Hi all,
I have 2x L134 about 10cm each for more than a year now. I can't really confirm their sexes (no clear odontodes in the back half of their body) although it does lool like one has a a wider girth. I never really worried much with it, because they are in my community tank (540L) with lots of other plecos, and I assumed breeding was out of question.
But this Sunday after beeing out for the weekend I noticed one of them (the presumed male) was inside a cave, waving his caudal fin... and he still is.(today is Tuesday - so at least 48 consecutive hours of waving so far) And none of them were frequent users of this cave. He certainly went there every now and then, but I can't say he live inside it at all.
The presumed female is now frequently found near the cave staring at him, or just standing there. Other than that I would say she is a bit plumpier than usual...
So my question is, should I do something? (Like allowing my curiositiy to win and take a peak.)
I have removed some of the vegetation in front of the cave so I could see better - but I can't see anything more than his tail... waiving and waiving.
I saw Barbie's suggestion in another post, on putting a 1 inch rock below the cave entrance - to lift the entrance and avoid the fry to easily leave - and I love the idea, not for the fry (since there is no evidence of it) but to allow me to peak better! I haven't done yet since I fear scaring him although
I must confess I already used a torch to try to get a better view (and to confirm he's still there, since the cave is deep and sometimes his tail is barely noticeable) but I couldn't see anything more.
Would you say this is spawning related at all?
Is it normal for them to suddenly occupy a cave, with this kind of determination and always waving his caudal fin?
Help appreciated.
Regards,
Francisco
PS: I've read the article from Janne, and also read the successfull breeding posts from Seamus and LeaLea in PlecoFanatics - but none of them describe pre-spawning behaviour...
