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Hi there,

Here are some pictures of my L333. I have noticed them making a kind of hopping movement towards each other. I don't mean the sideway movement as they would do to make dominance clear but a hopping. I have made a little film (movie) of them wile they display this hopping. I shall let you see when I put it on the internet, have to figure out how yet Is he hopping a breeding display?

Here are some pictures:




Greets Jacqueline

Here is the movie I have made:



Hope it works.... In the movie it is hard to see what I mean. You can see the one in front making the sideway movement. But the one at the back, you can see only his tail, is making the hopping movement. Some times he also makes the sideway movement. Maybe you have to look at the movie a few times before you see what I mean. The movie also is a bit slow, and so makes it even harder to see the hopping....

[Mod edit: Add youtube tags --Mats]

Hi, I have a question do your L333's eat wood? Its just that some people say theirs don't touch the stuff?

Bradb wrote:Hi, I have a question do your L333's eat wood? Its just that some people say theirs don't touch the stuff?

I haven't seen that they do but that doesn't say they don't
They are only active at night and even when I sit still after dark they still don't come out.

Nice fish & good photos

Thanks Richard

I agree, great shots, good looking pl*cos! Unknown what the hopping is, maybe like a back off back off you're too close kind of thing?

I cant say I have noticed any kind of hopping from my L333s. Although I only have 3 L333s and they are in a 270l tank so there is plenty of space and rarely any contact between them that I can see.

I am however adding 2 more tomorrow (if they both arrive in the post alive and well) so their territories will shrink a lot and therefore I might notice some hopping. I will let you know if I get any results

did your l333 arrive safely? any more action?

trc007 wrote:did your l333 arrive safely?

Thankfully yes, although a couple of hours late. They both seem to have settled in pretty well and 1 was even eating a few bits earlier with the lights fully on

I'll keep you guys updated on any activity, hopping or hopefully something even more exciting

Hi,

Today I managed to make an other movie of the hopping
This one is better that the one before. I think it is terretorial behavior because he is also moving sideways. There is a other L333 at his left and an other one at the back of him. If they are females I can't see.
If it is a behavior related to breeding I would be very happy That would mean to me that they are happy and feeling great.
What do you think? Has anyone seen this behavior before?

Greets Jacqueline

[Mod edit: Add youtube tags --Mats]

jac wrote:

Bradb wrote:Hi, I have a question do your L333's eat wood? Its just that some people say theirs don't touch the stuff?

I haven't seen that they do but that doesn't say they don't
They are only active at night and even when I sit still after dark they still don't come out.

I have never noticed any Hypancistrus that was very interested in wood unless it is a good hiding place.
None of mine have ever spent time trying to clean anything off wood let alone actually eat it.
The Hypancistrus seem to be a fish that prefers rocky environments with a good current.

The hopping behavior is probably part of their establishing dominance and to attract females by showing how assertive they are compared to the other males. It may be that this behavior will pass as each fish finds it's place in the social order?

Thanks @apistomaster.
Maybe this one will become the alfa male. I haven't seen this hopping behavior with the other males.

I'm so happy with these little guys. I realy find them great and intresting

I have 7 L333 set up in a 40 gal breeder tank and they are producing fry.
Other than that all i ever see are either the tails of males at the mouth of their caves or a female running for cover when I turn on the light. I see many fry on their first days outside the breeding caves but after that they virtually disappear and are only seen if I begin moving rocks or potted plants. Seeing new fry makes it all worth while.
Your chances are good that your L333 will breed. It may take awhile. It depends on how mature they are. i kept my adults in a holding tank for about 5 months before I set them up in a proper breeding tank. My first fry appeared after they had been set up for about 4 months.

I tend to find my 3 females don't both with the bogwood in my tank but 1 of my males is always on the stuff. The only time he is not attached to 1 of my 3 pieces is when he is swimming to the next piece. Since I don't notice him ever eating anything else I have to assume he does eat it from time to time. My other male seems less interested. I will keep an eye on them all for you though

FWIW, I never see my L333 or the other species I'm breeding eat but I feed them daily/nightly and all the food disappears.
I follow an estimated 2% of their body weight/day as my guideline for figuring out how much food to add every 24 hours.
Hypancistrus spp. do not have the dentition of the wood eating Panaque spp.
They appear to be more specialized for scraping the aquatic insect larvae off river rocks.
Mine eat frozen blood worm, live black worms and earth worm sticks, That is all I feed them.
This diet has worked well enough to breed L134, L260 and L333 currently. I know L134 are a Peckoltia sp. but I see little practical difference in their requirements or behaviors.
I have accumulated about 100 new fry since the L134 resumed spawning at the end of February from a breeding group of 2 males and 3 females. They are more prolific than the similar sized, L260. My L260 produce 8 to 15 fry per spawn where my L134 produce 18 to 28 fry per spawn. My L333 have only begun to spawn and they produced about 20 fry.
I believe if your fish breed regularly you are probably on the right track. Fish lacking essential components in their habitat and diet do not normally breed very well.

Apart from standard catfish/pleco food from my LFS, I also feed my L333s the odd king prawn, mussel, squid ring once every 2-3 weeks, it depends when I fancy a stir fry / paella and there is some left overs for them Most of them seem to have a nibble or two from time to time. Whatever is left in the morning is normally eaten by the rest of the fish or I remove it after about 18hrs.

I have also tried cucumber and courgette but I have never noticed them eating these.

Oh yes, mine do eat courgette I tried it last week and it was almost gone the next day. They like to scrape the green of the courgette but also eat some of the inside. Also mij L134, L66 and L201 eat copurgette.
I give them lots of different kinds of frozen food. They realy love chopped mussles (1x a week) but I also give them frozen artemia, red bloodworms, mysis, krill and black bloodworms. And in the early morning (still dark) I give them a little tablet from Sera. There are never any left overs in the daytime when I hover the sand for poo.

Goedenavond. I have a group of juvenile L333s and i am always syphoning off flecks of bog wood from the sand. Dunno if they r eating it or using it for digestion purposes. Maybe they r carpenters. Hope i get fry b4 wooden spice racks.

apistomaster wrote:

jac wrote:

Bradb wrote:Hi, I have a question do your L333's eat wood? Its just that some people say theirs don't touch the stuff?

I haven't seen that they do but that doesn't say they don't
They are only active at night and even when I sit still after dark they still don't come out.

I have never noticed any Hypancistrus that was very interested in wood unless it is a good hiding place.
None of mine have ever spent time trying to clean anything off wood let alone actually eat it.
The Hypancistrus seem to be a fish that prefers rocky environments with a good current.

The hopping behavior is probably part of their establishing dominance and to attract females by showing how assertive they are compared to the other males. It may be that this behavior will pass as each fish finds it's place in the social order?

Yes L333's do eat wood as will most hypancistrus it is important for their gut especially if fed bloodworm often as bloodworms do contain a substance that can block the gut so the wood eating is useful to keep their gut clear. I've noticed that fry also like my java fern(looks like swiss cheese).
Rohan R

PLEC BAIRN"

Goedenavond. I have a group of juvenile L333s and i am always syphoning off flecks of bog wood from the sand. Dunno if they r eating it or using it for digestion purposes. Maybe they r carpenters. Hope i get fry b4 wooden spice racks.

Thank you, I needed that!

Hi,

I've watched my L333 and L66 more closely for any wood eating over the past week. And I do think they eat a little of the wood. I have noticed that the wood is smoother than when I firts put it in. So yes, I think they do eat some wood

And I have also noticed my L66 making the same hopping movement these last few days With this species I can tell the diffrence more clearly of wich is male and female. And it is the male who hopps in his cave when a female passes him or lies infront of the cave.

I'm exited but I think I still have to wait a couple more months, maybe longer, before I see any baby's

Greets Jacqueline