L128 Breeding Setup

[CounterStriker]

As you guys no i was successful in spawning my L128s
as im not 100% sure what triggered them ill try and give as much details as i can, if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask

Tank Setup 1st
they are housed in a 4x18x18 tank that is evenly devided into 3 sections, my pair are housed in 1 section.
the tank is running an undergravel filter with red/brown natural colored gravel
inside there section is 1 large stone were there slate cave is sitting, alittle bit of vertical slate and a nice piece of planted drift wood.
also 1 1200lph wave maker aimed over the cave createring a swirling water movement in there section like a whirlpool
(see below)






Tank Parameters 2nd
Ph: 6.8
Temp: 28 degrees
Ammonia: 0
Nitrates: between 0 and 25ppm

Processes 3rd
ok the process i followed with this tank was a 25-35% waterchange weekly on every thursday nite, i would use water strait out of my hose (cold) and i would then add products
Aqua pics Black water extract
Aqua pics Bio Blue
i followed the instructions, think its 5 mil per 20L
every 3rd week i would add a double dose of the aqua pic products with a 40%water change

Feeding 4th
i fed my L128s every night with the following
Wardley shrimp pallets
tetra color bits
home made kelp pallets made by someone of this forum
Dried freeze black worms
Hikari algae wafers
an some Veg like cucumber and beans

Fish 5th
Parents them selves are both 15cm+
Male - large chin whiskers, front fins are extremely hairy and caves alot.
Female - no hairs or bushes of any sort

This is all i can remember i did
Please ask questions

[leonsmith]

That is absolutley brillant i have 6 baby 128s bought them in the hope to breed when they a mature. Had a look around and i couldnt find anyone who has bred them. Seeing this thread is great now gives me hope cool excellent am well excited even thou i have got a couple of years wait i think.

[2wheelsx2]

Awesome. Thanks for the details. I always thought space was an issue when breeding, but apparently not. Show us some baby pics when they get bigger. Very cool.

[Suckermouth]

Thank you for contributing this information, many of us will appreciate this a lot!

How long has this set-up been going? If it's been going a while, how large did you purchase the L128?

I am also impressed that the bred in such a small space. I'm too lazy to calculate out how much that turnover is with that Koralia and that space, but it must be good.

I'm unfamiliar with the Blackwater extract and Bio Blue. I wonder if they're important. I like seeing how your water is not RO filtered, which means that they might not be that picky otherwise.

EDIT: Did the calculation.
16" x 18" x 18" volume ~ 85 L
1200 LPH / 85 L > 14 x turnover

[CounterStriker]

that particular setup has be setup like that for mabe 4-5 months, when i bought the L128s they were i think 13-14cm

i believe that tank space isnt really an issue if you have adiquate water flow, from what i have read/learned, most L number dont travel far once they have claimed there terrortory, so unless you have multipule males fighting over terrortory you might need more space, but in my case i only have a pair so the male sticks to his cave and the female, just ponders around it.

Lee

[plec0]

very interesting, im very suprised in the tank space ,but very true most L#'S specially males stick around a small area once acclimated to its surroundings. my male 46's doesnt come out his cave but to eat then goes right back in, give me an idea to section off my tank into 3 sections and just put a pair per section, keep from fighting and maybe help out with spawning... how is the tank filtered with it being sectioned off? i understand you have a wavemaker is this an air diffusor as well? or it just moves water around in tank section?..what is housed in other 2 sections?

[CounterStriker]

the wave maker only does water movement,
for the filtration i use an undergravel filter, my deviders only go to about 1.5inches off the bottom which is enough to slide an under gravel filter tray underneath, once you lay gravel onto fish carnt get under to the other sections,

i designed the tanks myself and got them custom made

Lee

[plec0]

ok.. so im ;looking at the pic, is the divider have like a mesdh screen in middle for water to pass thru each section? if so, i think you can buy dividers like this online, they are something like what beta breeders use i believe, anyways it brings new meaning to tank usage.. can control 3 diff breeding pairs per tank thus creating alot more room and gives me an idea to experiment with thus able to have more breeder pairs and less tanks.. very ingenious IDEA and I love it!. what size tank is that they in btw? 30 gallon long?

[CounterStriker]

yeah you can buy the deviders but i prefer fixed ones that way it looks neater, they dont move and they dont discolor like plastic ones, yeah they are glass with the centers cut out with fly wire(aquarium safe) siliconed in, that way only need 1 heater for the whole tank, and it works a treat,

ythe tank is 4 foot x 18 inch x 18 inch which ever that adds up to.

Lee

[Suckermouth]

Is Australian water really soft, or is it kind of hard? I'm curious because of the fact that they bred in tap water with some added stuff, but tap water there isn't the same as tap water over here in the states.

[MatsP]

Is Australian water really soft, or is it kind of hard? I'm curious because of the fact that they bred in tap water with some added stuff, but tap water there isn't the same as tap water over here in the states.

I'm pretty sure that a large island like Australia has a complete range of water, from very soft to very hard, depending on where one looks. And a quick search shows this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_water ... _Australia

--
Mats

[Suckermouth]

And it looks like Melbourne is on the softer side. Thanks Mats.

[CounterStriker]

yeah guys our tap water is quite soft as it comes.

[Suckermouth]

Looks like I'll still need an RO filter, haha.

I was all inspired to go buy a group of L128 to try breeding, but then I realized that a lot of other people are still trying to breed these guys. It can't just be soft water being the key, as I'm sure quite a few of you who haven't bred L128 yet are using RO water. I'm curious what everyone else who is still trying to breed L128 is doing.

[MatsP]

I'm absolutely certain soft water isn't the only key. Like breeding most plecos, one likely trigger is temperature rise followed by drop, along with some extra food, perhaps. Season may also factor in, as well as for example air-pressure - I see things going a bit more active during low-pressure systems, for example.

--
Mats

[Farid]

hi there ,
do you have any photos of your fry?
would be cool to see

cheers
farid

[CounterStriker]

hey faird

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 13&t=29295

in that topic there a 2 pics of the fry

havent taken more yet as the fry hasnt really changed much lol

Lee