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Hi all,

Bit of a back story first, jump to the bit in blue if you want to skip this

I got my sister into keeping fish about 3 months ago and a week ago she purchased her first plecs, 2x L002 from her local MA. They were tiny about 1" long at the most. She called me this evening (First I knew about her buying them) to say she had bought them and both had died, 1 died within 3 days, she took it back got a refund, did a water change and everything seemed ok. Then the other died this evening which is its 8th day in the tank.

The tank has been up and running for about 7-8 weeks, she says the nitrates are about 30-35ish, temp is 27c, its a 120l tank stocked with 7 x Cardinal tetra, 3x Pearl Gourami, 1x red tip black shark, 2x Corys and 5 mollies. So the plecs are dead I have told her she is not to buy any more fish for a couple of weeks, keep checking the other fish for any problems, doing regular water changes, probably get herself an airstone (I get paranoid about lack of O2 in my tanks and keep checking water quality.

I don't know much about the L002 so if anyone can let me know whether this seems to be a problem with her tank or whether the plecs are difficult to keep.

Anyway back to the point, she wants something fairly cheap (<£20 if poss), easy to look after, won't get too big, looks nice, ideally active during the game and won't be so shy that she never sees the thing. She likes things L14's, L46's and L24s to give you an idea of her somewhat expensive taste in plecs. She will also probably want 2+ plecs in her tank and doesn't mind grow them up from a small size in order to keep initial costs down.

If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

Thanks,


Matt

Tank sounds like it should be fine, but you really need to measure the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate with a reliable test kit to see if there is a problem with the cycling and filtration.

The LFS should do this if your sister doesn't have one. Quite often the water test is a prerequisite for a refunding a dead fish anyway.

Does your sister add any salt to the water for the mollies, or is it just straight from the tap?

Buying tiny wild-caught (I assume) plecs is a big, big risk unless you know exactly what you are doing. The only time I ever bought one that small it died also.

I just don't think plecs that small have the reserves to deal with the rigours of travelling. They often refuse to eat in the shop and then the trauma of moving again just finishes them off.

Quite often they get chucked into the wrong system in the shop, and are not given anywhere to hide, or the correct foods. This does not help.

Buying fit livestock is 75% of the challenge in keeping wild fishes. Only experience will really help in identifying the pitfalls, but always make sure the fish are feeding in the shop and acting normally (i.e. hiding under the wood/rock, not at the surface), and do not have sunken eyes/bellies.

The best fish to get some experience with loricariids is the bristlenose plec (). Tank-bred, cheap, easy to keep, easy to breed, algae eating and very active too. I recommend keeping these before risking any more demanding wild caught fish.

Hope this helps.

I have available for free - any size you like - and you know where I am... ;)

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Mats

I can only concur with the above, about gaining pleco experience before attempting any of the more "exotic" species.

After ordinary bristlenose, maybe L144 as the next step?

L14, & L24 get too big are a bit more specialised (& expensive) & L46 are currently big money & need experience - with a lot of L no's people are starting to suggest breeding groups rather than individuals to try & keep up with supply by tank breeding as w/c supplies seem to be in jeopardy.

Once experience is gained, there are lot's of species that can be found for less than £20 if you shop around.

MatsP wrote:I have

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

available for free - any size you like - and you know where I am... ;)

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Mats

Hi Matsp,

How many do you have and what sizes are they? That way I could pop in tomorrow evening if I want a few and obviously if its convenient for you.

How many do you want, and at what size? Discount on 10 or more ;)

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Mats

Richard B wrote:L14, & L24 get too big are a bit more specialised (& expensive) & L46 are currently big money

It might not surprise to find out she has quite expensive tastes in everything, not just plecs

MatsP wrote:How many do you want, and at what size? Discount on 10 or more ;)

I have let her know you have a few going but she is yet to get back to me. If she wants them I doubt she will want more than 2-3. What's the smallest ones you have? I don't really have space for any as I am keeping some room aside for another 1-2 L333's. If you are desperate to get rid of them I might be able to squeeze a very small one into my 24l tank but I know its too small and will be outgrown very quickly

Lloydy wrote:

Richard B wrote:L14, & L24 get too big are a bit more specialised (& expensive) & L46 are currently big money

It might not surprise to find out she has quite expensive tastes in everything, not just plecs

Sounds like my kinda gal!

Don't all women have expensive tastes in everything or is it just the ones i know???

Richard B wrote:Don't all women have expensive tastes in everything or is it just the ones i know???

LOL, theres something wrong with them if they don't have expensive tastes

MatsP wrote:How many do you want, and at what size? Discount on 10 or more ;)

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Mats

Hi Mats,

Discount on free? Does that mean you pay me?

Can I take 3 from you which are about 2-3"? If you don't have any this size let me know what you have.

I have footy as usual tomorrow evening so I can either come round before or afterwards at about 7:30pm or 10:15pm. Are either of these times convenient for you?

No, it's not a £1 off - it's a 10% lower price! ;)

I think 10:15 will work fine. I'll try to catch a three 2-3" fish - if possible, I'll get a couple of females and one male, but I'm not guaranteeing that, as there tend to be more males than females.

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Mats

Hi Mats,

Sounds good.

Can you PM me your address again so I can be sure I have the right house

I will see you this evening.