what pleco would be best?

[sharn]

hello all, i passed on that large L90 a while back as i didnt feel i could house it properly at its current size, nor did i know much about them.

i am now getting a BB for my discus tank, it will be 90Lx40Wx60H. this tank is going to get 50% water changes every 1-2 days so the pleco will need to be able to like this (i assume being wild caught they would love the nitrate free waters but thought id check). it will have two pieces of driftwood in there, unsure of types sorry. also will have a few plants tied onto the wood with the possibility of having a few potted later down the track. tank will be kept at 29C.

now a importer up north has decided he will never import these again (it was the first time too lol) as NZ sales are 'too slow'. i really love the fancier plecos and would like to get one for the BB. i have set my sights on a L90 (one of the ones with the white tails) or the L204, it seems the L204 will reach around the size i would like as i would like to keep the pleco in there permanently however i really love the L90, i have a 130x60x60 that i could move the L90 into later down the track. the L90 is 8cm now, with the L204 being 5-6cm. seeing as the L90 is a slow grower it would be a while till it hit 20cm or so which is the time i would move it out i think, how fast do the L204's grow?

what would be your guys suggestions about the above two? i have read the L204 likes a sandy base but nothing about the preferances of the L90. if you think other plecos may be better suited please offer suggestions, we cant get very many species of pleco in nz but i can always look to see if we can

thanks

[Candice]

What PH will your water be? (Discus like acidic don't they?)

Will it be a tank that is heavily aerated or have a lot of waterflow?

If we have these answers, then finding a pleco to suit the environment will be easier.

[sharn]

thanks for your reply candice

the ph is around 6.8, gh and kh at around 4-5 degrees. i can get it lower easily as our tap water is 6.4, 1 degree kh and gh (i have shell grit in my filters to buffer everything). the tank will be filtered via a 1200lph canister (probably doing around the 1000lph after media), i can lift the spray bar out of the water to add a bit more airation if need be. the tank is a 216L.

[Candice]

I'm not an expert, but it sounds like you'll be able to have almost any pleco you like in those conditions.

Have you thought about a queen arabesque or something equally beautiful and small? You said that fancy plecos aren't common around your area?

I love l204's, however they are a much prettier fish when they are small than when they grow up. They go from stunning to just so-so in my opinion. l'90's get larger but are definitely pretty. Both need wood, and it sounds like you have that covered if you get either of the two you have mentioned.

I would see what your local store can bring in for you. If you do have one brought in special order, make sure they hold it at least a week before picking it up. It will be stressed enough from shipping that you wouldn't want to xfer it to a new tank suddenly again.



Why not see what your supplier is able to bring in, research off of that and then make your choice?

Good luck, and I can't wait to see what you pick!

(p.s. I wish every fish keeper did their research as thoroughly as you before purchasing a new fish.)

[sharn]

(p.s. I wish every fish keeper did their research as thoroughly as you before purchasing a new fish.)

i frequent alot of forums and moderate a few and alot of people jump in two feet first and end up in big trouble, either dead fish or doing a million water changes (i do daily anyway but most newbies arent up to that). i did it when i first started out with my community and now im onto discus and wild caught fish i dont wana take my chances and want them all to be as happy as possible. knowledge before fish is what i say.

the QA's are stunning, and i would love to own one but we dont get many shipments in at all, if any as i havent seen any around in stores, and dont know if the people that own breeding groups are successful.

i agree with your statement about the young L204's, the baby pics are beautiful and they just dont look the same when they are older, these young ones i can get are still ultra cute little things. i just love the L90s, its going to take a LONG time for it to get large enough for me to have to move, and i have a spare 130x60x60 waiting in the wings for any large fish. if they are 8cm now (approx 3") it will take just over 3 years till i would want to move it into a larger tank. 3 years suits me fine

we have a sad fish status in New Zealand, MAF just re-assed our allowed species list and only got around 100 submitions (not like they made it very known they were re-assessing though) so they have greatly cut back our list, we have a whole heap of plecos going off the list and this will be my last chance to get some of these fish. the person i can get these plecos off is a private importer and this will be his only shipment ever from peru. the shops just cant bring in fish like this i dont think. i might have to see if i can get a large suppliers list to look at and see if they have anything interesting.

thanks for your opinions candice, oscars are my 'forte' so the whole catfish thing is pretty new, bar keeping the normal cories and bristlenose and its great to be able to get opinions and advice, especially as i move into the 'fancier' ones. cheers!

[sharn]

eek, i found this while googling

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... w=previous

i definatly cannot house a fish this big, i know it will take a fair few years but i really shouldnt buy a fish i will have to re-home cause i wont be able to do it lol, ill get far too attatched whats the likely hood of a L90 getting that big?

i guess its back off to more googling and cat searching

[Chrysichthys]

this tank is going to get 50% water changes every 1-2 days

This strikes me as being unnecessary; no tropical fish is that intolerant of nitrate.

[sharn]

cause the discus arent fully grown (ranging from 8-11cm) they will be getting enough water changes (i was just guessing on the 1-2 thing, it could possibly be every 3-4 days ) so that the nitrate is always below 10ppm, im wanting to get them as big as possible. when the tank is up and running ill have to work out the system but yeah, your probably right on every day being excessive, i can probably do 20% every day instead of larger ones- might be a bit easier on the back while i set up the powerhead and bigger aging bin

[Candice]

It may be excessive, but where discus breeding is concerned, it's not unheard of.

[sharn]

i hear ya on that one

the breeder i got mine off was doing 60% water changes once a day on the tanks mine came from, and 80% twice daily on some of his baby grow out tanks, those were faily stocked but i guess its just a habit as he used to live in singapore (i think) and did it as often as he felt, he didnt need to age his water like we do here.

back onto topic lol, im still throwing both up in the air, its going to be at least 3 years before the L90 hits 20cm so by then ill have hopefully have a nice big 8x3x3 for it i really do love how it looks and i guess im just going to have to provide for it if i want to keep it good excuse for another big tank right? haha

[Candice]

The only thing I'm still concerned about is the 29 temp. It's a high temperature and unless there is a lot of oxygenation/current in the water, there will be oxygen depriation.

[sharn]

it will move down to 28 (i know its not a major change lol)or so in a few months, once the discus are all over 12cm or so but i can always add another filter if need be, perhaps have the canisters spray bar on the bottom 1/3 of the tank, and have a smaller internal moving the top around/vice versa?