L333 hypancistrus breeding?!?-need advise

[Bradb]

Hi, to get to the point how do breed this sp. I mean optimum diet, flow rate and direction, water parameters, male to female ratio ect?
I'm asking because to Cat-elog says their easy to breed but gives no guide.

[apistomaster]

Hi Brad,
L333 seem to me to be no different than other Hypancistrus spp.
I would read through the various breeding Hypancistrus articles in Shane's World and take my cues from those.
I use a 40 gal breeder for 7 adults. I provided 5 caves and some rock work. I use a MaxiJet 600 power head attached to a sponge filter similar to a HydroSponge IV and lay it over on it's side. I aim the current from the power head to pass by and perpendicular to the openings of the caves. I do the same thing in my Peckoltia sp L134 and Hypancistrus sp L260 breeding tanks and it seems to work well enough.

My experience has been that it can take some time before they spawn in a new tank. If they are proven breeders then it may take them several months before they resume spawning. It took my adult L333 four months before their first spawn in their new tank. The aquarium had been set up a year so it was already well established. I finally got them to spawn after I began using RO water to refill tanks after each water change. Maybe a coincidence or perhaps the RO water changes signaled the beginning of their spawning season?
If they are fairly recently imported fish, not quite fully grown, it may be necessary to wait a year or two for them to mature.
They don't need much beyond the currents, fresh water and caves for the males and perhaps some other hiding places like around a couple rocks for the females. I keep them at 84*F. There is about 1/4 inch of FloraBase as a substrate. I feed mine mainly earth worm and Spirulina Sticks plus frozen blood worms. I also leave cereal bowl in their tank where I can confine live black worms which they come out at night to eat. I change 60% of their water 2 times a week.

[Lloydy]

I also leave cereal bowl in their tank where I can confine live black worms which they come out at night to eat. I change 60% of their water 2 times a week.

Hi Apistomaster. I am curious about the cereal bowl and black worm idea. I assume you simply trap the worms in it the during the day and then take out a few of them at night for the plecs to eat?

What else do you have in your tank other than the plecos?

I did a search for black worms and on this site http://www.aquariumfish.net/information/black_worms.htm it suggests plecos don't normally show an interest in worms. Although this site isn't exactly specific as to certain L numbers.

[apistomaster]

My Hypancistrus spp and Peckoltia sp L134 eat live black worms. However, to just drop the worms in a tank with even a thin substrate like I use, they will escape into the substrate and the plecos lack much ability to extract them. I use a bowl to keep the worms confined and accessible to the plecos at all times. Adults visit the clump of confined worms at night but the fry often gather on the worms where they either take small bites out of them or find something else that is interesting to them from the skin of the worms. I know for sure that the numbers of worms dwindles soon and needs to be replenished at least every other day. In a 40 gal tank holding about 50 L134 fry and juveniles, I can add fresh worms daily.
I also use the bowls to feed earth worm stick and Spirulina Sticks because some tanks have large numbers of Malayan Trumpet Snails which soon form an impenetrable mass over the food that falls on the substrate effectively blocking the fry access to that food. I use a length of 1/2" PVC pipe to aim the food/worms directly into the bowls. I use a baster to squeeze the worms into the pipe so they all fall into the bowl.
I wish there was an easy way to get rid of those snails.
I always have some cherry shrimp in my pleco and Corydoras breeding tanks. I breed C. hastatus and C. habrosus in peremanent breeding colonies with a lot of Hornwort.
I have been trying to breed a couple pairs of Dicrossus maculatus in with the L333 and L260 but it looks like i am going to have to give the D. maculatus their own tanks since plecos do pose a threat to their eggs. My main goal was to get them to the point where they began spawning. Now that they have spawned a few times and the eggs I pulled for artificial hatching all died it looks like it's best to allow the females to care for their eggs and broods but they may eat many spawns before they raise one.
I guess if breeding Dicrossus maculatus was easy they would be more common and less expensive.

[Bradb]

Hi sorry to ask more questions but I'v just realised that the only place I can fit the tank in only has one spare powersoccet for a additional powerhead/sponge filter. Any Idea if just one realy powerful powerhead can provide enough current along with a fluval 402 (i think) External filter+spray bar @ te surface.
If not I'v heard that L134 dont need that much current to thrive. Is this true?
Finally whats all this about some sp. no longer ben imported, I know that Zebras wern't due to protection ect but there seems to be something else going on. Is about the hydroelectric damn on the xingu

Again thx for any help.

[MatsP]

Sorry to be a bit sarcastic, but surely you can solve the problem of number of power socket with an extension lead?

Technically, my entire fish-room is two giant extension leads - because to comply with the recent legalities regarding installation of new sockets, my fishroom shelves are wired into a plug-socket, but it is actually using standard 2-gang switched sockets, just like you'd have on the wall generally. Similarly, my RIO400 base-cabinet have fixed sockets in it, but a plug at the end to plug into the house-wiring.

--
Mats

[apistomaster]

If you have one large power head consider using so PVC pipe and fittings to direct to flows from different levels to spread out the force.
I would simply add another power bar plugged into the existing. My house is quite old and has relatively few outlets. People shake their heads when they see how many power bars are plugged into other power bars in order to get electricity delivered to all my tanks. I have 40 electrical devices running off 2 dual plug in outlets. Maybe someday I will burn the place down?

I have heard that L134 don't need much current too, but I provide them with the same conditions as I do my Hypancistrus spp, including L333, and for whatever reasons, I am producing them in fairly large numbers considering my breeding group consists of only 2 males and 3 females in a 20 long. I am raising more L134 than any one I know here in the USA.
I would love to hear from other L134 breeders and compare notes. I produced about 180 last year and have about 100 so far and expect them to continue spawning until this fall. They appear to me to appreciate a decent current.

The export of Hypancistrus is officially banned from Brazil but I haven't seen much difference in their availability and prices pre or post ban. There were a few seizures of shipments at Brazilian Airports but my sense is that this was due mainly to failing to pay the "look the other way" "tax". Perhaps aided by info from the competition who did pay their "tax."
The law enforcement in much of Latin America has a price. Corruption is just a fact of life. Not just my opinion. Just Google something like. "The culture of corruption in Latin America" for 100,000's of thousands of hits.

[MatsP]

Seeing how many fuses there would be in such a system in the UK, I doubt it is any risk of fires from it.

When I renovated my house, I ended up with almost twice as many sockets in the house. My fish-room with 10 tanks only has two actual wall-sockets.

All tanks have at least 2 electrical devices: Heater, light. Most have at least one filter/powerhead.

--
Mats

[Bradb]

Hi sorry I havn't posted in a while, I'v had some exams on. Anyway I'v realised how stupid I sounded when I said that there wasn't enough power soccets, I know why dont I just get a larger extension plug. Anyway that I'l solve the problem for any hypanistrus sp.
So for any of the L no's I'v been thinking about breeding I just want to know if there are any suitable dithers for a large breeding tank, trying to stay away from tetras cause their notorious fry predators.

[Lloydy]

Hi Brad,

What types of caves etc are you using to try and breed you L333s?

I personally have 3 home made slate caves that measure about 6"x2"x1.5" I have been told these are about the right sort of size but I still think they are too small because my L333s look a bit fat

[Rohan Richardson]

I use ph 6.8,gh8,kh4-5 and keep at 28-30c breed with every water change. I do use a separate water change tank so that i can fully treat any water before it goes into my fish tanks. I also use easter island heads as a spawning site ( you have to smooth off any sharp areas though). Frozen bloodworm,carnivor pellets(for catfish) and some algae discs occasionally (you do need soft wood like mangrove roots).
Rohan R

[Bradb]

Hi I'v got a question for those of you who have tanks that measure over 4ft ish off the ground. If you have breeding caves along the bottom and you want to "hit" the cave with the current how do you get your powerhead to do that? May sound stupid but I really need to know any photos/ diagrams will help.

[apistomaster]

My power heads are connected to pedestal style sponge filters.
I just lay them on their sides on the bottom and direct their exhaust just ~2 inches above and parallel to the substrate.
A power head inlet not covered with some filter or pre-filter poses a potential danger to very young fry. The fry will explore all surfaces and the grating for some power head inlets may produce more suction than the very youngest fry may be able to handle.

I discovered another batch of L333 fry this morning. I saw at least 25 so their are probably a few more than that.
Using conservative estimates, I have about 45 fry between their last 2 spawns.