L81 pleco

[bamzam]

Anyone have any experience with a L81 pleco in their discus tank? I was browsing at my LFS and saw one for the first time today and it is a great looking pleco. I currently have an albino BN pleco and I was debating switching him for the L81. However, I'm not familiar with L81 in a discus tank and I'm not sure it's worth the risk of upsetting the balance in my tank.

[Altum Nut]

Sorry I made a mistake on the L number...The Royal is L091 and gold Nugget L81.They are mainly a veggie eater but do take bloodworms and other meaty pellets.
If your feeding your Discus beef heart I would not recommend putting one in your tank.
They do eat wood and poop everywhere which is the main problem and will graze on glass and eat any algae when lights are out. So if your up to that extra chore a good bottom vac will be required more often.
If your looking for a nice pleco and compatible in a discus tank...look into the L134 Leopard Frog Pleco. I've had a group of 10 in my tank for 6 yrs. now without issues and only reach 4" to 5" tops.

...Ralph

[bamzam]

Wow that l134 is a nice looking pleco! I've had my albino BN for about 7 months now and am weighing the pros and cons due to how much it poops everywhere

[pitdogg2]

copied from the planted tank

"There are 3 different fish that go by that common name. L18, L81, and L177 are all Gold Nugget Plecos. L18 and L81 have almost identical diets whereas L177 is slightly different. L18 and L81 both like a high protein diet consisiting of Bloodworms and Blackworms and Forzen Prawns, but will also accept Zuchinni and cucumber as well. L177 is more of a veggie eater than it's 2 cousins so less frozen foods and more green foods for them. Distinguishing the 3 fish can be rather difficult, especially as juvis. The biggest difference between the L18 and the L177 is their max size. L177 maxes out at just under 8 inches while L18 will top 14 inches."

they also like slime and that may present a problem with the discus slime coat.

[plecocicho]

Gold nuggets are aufwuchs eaters, far from carnivores, they need plant rich diet like zucchini, algea, algea waffers etc. Dont feed them too meaty food. The best site for plecos is planetcatfish.com, look there.