Hello from Essex

[Essex-Andy]

Hello,

I've just started up a larger tropical tank; approx 100 litres.
(external filter that will turn the tank over about 5 to 6 times an hour, Rena heater set to 26 degree C and two disc air diffusers set under pea gravel. Tank is moderately planted)

I'm an experienced Koi keeper but new to the tropical world. I had a 60 litre 'warm/room temp' fresh water tank with 3 x minnows, 3 x danios and neon tetras. I've put these fish into my tropical tank. In six-ish weeks I would like to add two L number plecs and some shrimp.

I'd be grateful for some suggestions as to L number plecs that will not get above 5"-6" when fully grown and that are more inclined to a veg diet than fish/shrimp. (Please feel free to suggest other fish suitable for a community tank)

I've had a look through the cat-eLog and did write down some Ls that I found but the wife has 'tidied up' and the list is no more!!

Thanks in advance for reading this and your suggestions. Good looking website you guys have here!

Andy.

PS The photo was taken before the external filter and rena heater were installed

[MatsP]

Welcome to Planet Catfish.

You can use the search feature in the Cat-eLog to match fish with what your requirements are (size, temperature, pH, etc). http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/search.php
To find plecos, select "Loricariidae" in the Family field.
(Bear in mind that using pH and temperature is a bit counter intuitive - the way it works is that it lists species that are OK with the entire range specified. So if you specify 15-30'C, you will get no or very few plecos, because I don't think ANY of them like 15'C. Enter 29-30'C, and it will show you a list of species OK that want slightly warmer than average temperatures. The same applies to pH. So my advice is, if you want to use these, to just enter your ideal temperature on both min and max for these, or some values that are close together).

Unfortunately, we don't have a search feature for what a specific species eats. You can have a look at my article about "Feeding plecos: Who eats what?" (link to the right of this post), to see which ones are more "meaty" or "vegie" feeders.

There is a plan to have a "wishlist" feature in the future, but it's not going to happen in the next few weeks, so making notes in some other way will be needed for the short term. You could use the bookmark feature in your web-browser, perhaps?

--
Mats

[Essex-Andy]

Thanks Mats.

I will try what you said.

[Richard B]

Welcome to Planet Catfish

As a "starter for ten" how about

Ancistrus sp(l309)

?

[Essex-Andy]

I've got these on my list after trying the search tool that Mats suggested.

In no order of preference:

L082

,

L328

,

L270

,

L017

,

L271

, Dwarf Lake Syno and

Hypancistrus Contradens

Plus L309 seems a good match to my wishes....thanks!

Any owners with tips advice on these?

[Mod edit: Add clog-tags to allow easy viewing --Mats]

[MatsP]

Pseudolithoxus sp(L328)

are probably not easy to find.

Panaque sp(L271)

are nice, will need wood to chew on! There are several "lookalikes", e.g.

L002

,

L169

,

L206

,

L226

.

Hypancistrus sp(L270)

and

Hypancistrus contradens

will need a meaty diet. Probably a good candidate if you can find one.

Peckoltia vittata

will be easier to find and looks similar to L270, and will feed more on the veggie side...

Ancistrus sp(L309)

is a very pretty fish. Not the easiest to find - Wildwoods (in Enfield) has some over a year ago, but when I tried to get a group of them, they only had males...

--
Mats

[Richard B]

Ancistrus sp(L309)

is a very pretty fish. Not the easiest to find - Wildwoods (in Enfield) has some over a year ago, but when I tried to get a group of them, they only had males...

--
Mats

MA Nottingham (wheatecroft Island) had some a short while ago...

[MatsP]

You don't happen to remember the price, by any chance?

--
Mats

[Richard B]

You don't happen to remember the price, by any chance?

--
Mats

I can't remember offhand but i'll pop in one day this week to see if they're still there & how much they were. They were stunning fish (& not too big)but i remember thinking they were expensive.

[MatsP]

When they were at Wildwoods, they were something like £30 (or £27 or some such) each... I wouldn't expect them to be "cheap".

--
Mats

[Richard B]

When they were at Wildwoods, they were something like £30 (or £27 or some such) each... I wouldn't expect them to be "cheap".

--
Mats

£35 each for mature adults - only males left (75% of stock had been sold)