Can L200 and L128 coexist?

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 02 May 2007, 16:10

I have a nice L128 and would like to pick up an L200 to round out my collection. Can they get along, given enough caves, food, and water changes?

xingumike · Post by **xingumike** » 02 May 2007, 17:38

Mine certainly co-exist with no problems at all. There is quite a large size diffence though, the L128 being nearly twice as big, i don't know how much that contributes to the peace however.

arndogg · Post by **arndogg** » 02 May 2007, 21:22

how big is your tank and what else is in it?

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 03 May 2007, 00:17

It'll be a 50 breeder pleco tank. (36x18x18). There will be the 128, a 254, 135, and five 134's (they're 1" now). I may throw a 177 in there if I can find a nice one.

xingumike · Post by **xingumike** » 03 May 2007, 09:33

thats quite a lot of pleco in not so big a tank, i can foresee terrotorial/space issues perhaps not straight away but when things start growing definately.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 03 May 2007, 12:48

yeah, it'll be tight. I figured it might be like a mbuna tank, where a higher number of fish keeps everyone from fighting. Plus, I didn't get the impression that any of my species were that territorial.

I'm planning on building a "highrise" out of slate and pipe, so I should have at least 20 caves in that tank. There should always be somewhere to hide.

xingumike · Post by **xingumike** » 03 May 2007, 17:07

I don't necessarily think the mbuna theory is correct (or a great way to keep plecos either) but it sounds like you are going to do it anyway so good luck.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 03 May 2007, 17:23

yes I'm going to keep a bunch of plecos together. No, I'm not going to pack them in so tight as to cause a problem. I also want to avoid incompatible fish, hence my question.

I honestly do not forsee a problem with keeping an L-number tank, but what are your specific reservations?

a friend of mine has a breeding colony of 13 leopard frog plecos in a 30 long...would I really be in that much trouble with 8-9 fish in a 50 breeder?

I'm not being sarcastic, honest!

Andy

arndogg · Post by **arndogg** » 05 May 2007, 19:32

At the very least, your larger plecs will bully the little ones out of caves, or make them wait their turn come feeding time.

One other thing you have to think about is your filtration. 9 plecs=a lot of poop.

I have 3 (1 L200 and 2 L199) in a 30G 3ft tank, and my L200 is the boss. He is about 5" while the L199 is 3 1/2" and 2" respectively.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 05 May 2007, 19:41

One thing I'll have plenty of will be filtration. I'm condensing 6 tanks down to 2, so I'll have equipment to spare. My setup will be a 2x4 rack with two 50 breeder tanks. The top tank will have asst. plecs and the bottom will only house hypansistrus. The top will have an AC70 and 110 and the bottom will have 2 or 3 AC70's. I figure the fish love current, so why not give it to them?

I do water changes as stress relief (something about syphoning out the poop is satisfying), so water quality shouldn't be a problem.

That just leaves aggression to worry about.