definitely provide a substrate. This could make a bit difference, as it will cut out a lot of the glare reflecting of the bottom. How bright are your lights?

I've tried pretty much everything including brine shrimp, spirulina, flakes, algae wafers, protien wafers and they are just not interested.

The foods you are feeding are good. Perhaps try bloodworm and as Larry suggests, colorbits. Most plecs love bloodworm and colorbits.

.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 31 Dec 2006, 12:25

Yeah, and a spoon full of color bits makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down.
A spoon full of color bits makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down,
Sing to the tune.

Also as Racoll said they love inter connecting hideout and trailways. Makes me think of build hamster tunnels as an experiment. I use conventional aquascaping materials and plants with caves littering the under brush.
But seriously, a hamster like tunnel system of runways might really go over well with L134 and similar plecos.
I see a project developing. I'll report the results in the future.

psionic001 · Post by **psionic001** » 05 Jan 2007, 12:25

Hi, sorry for the sloooow response to your help.

The L134's are still pretty shy, but I have seen them twice now at about midnight or later. Here's some more info...

racoll wrote:What temperature is your tank?
How do you know they haven't fed?
What are your water parameters?
Could you post a photo of the tank?

Temp is 29°C
I just havn't seen them eating and the food is always left in the same place in the morning.
PH 7.1, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0.05-0.1
I'll post a photo of the tank HERE.

No, the more hiding places the better. Don't just provide isolated caves, but rather a connected network of hiding places/tunnels. This could be stacks of broken plant pots, piles of rocks or loads of driftwood.

This has now been done using smooth river pebbles.

I would definitely provide a substrate. This could make a bit difference, as it will cut out a lot of the glare reflecting of the bottom. How bright are your lights?

I have also provided a substrate to cut down the glare. There are three tubes.

The foods you are feeding are good. Perhaps try bloodworm and as Larry suggests, colorbits. Most plecs love bloodworm and colorbits.

I had forgotten to mention mysis, bloodworms, zuchini & squash. I'll try colorBits too.

thanks

Matt

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 05 Jan 2007, 13:49

It is my experience that plecs are 200% more confident when they have cover over their heads.

I would buy loads of bogwood branches and stack them to create structure to make the plecs feel more enclosed. If possible, stack right to the top of the tank.

I'll post a pic of my tank later to give you an idea of what I mean.

I would also say three tubes are too many. You may have to decide what is more important, having plants or seeing the plecs.

For best results I would only use a 1/2 size tube.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 05 Jan 2007, 17:02

Is there any possibility for you to offer them any live blackworms? Are there any other fish like some tetras as dither fish? Sometimes they take cues from other fish about how safe it is to come out.

psionic001 · Post by **psionic001** » 05 Jan 2007, 22:27

Hi Apisto,

apistomaster wrote:Is there any possibility for you to offer them any live blackworms? Are there any other fish like some tetras as dither fish? Sometimes they take cues from other fish about how safe it is to come out.

I've tried the live blackworms (also frozen), but I don't know how to keep them from going into the substrate. Matybe a small bowl?

There are 20 neon tetras and a SAE (Flying Fox) in the tank. Any other plecos might intefere with my aim to breed them. Maybe they need some guppies or similar. Any suggestions for tank mates?

regards

Psi

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 06 Jan 2007, 00:18

I do use those clear plastic flower pot drain pans with a small amount of the aquarium sand/gravel to weight them down. The uneaten worms stay partly buried in the pan until they're eaten. Mine come out and eat but they don't stay exposed long. They are more active in the evening even though the lights are still on.
The only thing I can think of would be to add a school of Corydoras to achieve a little more L134 bravery. You have had these L134 long enough that if they were not eating something I would expect you would be losing some by now.
That SAE will pig out on the worms and not many will remain available for the slower grazing methods that the L134 practice. It will also just get huge and even greedier. Only the little ones eat much algae.
Guess you can tell where I'm going with this. I would replace it with a school of Otocinclus.
I have mine in a fairly well planted tank and there are numerous caves of short sections of 2 inch diameter PVC pipe with ends capped off. A hole is drilled out in the middle of the pipes for access.
They use them occassional but they actually spend most of their time at the base of the many large Amazon Swords or deep within the the rosette among the leaf stalks. I also have other species of plecos in the same tank, 6- L66, 5-L201, a few Peckoltia vittata, and a couple of odd balls plecos shipped with my orders. I have one L173 that came as a L66. Looks like a zebra but the lines run traversely. I think what I'm trying to convey is that it is a competitive evironment for all the plecos, each vying for it's place. The L134 tend to stay roughly grouped around the largest Sword Plant most of the time.
The tank is my Heckel discus project. I just watch for any signs of a pleco spawn and hope they choose a pipe cave that I can remove. I don't mind resorting to artificial hatching techniques. I have become used to it from my experiences with common bushy noses.

psionic001 · Post by **psionic001** » 06 Jan 2007, 06:06

Thanks Apisto,

That info is great, I'll look into those corys and move the SAE when it gets a little bigger.

Have your L134's spawned with so many tank mates? I assume they wouldn't.

Any chance of seeing a photo of your tank with the L134's out & about?

best

Matt

apistomaster wrote:I do use those clear plastic flower pot drain pans with a small amount of the aquarium sand/gravel to weight them down. The uneaten worms stay partly buried in the pan until they're eaten. Mine come out and eat but they don't stay exposed long. They are more active in the evening even though the lights are still on.
The only thing I can think of would be to add a school of Corydoras to achieve a little more L134 bravery. You have had these L134 long enough that if they were not eating something I would expect you would be losing some by now.
That SAE will pig out on the worms and not many will remain available for the slower grazing methods that the L134 practice. It will also just get huge and even greedier. Only the little ones eat much algae.
Guess you can tell where I'm going with this. I would replace it with a school of Otocinclus.
I have mine in a fairly well planted tank and there are numerous caves of short sections of 2 inch diameter PVC pipe with ends capped off. A hole is drilled out in the middle of the pipes for access.
They use them occassional but they actually spend most of their time at the base of the many large Amazon Swords or deep within the the rosette among the leaf stalks. I also have other species of pl*cos in the same tank, 6- L66, 5-L201, a few Peckoltia vittata, and a couple of odd balls pl*cos shipped with my orders. I have one L173 that came as a L66. Looks like a zebra but the lines run traversely. I think what I'm trying to convey is that it is a competitive evironment for all the pl*cos, each vying for it's place. The L134 tend to stay roughly grouped around the largest Sword Plant most of the time.
The tank is my Heckel discus project. I just watch for any signs of a pl*co spawn and hope they choose a pipe cave that I can remove. I don't mind resorting to artificial hatching techniques. I have become used to it from my experiences with common bushy noses.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 06 Jan 2007, 15:40

Matt, none of my plecos have bred for me, yet. I just got into them since May of last year. I only had experience with breeding common bushy noses before and still.
I have not mastered the photo posting thing. I'm a slow learner when it comes to using the functions of my laptop. It's my first computer.
If you pm me with your e-mail I do know how to send photos that way. If you know how to post them it's fine with me. Sorry I'm so lame about this.