info on Farlowella acus

[mante-religieuse]

Hi,I bougth a Farlowella acus 10 days ago and it died yesterday.It seemed healthy...very small(10cm)...but still healthy.And yesterday morning,it was dead. should I bring it back to the pet shop to get a refund?Is it something that happen often?

I whanted to ask you,is it the same everywhere ,that those fish are becoming rare and expensive?
But I saw somewhere else 2 big Farlowella(about 20cm) very cheap.I was wondering if they were maybe sick or something like that...how can I detect an healthy Farlowella ?

[aledk85]

i think is difficult to know....
i had 2 and they have live for almost 1 year and one day they start to die in one week without sintom
maybe the are very sensible to one small incontrollable-variation of water...

[MatsP]

I'm sorry for your loss. In the UK, most fish shops offer 24-48 "live guarantee". After that, it's your problem. It may well be different in Canada, as different countries have different levels of consumer protection. Not to mention that different shops treat customers different. If it's your regular shop that you have been shopping from for years, then it's more likely that they will do something for you than if you randomly dropped in and got the fish from a shop where they wouldn't remember you coming in.

I don't believe that Farlowella are particularly rare in nature. As to shops and wholesalers ordering them, and selling them at reasonable rates - well that's a different story.

I think the biggest problem (like with many forms of algae-eating Loricariidae), they need permanent food to feel well. If there's not enough food available most of the time, they start to deteriorate. Many shops do not know how to properly feed these fish - they give every tank a pinch of flakes each morning, and possibly one or two algae wafers here and there. For almost all plecos, prolonged keeping with inadequate food will lead to fish that starve themselves to death - don't ask me why this happens.

On a technical note, I suspect the species is not actually F. acus - it's native habitat near Caracas in Venezuela is unlikely to get exported - at least not for the few or maybe tens of dollars that it costs to get them in the shop - it is illegal to export fish (and all other wildlife) from Venezuela. Most likely your fish came from Brazil, Colombia or Peru. There are about 60 different species of Farlowella, and they are very similar, only detail differences in the keys to telling them apart.

--
Mats

[mante-religieuse]

Thanks for the info!That was very explicative!So if I buy another Farlowella(or 2,is it better to keep them by pair?)what is the better way to feed them properly?

[racoll]

what is the better way to feed them properly?

As you have discovered, the damage (starvation) had been done in the store long before you bought the fish. Being caught and dumped in a new tank just pushed it over the edge.

Only buy wild fish that have been in the store at least month and are visibly feeding, hopefully on something other than flake. Unfortunately as Mats said, they just aren't looked after in fish stores, as they need access to vegetables 24/7, at least for the first month or so. They very much like kale (but only after about 24h in the water when it starts to go soft), fava beans and zucchini.

So if I buy another Farlowella(or 2,is it better to keep them by pair?

Makes no difference. They are happy on their own or in groups.

Try to make sure your water matches that of the LFS, as this will certainly reduce stress. Also ensure your water is well oxygenated and not too warm (25-27C is about right).

[mante-religieuse]

ok,thank you!! I'll ask questions to the seller before buy the fish,this time,in order to know if the fish is just about to die from starvation...and also,do they like algua?I have plenthy in my thank,mayby they would like that?

[MatsP]

ok,thank you!! I'll ask questions to the seller before buy the fish,this time,in order to know if the fish is just about to die from starvation...and also,do they like algua?I have plenthy in my thank,mayby they would like that?

They will eat algae, but like most algae-eating creaturs, "only the right kind". Most fish eat one or two kinds of algae, and different types eat different varieties. Soft, short, green algae is what I expect these to eat.

--
Mats

[racoll]

Soft, short, green algae is what I expect these to eat.

They also enjoy the light brown "slimy" film of diatoms you often get in new aquaria.

[mante-religieuse]

That s the kind of alguea i get those days...since I use AquaClear filter,my aqua is infested if brown and green alguea,that my ancistrus doesn't whant to eat.So I bougth I little Otocinclus today,and it stick rigth away on one of my "brownish"deco...I know that "flying-fox" do great jobs on brown and green algea,but i had bad experiences with those,and with Gyrino,or I had bad fishes.. .I wish I could find a fish that helps equilibrate algea(I have live plants,so I can't put less ligths).........but...heu.. is that the kind of alguea that would like a Farlowela? And one last questions Should I let it grow or always washe carefuly everything that have alguea on it at the first sign?

[racoll]

my aqua is infested if brown and green alguea,that my ancistrus doesn't whant to eat

Plecos all eat the same kinds of algae, so if your Ancistrus will not eat eat it (or perhaps there is too much to eat?) then a Farlowella will not eat it either.

When you have a clean tank though, the action of the grazing plecos will stop all kinds of algae before it forms, but only in the places the plecos can reach.

Algae problems are invariably caused by too much light and too little CO2. Try and reduce your photoperiod to <10h and maybe think about some floating plants like amazon frogbit or hornwort to filter out the light.

However plecos like the algae to eat, so provided it doesn't get out of hand then maybe leave it?

You also should get more Otocinclus. They are shoaling fish and will suffer if kept alone. They are also more prone to dying suddenly than the Farlowella, unless they have lots of food from the start. Make sure you have vegetables available. Don't rely on their being enough algae, especially with an Ancistrus in the tank.

Does that make sense?

[mante-religieuse]

yes,that makes sense ,thanks for the info! But for the floathing plants,they may burns because I have a closed tank.But I do have already have amazone plants that provides some ligth filtration.I'll reduce ligth timer to 10 hours instead of 12 hours.
For the Otocinclus,I would have bougth more than one,but it was the single last one in the store...!!(they didn`t even know that there was one left,I have good eye for seing fish!!)So Ill add some others.And as you said,they like vegetables, I know that they like zuchyni,is that rigth?

[loachy_406]

Yes, Otos eat basically any vegetables you can get. Sometimes you need to blanch (microwave for 30 seconds in a bit of water) them so they go softer so they can be eaten. Don't feed sweet things like banana or orange though, as they aren't good for the water or the fish.