MIA...Pseudo leopardus...HOW HARDY ARE THEY?

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 27 Feb 2004, 20:56

Hey guys...I bought a Pseudocanthicus before learning of it's carnivorous habits. I have sacrificed a couple of buenos aires tetras and left the filets in the tank over night. I have had the fish for over a week and haven't seen it since the day I bought it. Once it found hiding places in the wood...that was it. Anyway...I have been offering algae wafers as well as good flakes...I'm just wondering if I should dig him out and check to see if he's alive. I'd like to see it eat, I think it tore into the first tetra but could see no indication of feeding on the second. I guess I'm just kinda worried. Any thoughts are appreciated.

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 27 Feb 2004, 21:11

<I>Pseudacanthicus</I> are very light shy (you just can't call them shy) but they will appreciate the tetras. That said, get a frozen prawn in there every 3-4 days and you can save the characin freedom front from getting on your case.

Jools

Wood · Post by **Wood** » 28 Feb 2004, 02:58

My Pseudacanthicus"Titanic" comes right out in bright light when I feed it.It even eats flake food.Maybe their are exceptions to every rule? He is 10 inches long and I had him for 3 years.When I got him he was1 inch!!!

:

Wood · Post by **Wood** » 28 Feb 2004, 03:04

My Pseudacanthicus"Titanic L273 comes out in bright to eat.He wouldnt at first but now he is first out. He is 10 inches long and I have had him for 3 years. When I got him he was 1 inch. Just give your fish some time but make sure he is still o.k.. Good luck!!!!

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 29 Feb 2004, 14:03

i just bought one of these little fellas 3 days ago. he's (?) only about one and a half inches long. i was i bit worried as he's pretty skinny, but to my surprise he's been out and about feeding well in the daytime on frozen bloodworm !! i'll stick a prawn in tonight and see how he goes on that. i've left the tank light off all the time until he settles in ok, with just a tiny bit of natural light or the light from the room to see him. contrary to the cotm article, mine seems to prefer the rock work and not the bogwood, even though the bogwood end of the tank is darker. as for hardiness my heater broke yesterday and the tank went up to 31 for several hours and then back down again when i managed to work out why none of the fish were breathing properly!! panic over! try to remove any boisterous tankmates though, as i had to move my enormous P.costatus as he kept mopping up all the worms in seconds. keep the tank nice and quiet until he's settled in ok.

Wood · Post by **Wood** » 29 Feb 2004, 15:04

My L273 also LOVES bloodworms!!!

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 01 Mar 2004, 12:59

Thanks for your thiughts, fellas, but I'm beginning to fear the worst. I did a water change this weekend and I just cannot find him. I checked the house floor all around the tank even though the tank is securely covered. Do any Loricariids bury themselves in gravel? I have a log that is hollow and I am able to probe the inside with my fingers except one area. I'll just keep praying he is there...because other than that...he is either buried or dead...but if he was dead I'd think I'd find him easier.

Let me ask this...how are Lories at food storage...meaning, how long can they go without food if they are fat and healthy when the fast begins?

Thanks again, guys.

JohnnyOscar · Post by **JohnnyOscar** » 01 Mar 2004, 13:14

Your L114 is probably hiding in the log in the one place you can't reach with your fingers!

You could try luring it out by placing a Hikari sinking wafer (my L114s' favourite food) just outside the entrance to the log.

Greggo · Post by **Greggo** » 01 Mar 2004, 19:49

I saw this fish twice the first six months I had it.

http://forum.planetcatfish.com/viewtopi ... 5746#35746

Both times were late at night. I could see a small pile of waste underneath the hole it would hide in, so I knew that it was feeding nocturnally. Over time it came out more frequently. Now it is out regularly and feeds aggresively.

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 03 Mar 2004, 16:42

Exactly which Hikari sinking wafer are you feeding? Is it an algae wafer?

JohnnyOscar · Post by **JohnnyOscar** » 03 Mar 2004, 17:47

I use both the algae wafer and the smaller "sinking wafer" (in the orange packet). I'm fairly sure I've seen them eat both.

Have you seen your fish yet?

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 03 Mar 2004, 20:56

Nope, but thanks for asking. I have been feeding some algae wafers and the tetra bits. The tank is a 56gal column and he/she is only about 2 1/2 inches long, so there is room to get lost. I've been flashlighting the tank after the lights go out...nothing.

I'm beginning to have more hope, though, thanks to the comments of all of you. I added my son's 2 inch Syno eupterus (from his ten gallon) this week, thinking he might roust the Pseudo out, but still haven't seen him. The tank has three angels, three harlequin rasboras, and two bosemani rainbows, so I have to make a special effort to get food to the bottom of the tank. I'm planning to find out this weekend (while siphon cleaning) one way or the other...I'll let you know. I paid twenty bucks for this fish...if he died my wife's gonna crap. Everyone else is doing great. Later

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 04 Mar 2004, 10:40

i hope i'm not going off on too much of a tangent, but how much current do these guys appreciate?

jharv, good luck with finding him. he'll be in there somewhere, wedged under some driftwood.

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 04 Mar 2004, 13:13

Here is a digishot I snapped the day I got him..before he headed for the deep recesses of the tank. Does he appear to be the normal Psuedo leopardus to you guys?

http://img28.photobucket.com/albums/v83 ... Tail_2.jpg

JohnnyOscar · Post by **JohnnyOscar** » 04 Mar 2004, 16:22

It looks normal to me. Mine have a slightly darker background colour, but some variation in colour is normal.

JHarv · Post by **JHarv** » 09 Mar 2004, 20:30

I've decided to not unearth everything in the tank to try and find the Pseudo. The L387 and the Syno. eupterus are active and feeding well. Would a Pseudo bury itself in the gravel? I did a water change this weekend and found nothing. The ONLY thing I did not do is upturn the log that lays across the bottom, but to be under this he had to be quite motivated. Anyway...thanks everyone for your help. Later