Pleco newbie! From SE Michigan

jschulst · Post by **jschulst** » 13 Feb 2006, 17:54

I am taking an interest in this hobby, I'm located near Ann Arbor and would like to get started on some of these cool plecos, reasonable prices.

Want to start with one or two different species and work my way up.

Anyone around can help me find some?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 13 Feb 2006, 18:20

If you want to breed, you should start with something that is easy to breed. is probably one of the easiest species to breed - a good starter. It may not be a fancy colour or anything, but until you've brought up a brood or two, you're better off with something that is easy to breed than something that looks very fancy but harder to breed. Chances are the first brood may not survive, and waiting another 6 months to get the harder to breed species into condition and whatever else needed, is a lot harder to do than getting a common ancistrus pair to spawn again a couple of weeks after the first brood came out of hiding.

Other than that, it's pretty much a case of either:
- Find what you really like and find someone that can sell them to you.
- Go to the different shops in your area and see what they have, keeping in mind what you know about different fish, and if you see something you like, buy it and see if you can breed them...

Finding someone to sell a particular species of fish will depend a bit on HOW really difficult they are to get. Many species it's just a question of finding a local shop [not a chain-store tho'] and asking them to bring the fish in that you want. If they can't do it, then you go round to another shop, who hopefully has a different wholesaler. If that doesn't work, look around the internet or ask in the "Wanted" section on this site.

There's also Internet shops that can supply fish by mail - some are good, others not so. I can't really advice on this, as I have never bought a fish over the 'net, and even if I had, it probably wouldn't help you in Michigan, as I live in old England. But some people seem to do it, so I guess it works...

Aquabid also have a fair number of more or less exotic pleco's for sale. Most of which are reasonably well priced, and mostly by people who know what they are doing. But like any site where you do business with individuals/small businesses, buyer beware... Look at ratings and number of sales.

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Mats

jschulst · Post by **jschulst** » 13 Feb 2006, 18:32

I've been to LFS, waste of time and gas money, only common plecos, and very few have bushynose or bristlenose. I have common ones in my tank, and a bushynose.
Don't want to do this since too much competion on these.

I also have one gold nugget from a nearby breeder...he's not selling any other he has. He's the main reason I want to go for.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 13 Feb 2006, 18:43

OK, my LFS normally has very few different species of Loricariidae (pleco's) in stock, but that's not to say that they can't get OTHERS in if you ask...

As I said, learning to breed Pleco's usually means failure on the first attempt or two. It's a good idea to start with something that is easy to breed and then go to harder ones from there. Of course, you're already halfway there with the Bushynose that you've got - just need to find one of the opposite sex, feed them well, set up some caves and wait... Do some cooler water changes, and hopefully you've got babies on the go.

Gold nuggets are not particularly easy to breed - if nothing else because they take ages to get to breeding-size in aquariums, they need to be around 6" or more to breed, and the ones you find for sale in most shops are 3" or so. Is this one a tank-bred specimen? They definitely aren't amongst the commonly bred ones, for sure.

Other species that may suit to breed are:

I still think starting with Ancistrus is the best idea.

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Mats

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 13 Feb 2006, 18:52

Silurus is in Ann Arbor MI I think.

He'll be sure to know where the best shops are. Send him a PM.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 13 Feb 2006, 21:45

Fish Doctors in Ypsilanti can get just about anything on special order. Tom is the owner and he has a contact with a Brazilian exporter. I've seen a few exotics for around $30 (gold nuggets and Queen arabesques) and some for $50 (blue and green phantoms, ie. L128 and L200).

Fantastic Fins in Livonia carries a lot of exotic plecos and can sex their adults. They are fantastic folks and are very helpful with pleco questions. Prices are good, too.

That's about it for really good stores. Petland in Belleville has had a few exotic plecos, but their fish are frequently sick and I won't shop there for fish.

Let me know if you need any more help...I'll try my best.

Andy

jimmyB · Post by **jimmyB** » 13 Feb 2006, 23:03

you might also want to try Great Lakes discus, do a google search, I think they guy is Cory or Cary? Since he breeds discus, I think he would also have some plecos too. Also, there is another guy that posts on the GCCA.net website sometimes, a Mr. Stevens, and that site has a link to other aquarium clubs. Your best bet is to get them from other hobbyists, not pet shops. Another option is to try cichlid-forum.com, and they have a "trading Post" where you could ask who has some for sale in Michigan. Go Spartans!!

jschulst · Post by **jschulst** » 13 Feb 2006, 23:30

I want to stay away from pet stores, since I hate dealing with the middleman. For some reason, they double or triple the price than wholesale, plus I don't even like them since they pay pennies to what the actual fish are worth if you want to sell to them. I know there are plenty of customers who would rather buy from me.
I currently breed african cichlids, it's a great collection and did my homework and research thru cichlid forum and the trading post. I check the ads 3-4 times daily. I done well buying, selling and trading and saved tons.

Keep me informed on some local breeders and hobbyists, I'd prefer to do business with these guys who knows plecos.

suezbele · Post by **suezbele** » 13 Feb 2006, 23:31

you aren't very far from toledo,there are a couple of good places there. dave's tropical fish,and tropical fish fantasies,even the pet supplies plus has a fairly decent selection.
sue

jschulst · Post by **jschulst** » 14 Feb 2006, 02:05

Do any of you local breed any plecos? Is it worth the time?

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 14 Feb 2006, 03:11

I breed albino BN's and there's a guy in Canton who breeds browns. He also sells angelfish on aquabid...don't remember the username, but it starts with HY and has a bunch of numbers. I bought a couple nice brown BN breeders from him for $10 each.

I've had babies for just under three months and have spent about $40 on food. There are about 50 ready for sale and maybe 100+ more with 1-2 months to go. Fish doctors will give me $3 each, which is a decent profit. I live in an apartment and don't pay for water, so I think it's worth it. I just do it as a hobby, though.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Feb 2006, 09:38

jschulst wrote:Do any of you local breed any pl*cos? Is it worth the time?

You can regain your outlay, but don't expect to pay for your kids university or a new luxury car from the profits.

We have this discussion every now and again, and the result is that you want to breed the easy-to-breed fish, rather than the expensive ones. Because you can sell those to your LFS (or a small range of local LFS's [is that plural form of LFS?]), and no matter how many you produce, there will be a market for them.

The more exotic ones are actually harder to sell in volume - most people don't flinch to spend a fiver or a tenner on a fish in the LFS, but if they are $30-50, then the sales volume is drastically smaller. In turn, this means that you'll have to have a bigger distribution network for your fish.

I breed on a very small scale (haven't got space to let them spawn freely, so I separate the female from the male), and I have sold bags of 20-40 1"+ babies to the local shop. Get less than a dollar for them, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as they say. Pays for a bit of food and plants every now and again, but I still end up handing over cash to the shop ever so often.

Albino Bristlenoses are just as easy to breed but average prices are around 2-3x more, so may be an option.

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Mats

jschulst · Post by **jschulst** » 14 Feb 2006, 17:15

I think I will take up breeding about 2-4 different kinds, and have decide to do some bristlenose..can't hurt.

For one reason, I do like trading fish...and I do know a majority of hobbyist need a good algea eater in the tank, bristlenose do get high praise in reviews.

Odds of finding bristlenose is 3 out of 10 places that sell fish. Standard pleco (can anyone give me the name of this?) are found in almost every fish store.

Odd of others exotics plecos in LFS are 5% or less.

I don't plan to sell to pet stores..I'd sell them on my own and even trade for others,like african cichlids, frontosa, and some fish food/supplies, keeping cost down.

I think I will be getting some L66 in a few weeks. Anyone have any experiece on this?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Feb 2006, 17:41

"Standard" pleco can be severa species, but the most common are and . A long time ago, would have been the "common" pleco, but nowadays, it's not commonly seen in the shops.

Obviously, shops keep what they sell much of - or what they THINK they will sell much of.

There's plenty of discussion on L66, including, I think a breeding article in Shane's world. Do a Forum Search, and you'll probably find a few dozen threads on the subject. If you have further questions, please feel free to ask - either in this thread, in one that you found (if it's related to it) or in a new thread if none other is suitable.

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Mats