L204

amergim · Post by **amergim** » 04 Feb 2007, 16:10

I finally moved some of the catfish to the new 40G 'river' tank that I had cycling. This is the L204 resting in front of the powerhead (to the left, out of the picture). There's a pretty strong current and he just really loves it there. Every time I check the tank, he's there, enjoying the flow. Now I just need a female

Thanks,
Ramon

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 04 Feb 2007, 17:08

Hi Ramon,
L204 are pretty cool plecos aren't they? I have eight that have all grown up but I have come up with only 2 or 3 females. They do love a strong current. Mine revel in the flow of a MaxiJet 600 (160gph) which I have attached to a large pedestal sponge filter.
Peculiarly, they have never made any use of any caves I have provided them preferring to stay on or under the bogwood. Mine are all in a 20L so they are overcrowded and reqiure a lot of tank maintainance because they produce a lot of sawdust. I need to set up a trio but suprising to me is that they do not fight seriously. I mean by that that they don't harm each other. Many of my males are about 5 inches in overall length. Your's still looks like a young one and sexing them is hard at that stage. I think you need to let it grow up and then select a mate from another group of adults. Mine are fed mostly earthwork pellets which the eat in rather large quantities. They have not proven to be very good in the algae eater role which surprised me a little. Many of my small plecos also help control snails but not the L204's Good luck finding a mate for the one,
Because the plecos often come in as youngsters I always try to get 6 to 12 to make sure I get both sexes. So many of them are so similar that if I don't buy them in groups I have trouble locating more of the exact same type in susequent purchases. Especially L66 and L333 are coming in in forms that are very similar lately.

amergim · Post by **amergim** » 04 Feb 2007, 17:32

This one does the same thing. I've never seen it inside a cave and I bought it about a year ago. I think it's about 3.5"-4". I got a group of six young ones of the spotted variety at the Catfish convention last year but I lost them during an ich outbreak. They do produce a lot of waste. I have a Fluval 204 and powerhead (Aquaclear 70) hooked up to two sponge filters on the opposite side of the intakes. My 33G 'river' tank uses and undergravel filter for the returns, but the flow decreases rapidly so I decided to try sponge filters instead. It seems to work fine and it will be easier to clean than the UGF.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 04 Feb 2007, 18:04

Well your big one is probably sexable at that size but I find it easier when I have others the same size to make the comparisons. They grew fast for me so it won't be long before they will catch up with that big one.