Adam's L46 Thread

[Adam S]

Every once in a while, you see a fish that really reaches out and shakes your hand. You think about it, do some research, annoy people with emails, explain why you need another tank, the usual. Price, availability, difficulty of care; doesn't matter, because you have to to have it.

This tank is a 20 gallon long with 2 males, 2 females, an unknown number of fry and a ton of cherry shrimp. It usually doesn't look this pretty, but I needed to stash some plants for a bit. The fine gravel substrate is an experiment that has had mixed results so far. It does make a fish a bit more outgoing, but I really prefer bare bottom tanks.
https://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/4UMTu2TDTyW,WI/15086450.0/700/p/iPhone_photo_SP_15086450.jpg (https://www.slickpic.com/share/4UMTu2TDTyW,WI/albums/Contest/photo?view=15086450#15086450)

Here's a trick for seeing fish that like hiding. Prop a piece of wood or rock against the glass, and they'll treat it like a cave. This female got kicked out of her old spot by the dominant female last week and chose this as her new spot. Notice the blue sheen (healthy).
https://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/yAckzTkhjTNOMY/15086455.0/700/p/iPhone_photo_SP_15086455.jpg (https://www.slickpic.com/share/yAckzTkhjTNOMY/albums/Contest/photo?view=15086455#15086455)

I keep Malaysian driftwood in all of my pleco tanks. Fry need little nooks and crannies to feel safe, and most species will chew on it to some degree. Haven't seen anything from the L46, but L134 will straight up eat it if nothing else is available.
https://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/4D2UjNQN4guMzz/15086427.0/700/p/iPhone_photo_SP_15086427.jpg (https://www.slickpic.com/share/4D2UjNQN4guMzz/albums/Contest/photo?view=15086427#15086427)

Cherry shrimp. These guys do a great job cleaning up scraps, but they can easily overpopulate and compete for food. They love the warm water and abundant water changes. For whatever reason, the shrimp born in pleco tanks are always less red than those in shrimp only tanks. Maybe they grow too quickly compared to the main colony (room temp, less food, less water changes)?
https://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/Nx1jz1VkkD4Mz5/15086420.0/700/p/iPhone_photo_SP_15086420.jpg (https://www.slickpic.com/share/Nx1jz1VkkD4Mz5/albums/Contest/photo?view=15086420#15086420)

Lastly, here's a moving picture of the dominant male setting the mood. Discus do the bow, plecos do the wiggle. He's a bit more frantic than usual, as most of us would be if we were blinded by a flashlight on date night. Probably time to remove some fry, as they are starting to get in the way of the romance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FAgYDEVZQk

[Mr.BigBlock]

Adam, thanks for the pics and vid! I have to admit, these have piqued my interest as well. Just paid a visit to Wet Spot over in Oregon a few days ago and they had a lot of cool and unique looking plecos.

[Second Hand Pat]

Cool Adam, breeding these guys is not easy and you need to remove fry because they are in the way WOW. :)
Pat

[Adam S]

Adam, thanks for the pics and vid! I have to admit, these have piqued my interest as well. Just paid a visit to Wet Spot over in Oregon a few days ago and they had a lot of cool and unique looking plecos.
Yes, this is the time of year to stock on catfish. Not sure what experience you have with them, but L333 and L201 are good ones to get started with if you are new to them.


Cool Adam, breeding these guys is not easy and you need to remove fry because they are in the way WOW. :)
Pat
Thanks, Pat. The tank is plenty large with ample cover, but they refuse to leave the dad alone. Haven't seen anything like it with other plecos.

[Mr.BigBlock]

Cool, thanks for the recommendation!

[danotaylor]

nice Adam...love the pattern on htese guys and the blue sheen...very nice!

[Pices]

What do these plecos like as far as pH, temp, wc? Thanks for the introduction. I feel like shaking hands with them. Are they hard to keep? I love your tips like: prop a piece of wood against the glass and they’ll treat it like a cave. I’ve learned a lot from you and read pretty much everything you post. You are a real fish whisperer!
Patty

[Adam S]

nice Adam...love the pattern on htese guys and the blue sheen...very nice!
Thanks, Daniel. It's amazing what animal patterns this family of fish produces. Zebras (L46), tigers (L397) and ocelots (L174), oh my.


What do these plecos like as far as pH, temp, wc? Thanks for the introduction. I feel like shaking hands with them. Are they hard to keep? I love your tips like: prop a piece of wood against the glass and they’ll treat it like a cave. I’ve learned a lot from you and read pretty much everything you post. You are a real fish whisperer!
Patty
Thanks, Patty. In the wild, they live clear water with neutral pH. No driftwood or plants either. Here, TDS is 100 or so but tap water is fine for general care. They like it warm, 82-88F. Water changes are 25-50% every other day, but some do well with far less. If they're off cycle and it's time for them to start again, 70% everyday. They aren't hard to keep but are very shy. Making sure they get enough food is the biggest concern in a community tank. Meaty foods, greenery will be ignored.

[Pices]

I was looking for something for my angel tank, but these sound more suited to my discus tank. For the sake of romance I’ll be looking for my tds meter today. Ha
Patty

[Adam S]

Well, this thread crashed and burned quickly!

Shortly after taking the contest photos, I pulled all the zebras and moved them to new tanks. The shrimp were getting in the way, and it wasn't really optimal for either party. They were introduced by accident anyway, so it was easier to just remove the zebras and restart. The tank is currently occupied by some bristelnose, but is primarily a shrimp tank at this point.