Gold Nugget Pleco

[AndrewC]

I have a 6ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft tank and am thinking of keeping some gold nuggets in it.
Wildwoods are advertising 177s, which from what i have read are the smallest when adults, though i have to trust the shops id on them, as they could turn out to be one of the larger gold nuggets when adult.

Would four 177s be alright when adult for my tanks dimensions, it will be a species only tank ?
If i did end up with one of the larger species of gold nuggets, would my tank be too small for them ?

[Richard B]

As long as they are 177 or 81 not 18 (if i've got that the right way round ) they'll be fine as long as the water & feeding is suitable & they are healthy quality specimens to start with. Of course Wildwoods know their stuff & is a top lfs

[AndrewC]

Thanks Richard
The tank is an existing well mature tank that i will be using.

Would i be pushing it to keep six 177s in my tank, and are gold nuggets territorial with their own kind ?

[Richard B]

Hmm, not exactly sure but if they are 177 then i would say yes, go for it - the reason is you have a better chance of a good mix of sexes & ultimately of breeding them & at 6" there should be enough space & territory & 177 are the nicest of the three IMHO

[AndrewC]

Thanks again Richard
Any tips for acclimatising them and what food do you feed yours ?

[KAROBA]

I have two L177 in a 180L aquarium and sometimes they are fighting a little bit. I feed them with pleco tabs and once a week i give them shrimp pellets.
They are about 12 cm, in good shape and healthy

[MatsP]

With regards to size, they grow EXTREMELY slowly in captivity - they do need CONSTANT feeding of the "right" stuff, and whilst we have some idea what "right" means here, it's quite difficult to supply sufficient food in suitable quantities in a home aquarium.

I kept two L177 in a tank for a couple of years (then lost them to bad husbandry, I'm afraid). They are definitely not the easiest fish to keep.

--
Mats

[sunfish]

I am not quite sure whether 4 or 6 golden nuggets in such an "small" tank will work over longer periods of time. You will need to properly structure the tank and provide enough caves, hiding places etc. Otherwise they might kill each other when they get older.

I have a single L177 (now about 4.5 inches) in a 200l tank. It is rather dominant and will (very successfully) defend food and cave agaist other plecs. I would not even keep a second golden nugget, even in a larger tank.

[Richard B]

Good info from sunfish.

The group scenario would be the best way to get a number of individuals used to each other as they grew & perhaps find the best male & female to give you the best chance of breeding ultimately. There are risks involved so having more than one tank would be useful if things got a bit rough.

Warmer water seems to suit these above standard tropical conditions which seems extremely important for long-term keping.

As far as feeding goes, as these are omnivores, my recommendation would be to vary things as much as possible, including stuff like green beans, veggie wafers, cucumber, plums, potato, celery etc (for the veggie part) & earthworm sticks, frozen blood worm, prawn, shrimp sticks, bloodworm pellets etc for a more meaty side of things. Try many various things & you'll soon see what works & what doesn't but variety is important & always remove uneaten things like fresh veggies & prawn after a couple of days max to reduce the chance of water pollution. It's best to anchor this type of stuff somewhere where it's acceptance by the fish can be measured & if multiple specimens are kept then you may need to consider multiple feeding stations

[AndrewC]

Richard
Thanks for the feeding list, i have a few scewcumbers, for weighing down; cucumber, courgette, etc, but will need to get a few veggie clips as well.

The fish are advertised at 7 to 9 inches, is that not adult size, the catalouge says 8" ?
Are they sexable at that size, as i could try to get a trio, one male and two females ?

[MatsP]

7-9" is definitely "mature" - they may grow an inch or two bigger in nature, but they are definitely not teenagers or less.

--
Mats

[sunfish]

Yapp, at 7-9" they are adults. People with loads of experience might be able to make educated guesses when it comes to sex. If you plan on breeding them a trio probably isn't enough. Just because you have both sexes does not mean that they are going to "do it". Especially as it isn't going to be certain that you actually HAVE

I didn't expect them to be that large. I would not do that without a second tank that is up and running with the same parameters as the big tank. It can be quite difficult to put together a group of adult fish, and we are talking about a considerable sum of money.

[MatsP]

There are good pictures of

Baryancistrus sp(L081)

difference between male and female head shape.

--
Mats

[AndrewC]

Thanks for the replys.
I think i will leave it just now, i would be getting the fish delivered and relying on the person in the shop sexing them, and i will be moving fish around to free up the 6ft tank for the GN's, the only other spare tanks that i could free just now up are only 2.5ft x 1.5ft x 1ft (H) in size.

[sunfish]

There are good pictures of

Baryancistrus sp(L081)

difference between male and female head shape.

I might be blind, but I honestly don't see it. What is the difference between male and female? The only difference I was aware of is odontodes (but that's only for males in breeding-mode).

[MatsP]

The head of the female is steeper and "shorter" than the males.

But I agree that it's not that easy to tell, and I would prefer a from above view.

--
Mats

[sunfish]

Ah, OK. Thanks.

I would never be able to tell male from female based on that, though.

[MatsP]

Ah, OK. Thanks.

I would never be able to tell male from female based on that, though.

It would probably be possible if there is a large number of them, combined with other features. I always try to use a combination of two or three "sex keys" when sexing fish - more keys -> more likely to spot the right one - especially as some keys such as odontodes tend to disappear with stress.

--
Mats