Opal spot Pleco problem

[DrunkenPanda]

hi there I'm new member to this site but long time reader and user.

I was wondering if anyone could offer up some advice on my Opal spot Pleco. it has been in the tank for a week and it wont come out of hiding and stays at the back of the tank in the plants all day and night long. If you check my tank details you will see that my tank has lots of protection cover and none of the fish are really able to bully a fish of the Opals size. there was a small fight on day one with my Bulldog Pleco but now he stays well clear of the Opal.

I'm totally lost because it is such a nice fish to look at but refuses to move out of the back, and I have not seen it feed.

thanks
DrunkenPanda

[MatsP]

I think you need to have a bit more patience. Many plecos are shy for several weeks after recent moves.

--
Mats

[DrunkenPanda]

Thank you for your reply MatsP. The problem of the two pleco has got abit worse and last night the opal spot came out to feed and was hounded to the back again by the L187a, Spotted Bulldog Pleco. I have currently got the bulldog in the hospital tank so the opal spot could feed and it worked, but the problem i have now is how do i have these two plecos in the same tank without the bulldog wanting to kill the opal spot.

It seems the Bulldog Plec thinks the whole tank is his and no other plecos can live there. so far i have tried moving all the cover about to confuse the bulldog, removing his bit of wood to see if he will move elsewhere. but nothing has worked, and what i dont understand is why the bulldog pleco allows my 9 corys and 5 otos boss him about.

any advice i would be very greatful for as i really like the bulldog pleco and dont want to have to give him away or have him in a tank alone

[MatsP]

I don't think a

Ancistrini sp(l082)

should be kept in the same tank as a

Chaetostoma milesi

. They require quite different temperature ranges.

--
Mats

[racoll]

DrunkenPanda, how big is your tank? it sounds quite small.

Also I agree with Mats. These species like different temperatures. The L082 likes 25-30C, while the bulldog likes 20-25C.

Technically you could keep them at about 25C, but this temp will be a the limit of their tolerances, and therefore not good for either fish.

If you want the L082 to settle down and start feeding, you will need a temp above 27C. The bulldog will not like this.

[DrunkenPanda]

thanks for both your replies. my tank is 200L, and houses 9 peppered corys, 5 unknown otos, 1 opal spot pleco and 1 spotted bulldog pleco. When i had a smaller 40L tank i kept the temp at 23 C because all i had was corys and bulldog plec, but i would have to say the bulldog pleco did nothing at all but get moody when i did water changes, and the plec just hung to the filter bottom (fluval 2) all day and night.

the opal spot plec was sold to me a week ago as a fish named and the king pleco which when i searched was not found. the 200L tank is kept at 25.5 c and sometimes goes upto 26 c but no higher. i have to say though that the bulldog moves about alot more in the larger and hotter tank than it did in the cool 40L. also to my shock the peppered corys now breed at the hotter temp.

[racoll]

i have to say though that the bulldog moves about alot more in the larger and hotter tank than it did in the cool 40L. also to my shock the peppered corys now breed at the hotter temp.

Yes, you will find both of your observations are true. Hotter water speeds up the metabolism of fish, and the cool water Corydoras will respond as they will in the wild, by breeding with an increase in temperature (i.e. the summer is arriving).

However, not a problem short term, but cooler water fish have significantly shorter lifespans and are susceptible to diesease when kept for long periods in water too warm.

Look at the gill movements of your bulldog. If they are heavy or laboured then the water is too warm and there is not enough oxygen.

Your tank sounds plenty big enough. Try adding more decor to break up sight lines.

Why not post some pics of the opal spot plec, so we can confirm what species it is. L082 are not a common fish.

[MatsP]

The peppered corys are tank-bred fish - they have probably been bred out of being a "cool water fish". The bulldog is a wild-caught fish, and it's natural habitat is quite cool (we're talking relative here - it's still around 18-25 degrees, but they live in streams on the hills, where the water comes from a higher altitude).

Again, the Ancistrini is a wild-caught fish from a warm river, Rio Xingu, where natural temperature is in the region 25-32.

As racoll already explained, incorrect temperature will affect the fish's lifespan and comfort.

Racoll: I think [/i]Chaetostoma do not "breathe" the same way that normal fish does - they rely on water flowing across their gills through movement, like some shark speceis - but I could have that wrong. This could also explain the higher movement in warmer water.

--
Mats

[DrunkenPanda]

thanks for more replies and im grateful for the help. right now the large tank is 26.1 c. if the corys and otos can live in that temp fine then i wont need to drop it and the opal spot should be fine. i will get a photo posted as soon as im back from work, where i am now working hard .

the problem i got is that no website has any information about the opal spot plec and temps it lives in, also the bulldog can not live in the hospital tank forever and i dont know how to calm stop it being a bully towards the opal.

i would not mind if the bulldog did have to live alone but that idea will only work if both the otos and corys can live in higher temps because on checking this site they both have cooler water.

last thing i want to do is kill my fish but i only have 2 tanks, 200L and 20L. so i have to work something out later to try and have all the fish in healthy water temp.

[racoll]

Just checked the cat-elog link to the opal spot (

Ancistrini sp(l082)

) and you are right. There is no temp range given.

However I can assure you that as a Xingu species it will be most happy in well oxygenated water at 27-30C.

Your

Chaetostoma

seems quite belligerent, and I would imagine eventually, the L082 will easily be able to stick up for itself. Is there a big size difference between them? I doubt the bulldog would be able to kill the L082 in such a large tank.

The problem is really the temp though. It is is not surprising as the L082 is not able to fight, as he is in water too cool to get him fired up. He is also probably undernourished if he has recently been imported.

[DrunkenPanda]

hi again, the opal spot is bigger than the bulldog and thats why my girlfriend and i did not understand why it does not just hit the bulldog or push it out the way. As for the quality of the fish, the place i bought it from is local and friend of mine, and he had the opal in for over 5 weeks before i bought it. i phoned him today and he said he keeps his rare pleco tank between 26-27.

still trying to get a photo but the opal is camera shy. do you know if otos and corys can live in hotter water?, because if they can then i can just setup a second colder tank for the bulldog and then have all the others in the main hotter tank.

[racoll]

The Otocinclus will be fine at the higher temperatures.

You could keep the larger tank warmer, and put the Corydoras and bulldog in the small tank.

Perhaps after several months, when the L082 becomes settled down and feeding, you could drop the temp a bit and reintroduce the bulldog.

The tank would then "belong" to the L082 and the bulldog will be the newcomer.

[DrunkenPanda]

Here's those photos I did the best I could but the L082 was up against the tank wall that is near my wall so holding the camera was hard









could you have a look and see if you can clearly id it

thanks
drunken panda

[racoll]

Yup, correct ID, It is an opal spot (L082).

[DrunkenPanda]

thanks for the ID. now i just have to split the fish to keep them healthy.