Which golden nugget plec?

gex18 · Post by **gex18** » 05 Mar 2006, 23:47

Hi there, i have a LFS with golden nugget plecs in stock, however i think there are to different species in the same tank, i am after the smaller of the golden nuggets (think its L81), and want to know if one of these is it? If not what species of golden nugget are they?

No. 1

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/ ... .jpg[/img]

No. 2

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/ ... .jpg[/img]

No. 3

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/ ... .jpg[/img]

Please help guys!

Anthony

djw66 · Post by **djw66** » 06 Mar 2006, 00:13

The larger the spots the smaller the adult size of the nugget. I'd say the top photo is your best bet to stay around five or six inches.

Dave

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 06 Mar 2006, 09:09

I'd agree with Dave, the top two looks like L177, which should, in theory, stay rather smaller than the bottom one.

However, they are VERY slow growers. My two are still about the same size as when I got them around a year ago. I try to feed them as well as I can, with a mixture of vegetable and mussels, prawns, etc.

--
Mats

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 06 Mar 2006, 11:56

Hi!

I would say that the very last one is a L81!

Cheers
Yann

gex18 · Post by **gex18** » 06 Mar 2006, 17:48

Which of the two stays the smallest then - i have looked in planet catfish database for size info on L177 but no size available, also are they suited to discus setups? It is a toss up between these, L183 starlight ancistrus and L201 Hypancistrus Inspector.

Cheers for you help guys!

Anthony

pleco_breeder · Post by **pleco_breeder** » 06 Mar 2006, 21:51

I would definitely go with L81. My breeders were 4-6 inches, so they shouldn't get much larger than that. At the same time, L18 and L177 are occasionally available on import lists as 1 fish per box and 12-14 inches. I have only seen 1 L18 at that size that was supposedly 8 years old and maintained in a heavily planted tank, but they can easily attain that size in time.

Larry Vires