[ask] How many plecos will fit in this aquarium?

[jlim]

Hi, I'm new in plecos world..
I wanna ask about how many plecos will fit in my aquarium?
For now, I have 3 of 6cm

LDA033

..
And I wanna added 3-5 of

L046

and 3-5 of

L134

..
Will my water parameter match for all my plecos?

My water parameter :
Ph : 6.5 - 8
Temp : 25C - 30C or 77F - 86F
Water change frequency : 20% once a week

Tank setup :
Size : 150x60x60cm or 60"x24"x24"
Substrate : Sand
Filtration : External filter
Furnishing : Some bogwoods and stones
Other tank mates : Endler fish

Ah, Can my plecos have a chance to breed if I put more than 1 species in 1 aquarium?
And do you have any suggestions for me to improve my plecos aquarium?

Thanks..

[Richard B]

Hi there and welcome to Planet Catfish

Your tank will hold a maximum of 10 of these types of plecs as they need a minimum of 12 square inches territory each. I would NOT mix L333 with L046 as there is a chance they will hybridise which is not a good thing - in fact only one Hypancistrus species should be kept, but anothers genera would be possible such as peckoltia compta (L134).

As these are not easy to sex when immature, 2 groups of 5 would help prevent single sex groups. You might want to ensure a decent water flow in the tank but better stillto have increased oxygen levels using an airstone with very fine "powder" type bubbles. Also add more caves than you have fish, to cut down on fighting for the best ones and give choice for the individuals

[jlim]

Thanks for the welcoming Richard..

I own 3 of

LDA033

not

L333

..
Ohh.. i see..
So, Its OK if there are each group of 3 different species in 1 aquarium..
For the water flow, I will install 2 small power head.. Is that enough to create the flow??

[Richard B]

sorry i misread your post (l333/LDA033)

The LDA 033 might like the water a bit warmer than the others and providing enough oxygen is more important than flow. People often think one creates the other but this often is not the case.

Powerheas will do the job but if you can couple these with venturis to create fine bubbles in the output then that is ideal.

A mix of Baryancistrus, peckoltia and hypancistrus should work ok. the size difference etween L046 & LDA033 is considerable so bullying/fighting must be avoided & these 2 prefer higher temps than the peckoltia

I've no experience with LDA033 but it is a bigger species than the others we've mentioned so may require more territory, which in turn reduces the total number of fish that can be adequately kept

[jlim]

humm.. i wanna ask about the difference between fast flowing water and heavy current water..
what's that means?
and what kind of water flow you mention before?
i'm a lil bit confused about this..