PlanetCatfish.com

Hi everyone! I have gotten a lot of help here in the past but haven't been around in quite some time, thought my whole pleco situation was under control. Seems something has come up!!!

I have 2 L260's in my tank and have had them for quite some time. Its a large tank (120g) with a bunch of plecos and many many pieces of wood / bogwood / rocks / all that. The 2 L260's happened to spend 100% of their time with a very dark coloration, on the bogwood.. but yesterday I saw an exception to this!!

I woke up and sat up, which leaves me facing my tank, and I saw one of them with full bright coloration sitting outside a cave right in front of me! I was actually scared and thought it was a fish I had never seen before!!!! I realized what it was, and after a bit it got scared and went to hide again. Tonight I came home and the fish was out, and I confirmed what I thought earlier -- it looked much 'fatter' than ever before.

I have a horrible digital camera, but I have taken pictures of this fish. I am wondering if it is indeed a gravid female, or if this might be some kind of health problem.. this new spot it is hanging out in is right in the current of my filter output, so I think maybe the fish is looking for a spawning ground since I understand that they like this type of water condition.


If it is a gravid female, how realistic would it be for me to remove it and have it spawn in another tank with my other pleco (roughly the same size so I am assuming it is male)? I have read Shane's article about this a while ago, but for an amateur is this really something that is feasible? What if they spawn in my community tank, will I just be giving a snack to my ghost shrimp/etc? How many fry would come from a spawn? Would the parents be able to be bred more than once?

Here are the pictures. Click the thumbnails for a larger view. Sorry again about the quality, but I hope these are sufficient...

http://lucidsoft.org/~rcl/pics/gravidl260/index.html

Thanks a lot for any answers to these questions!

Robert

Here is some information:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/s_r_98.php

rcl,

first off - to make sure you have a male and a female you check the underside. In L-260 the females have white bellies while the males have some pattern on it.

Secondly, they will generally fatten up pretty well and many of my females sport a very gravid look so if it has happened over time and all else is well she could very well be with eggs.

However - if the fish is hanging out in the open and not scared , or under the outflow of the filter in combination with the swollen belly it usually means trouble.

First test the water and and if any NH3/4 or NO2 is presend do an immediate 50% water change. Also if the NO4 is elevated.
Next you want to check the airation and make sure there is plenty.
You also want to check the temperature, if it is low or has been into the lower range in the near past that may be a reason for the bloat.
While you are at it check for any dead fish in the tank though this should show up on the tests.

All those may be reasons for bloat in the fish and though it is a serious condition it can be cured if you act on it.

If it is - then move the fish or treat the tank. First do a Large waterchange and raise the temperature to 82-84.
Keep up the water changes on a daily basis and don't feed . You should see an improvement in a week or so but it may take longer.