100 Liters tank for x-mas. Should i try Clown-pleco breeding

Sasan · Post by **Sasan** » 18 Nov 2005, 17:17

I really like these catfishes, and they arnt to expansive here, so perhaps i should give it a go?

I allready have a 320 liter fish tank with 5 ancistrus and 6 corydoras aenus which has allready made me 10 juvinels.

I'm thinkin of using my 320 for just those fishes and various plants to make my room look better.

But the 100 liter which im getting for x-mas to be a tank for only clown-plecos (panaque maacus) and to have only trerots in the tank.

What do you pros think of it?
Will it be possible?

If not, which pleco should i try (something not to difficult and not to expansive)?
If not clown plecos, im thinking C.Thomasi, but i've heard they are very fragile.

and if clown-plecos are a good idea, how should i plant the tank and just give me some general advice so that i can get started.

It is 97x40x17

So what you guys think?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 18 Nov 2005, 17:48

If you haven't bred ANY Loricariidae (pleco), then I'd suggest that you start with something really easy, like Common Bristlenose. You're almost certain to do something wrong with the first batch of fry, and if you do, it's nice if you can get them to spawn again within a few weeks, rather than have to go through a process that takes many months or a year before you have another brood.

But if you have bred some similar fish before, then I'd say go for the clown's. There are no real good sources of breeding reports, but from what I've gathered from reading in different places, you need a wooden/bamboo cave for the male to use, and the trigger would be a dry to rainy season transition, which means lower the conducitivity (hardness) and lower temperature for a week or so, feeding quite a lot of meaty products, such as mosquito larvae. Then let the tank warm up back to normal temps (or perhaps a degree or two under), and keep the water changed to low hardness and low nitrate levels [perhaps also dropping temp with water changes]. This is how I'm thinking that I will set up my breeding colony of , but I haven't got any tank-space for them at the moment.

Of course, the most difficult part would be to find some sexable fish - I was lucky in that my shop happened to have a fishthat was quite certainly a male, and the others that I have are definitely female-looking in comparison. See the ID section for a discussion on how to sex them, I posted comments today.

Btw, I'm not a pro, so if you're actually after someone who's been breeding fish for a living, then disregard my answer. I do computer programming for a living, and I've only sold some 120 or so bristlenose babies, generating the astounding amount of about 60 UK pounds -> ~ $100 or perhaps 800 NOK...

Also, I'm a little bit confused on the actual size of your tank. Is it really 97 x 40 x 17? In that case it's more like 65 liter, first of all... And it would be very low (or narrow, depending on what the last number represents)...

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Mats

Sasan · Post by **Sasan** » 18 Nov 2005, 18:26

Thanks for your respond.

No i have not breed any other types of pleco yet, my BN catfishes are to small.

Anyway, it better be at least 100 liter, thats what i paid, but i've only had a glimse of the tank it self, its about 1 meter in length, its very narrow, about 20-30 cm, its higher then its broad.

But i'm thinking of giving it a go, unless my tank is to small or its mission impossible.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 18 Nov 2005, 18:32

Another challenge that certainly is rewarding if you manage to raise the young: Sturisoma festicum.

okay, not an L number, but definitely a Loricariid, very beautiful, easy to keep and they're active during the day.

Sturisoma's are very nice to look at, and spawn in well-decorated tanks, wich is a pre; the other people in the house will definitely prefer the tank with

than some brown monster that hides all the time (adult Bristlenoses are not nearly as activeduring day hours as their young).

The young are quite demanding, and require good quality water and very veggy food. but they're far easier to spawn than Panaque maccus or other L-numbers.

Sasan · Post by **Sasan** » 18 Nov 2005, 18:35

Interresting.

pricewise, how does this compare?
also, will my 100 liter be good enough`?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 18 Nov 2005, 18:52

Sasan wrote:Thanks for your respond.

No i have not breed any other types of pl*co yet, my BN catfishes are to small.

Anyway, it better be at least 100 liter, thats what i paid, but i've only had a glimse of the tank it self, its about 1 meter in length, its very narrow, about 20-30 cm, its higher then its broad.

But i'm thinking of giving it a go, unless my tank is to small or its mission impossible.

Ok, so it's not "mission impossible", and the size of the tank is fine [definitely if it's 100L, but even 65L is probably OK for these fish to breed in, although it's a weird size if it's only 17 cm wide, which is the option if it's taller than wide].

are also nice, very much so indeed. Pricewise, they are a little bit more expensive than , perhaps twice or so, judging from the ones I've seen in shops around here.

Oh, and you asked about plants in the tank. I'd say it's fine to have plants if you want, but the fish will not be bothered whether you have them or not, it's just for your own personal pleasure. If you get some cuttings from your bigger tank, then you can just plant them in the smaller tank, perhaps...

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Mats

Sasan · Post by **Sasan** » 19 Nov 2005, 13:44

I'm thinking to start with ancitrus in that thank with only bogwood.

Once i've managed to sucessfully breed them, i'll try the maccus.