Sexing L200

[AndersB]

Today i got 5 big L200 H. Subviridis - +20 cm tl - hoping for a future breeding group.
They should be 2 males and 3 females - do you agree?

[AndersB]

Last pic

[sturiosoma]

Today i got 5 big L200 H. Subviridis - +20 cm tl - hoping for a future breeding group.
They should be 2 males and 3 females - do you agree?

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Could this be considered fish porn, and has Jools seen it.

Jeanne

[MarcW]

From the vents maybe two look different to the others, from above I'd guess one stood out as different.

If you have just received the fish let them settle in for 2-3 months feed well, and then if you like catch them out and check again, differences may be more obvious. If it were me, I'd give plenty of caves and dark hiding spaces e.g. pieces of slate on top of the caves and let them be, if nothing happens after 6-12 months maybe move the caves around, try different sized caves, or move a suspected pair to a different tank for a few months. If nothing happens put them all back together and forget about attempting to spawn them, then it might happen .

Good luck.

[AndersB]

Thx

[emanuel]

Anders B, It seems you have both sexes, looking at the photo from above, at least two specimens are different in the shape of the head, but it seems more like 3 males and two females, maybe I'm wrong.
Good luck with them, Hemiancistrus subviridis is my all time favorite pleco. Keep us updated.

[AndersB]

Thanks for answering - also one of my favorites along with the L128. I have bred both some years ago, and now I feel like doing it again.
These L200s are huge btw - I have never seen any this big.

I have fed them som squash and green gran so far - what do you guys feed yours?

[emanuel]

I consider L200 and L128 to be the same species, so they are both my favourites with a slight preference for the brilliant green of L200
I feed mine mostly blanched peas, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. Then I also often give green beans, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, sweet pepper, and other greens.
Complete with granulated food, high quality pleco tablets and occasionally frozen food such as worms, shrimp, mussels or pieces of fish. But I clearly notice that they are much more enthusiastic about eating peas and zucchini than frozen food.
With this feeding, compared to when they arrive in the tank, the green color becomes much brighter and more pleasant to see and I notice a very fast growth. For example, I have a specimen of L200 that in three months has gone from 14 to at least 18 cm, who knows if it will reach 20 cm like yours, I think not actually, I've seen at most 18 cm large L200s, it's the first time that I feel of L200 of 20+ cm! I'm very surprised actually, they must be pretty awesome!

[AndersB]

Thx - I will try some of that besides the green granulate they will be getting every day.
Blanched peas - do you remove the outer shell on each pea?
They are huge - I will try posting more pics later for you to see.

[emanuel]

Blanched peas - do you remove the outer shell on each pea?

Oh yes, not a fun job but by now I've gotten the hang of it and I do it very quickly. Large quantities are needed to satisfy my 15/18cm…and it will be even more for your 20+cm.

They are huge - I will try posting more pics later for you to see.

Thanks, that would make me very happy

[AndersB]

I will start fixing peas

I moved the L200s from quarantine today, and took a few pics. The biggest are about 21cm.
Have a look

[emanuel]

wow really great! Thanks for sharing the pics, can't wait to see more pics when they're well set in the main tank

[AndersB]

Here is a few pics. Tank is a 720 liters (200x60x60).
I had not removed algae from the glass the last month, cause I knew the L200s were coming - it was all green when they got in. Today they ate most of it...

[emanuel]

Wowwww

Every time I insert a new Hemiancistrus in my aquarium, in the first days it totally cleans any surface from algae. But then over time he gets used to the food I offer him and almost completely stops taking care of the algae

but I have a question: it seems that maybe this specimen has spots on this fin too? It's not clear from the photo. Normally one of the criteria for distinguishing Hemiancistrus subviridis from Baryancistrus demantoides is that only B. demantoides has spots in that fin, while Hemiancistrus does not. Since yours is definitely Hemiancistrus subviridis, it would be the second time in a few days that I've seen those spots on H. subvirdis.

[AndersB]

Yes, one of them have a few spots there .

They have settled nicely in the new tank, but not seeking caves yet.
Soon I will begin changing water parameters - maybe it will do something

[emanuel]

Yes, one of them have a few spots there .

This is very interesting, so we should definitely remove this parameter to distinguish H. subviridis from B. demantoides. Although those spots on H. subviridis probably only appear on adult and very large specimens, because the specimen I had seen was also very large

They have settled nicely in the new tank, but not seeking caves yet.
Soon I will begin changing water parameters - maybe it will do something

Keep us updated

[Griparn]

Any news Anders?

[AndersB]

Hi . Sorry - I have been busy. News is, I lost a male to some bacterial infection :/. Besides that, they seen to thrive. I keep them in the 720 liters tank (200x60x60), and I am working on getting them in spawning condition - feeding a bit more protein.
Water is about 200ms (but increasing) and 6,5pH.
For now I keep circulation at a minimum, but I am going to increase water movement, when I think they are ready to spawn - as in dry/rainy season.
I have some Geophagus in the tank too, but they are being removed soon, so the L200 will have no other fish to disturb them.
During summer and autumn, the L200 havent been much in the caves, but recently they seem to spend more time there. Maybe because of spawning season coming up?
I also think of adding a few more specimens - just to spice things up .