L134 Tankmates

[Shaun]

I want to see some activity in an "empty" 250 Ltr tank. It has 5 L134's, plenty of filtration, temperature is 28 and water conditions are right for L13's. Obviously I don't want anything that would clash with them.
Was also thinking about adding some Whiptails, but I don't think any of the ones available here like temps that high.
Shaun

[evesonevo]

i keep 3 adults and 8 young in a 150l tank with 4 juvenile L66's and around 20 tetras which include splashing tetras,emperor tetras,marginatus pencilfish and a group of small tetras i picked up at the csg show last week(can't remember the name).
Tank parameters are around PH6.6,GH8,76F.
I find the characins act as dither fish as both types of plec are often seen out and about.
Col.

[apistomaster]

I'm keeping a dozen of my F1 L134 in my 125 gal wild Discus display tank and they come out to eat earth worm sticks along with 6 wild adult Alenquer/Nhamunda type red body Blue Discus and 10 juvenile Mesonauta acora which are about 2 inches long.
I have about 200 F1 L134 ranging from 18 months to 2 months old.

[mangopleco]

Same i think discus do great with them.Also apistomaster are your discus laying eggs?

[apistomaster]

Same i think discus do great with them.Also apistomaster are your discus laying eggs?

I recently set up one pair in their own tank and plan to do the same with a second pair but none have spawned yet. I think I actually have third pair but I am a little short of space so the 3rd pair will be left in the 125 gal and only time will tell if they are a real pair. If they are, the chances are good they could raise a spawn in the 125 if I were to remove the 10 Mesonauta. I will most likely wait for them to prove they are a pair and then remove either the Mesonauta or the Discus pair to a separate tank.

I first began breeding Discus with wild Discus before there were so many tank raised varieties, 4 different wild pairs to be exact, so I know how to breed wild Discus but it is never as easy as breeding the domesticated types. It takes a lot of patience, TLC and some luck to breed wild Discus but that is all I am working with presently. I do need to start over with some Brilliant Turquoise. I used to sell a lot of Red Turquoise Discus to the regional fish shops but about 18 months ago I lost my 2 reliable breeding pairs during a remodel of my main fish area. I stored my 2 pairs and a dozen nice L401 in a plastic garbage can but apparently the garbage can was contaminated by something I couldn't wash off and all the fish were dead the next morning.
I did go in on 6 3 inch Stendker Brilliant Turquoise with a buddy of mine a year ago. He was going to keep and breed them and I was going to raise the fry. That was to let me pursue my interest in breeding wild Discus but still be able to continue selling a domestic type. Unfortunately we received some badly stunted Discus from a former Stendker distributor and only one pair formed and raised their first spawn. My friend did not realize how frequently and for how long young Discus fry required bbs feedings and screwed up the first brood. We could have raised good replacement breeders had that one batch been fed right.
That pair has never raised another brood. The best they have done is to get a batch of 3-4 day old free swimming fry but every one of their 25 plus broods have been eaten. New stock is going to have to be purchased directly from Discus Hans to be sure of getting decent fish.
During these past 18 months I have increased the number of Pleco species I am breeding and fry I am raising so my tank space is really stretched. If I find a new home for my 8 wild Peruvian Angelfish then I would have a 75 gal tank available for a new group of domestic Discus. I know that even though my interest is mainly in wild type Discus, their fry will not be as easy for me to sell as the more colorful domestics. I can breed and raise domestic Discus on autopilot; there are no mysteries to them for me. I have a rule that I only buy fish equipment and new fish out of money I make from selling fish and this year, the economy was so bad my fancy pleco sales have been poor. Still, I only need to find a new home for my 8 wild Peruvian Angels then I could order the new domestic Discus. I have 3 breeding pairs of Peruvian Scalare and 2 extra males. The Angels are pretty big fish, too big to safely ship from where I live. Eventually I plan to stock the 125 gal with some grade AA wild Red Spotted Green Discus. I sold my 10 adult Heckels I had raised from 3 inch juveniles this year because breeding Heckel Discus is almost impossible. I enjoyed them a good deal for four years but they were just a dead end from a breeder's point of view. Wild Discus are my first love but I got bitten by the pleco breeding bug only about 5 years ago. They gave me a whole new area of fish breeding to learn about.

[Shaun]

Thanks for that I never would have considered Discus as a tankmate, but I think the tank's a little on the small side. I might try some Cardinal Tetras if they're not bothered by the current, which isn't really that strong...maybe some Hatchetfish as well. I have some Hatchets in another tank and have found their antics fascinating.
Shaun

[apistomaster]

Hi Shaun,

I think you will have an enjoyable community tank if you used the proposed fish. They all enjoy some current just as the L134 do. You need only to keep species that also do well in warm water that L134 prefer. That isn't a very limiting factor; there are many small fish well suited for 84*F/(I misplaced my little plastic ruler that was in metric and English measure which had the temperature conversion chart on the back) 30*C is about equal to 84*F is memory serves. A pair or trio of an Apistogramma species would also make another good member of your community tank. I like Apistogramma a lot and frequently include them in my smaller community tanks~20 to 30 US gals or 100 to 120 liters. I have a bunch of Apistogramma trifasciata I raised from a spawn early this summer that have already begun breeding. I like that species. Full colored males are a sight in full display with fins spread wide.
There are far too many Apistogramma spp of great beauty for me to have single favorite.