"starter" pleco

[shamrock]

hi

i'm a novice aquarist at best. i have a juwel 125 running on a eheim 2078. currently the tank houses some hardy low maintenance fish like danios and tiger barbs (i know, not very demanding). i want to make the leap across to catfish at some stage, and am currently just doing "research".

i ultimately want zebra plecos, perhaps others in the future, but i find them very fascinating and beautiful.

my question:
1) what would you recommend an introduction to keeping and breeding catfish? i've read that you should probably go for bristlenose plecos initially in order to become a little familiar with breeding patterns etc. their cost isn't too bad and they reproduce quickly (?)
2) i'm looking for something that will give the me the practical experience and hopefully emulate the zebra pleco requirements

many thanks for your expert opinions!

[MatsP]

I'm moving this to the Loricariidae section, as that's where it belongs.

Yes, the common bristlenose

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

is a very good starter pleco. If you want something more colourful, perhaps the albino variant would be a good alternative - they are the same species and require the same maintenance.

However, for replicating H. zebra requirements, you need really warm water, and this is incompatible with at least your danios (which fall somewhere between true tropical and subtropical). I don't think tiger barbs will be happy at that high a temperature either, but I've never kept them. So you'd need a separate tank for them anyways.

--
Mats

[shamrock]

many thanks for your input (and moving the thread to somewhere more appropriate). the danios and barbs will be relocated. just wanted something basic to go for initially. i suppose i should try some bristlenoses to begin with. i'll have a look at their profile and compare to h.zebra.

thanks again

[Shane]

what would you recommend an introduction to keeping and breeding catfish?

As many accomplished pleco breeders will tell you breeding is not the hardest part.. raising the fry successfully is much more difficult. The best reason to start with a "simple" sp like Ancistrus is to get your fry raising techniques down. Losing a batch of Ancistrus fry is not fun, but killing a tank of zebra fry is downright heartbreaking.
-Shane

[MatsP]

Not to mention that it's likely going to take a lot longer to get another spawn of those H. zebra to try again on. Common Ancistrus will breed every 4-5 weeks if they have good conditions. H. zebra may breed about 4 times in a year if you are VERY good at it, once or twice a year is much more common.

--
Mats

[L number Banana]

And have you seen the price of those zebras???

If you do learn to breed plecos and want to move into breeding zebras, get insurance and a very good job

Pretty little devils though.

If you like flashy, take a boo at

Wish those were easy breeders.

Here's another breeding possibility that's pretty stunning:

Baryancistrus xanthellus

So many fish. so little money/space/time...

[shamrock]

hi

the L018 was very nice. i'm not a huge fan of bristlenose to be frank, but experience is experience. oh well, next step will start changing the current setup...

great. thanks!