New start for the L046's

[Charlyc11]

I will be moving from the 125 to a smaller 20 - 30 gallon acrylic tank and make it a species only tank since they are getting to a breeding age soon.
I picked up new caves for them to be able to remove any spawn if their is any. I don't even know if I have females or all males. Hard to tell but there is 10 of them might get more their age.

[brewmaster15]

Re: New start for the L046's

Chuck thats a wise choice. Hoping for your success!

[Charlyc11]

Re: New start for the L046's

Chuck thats a wise choice. Hoping for your success!

They only went to the 125 for them to grow a little. If I don't find a used tank soon or will buy one new.

[danotaylor]

Re: New start for the L046's

Cool beans mate. How long have you had them for now?

[Iminit]

Re: New start for the L046's

Wishing you the best of luck!! Breeding them would be a huge achievement!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Re: New start for the L046's

Wishing you the best of luck with these guys Chuck Guessing breeding these guys is harder then breeding wild discus.
Pat

[brewmaster15]

Re: New start for the L046's

Wishing you the best of luck with these guys Chuck Guessing breeding these guys is harder then breeding wild discus.
Pat

Pat I wouldn't necessarily say that. I think alot of people are breeding them these days .. Theres alot of domestic bred ones for sale. They are still very challenging but when compared to wild Discus I would say the Discus have them beat... not basing this any experience breeding them, but given the numbers of L046 available I would say breeding them is not harder than wild discus.


al

[Second Hand Pat]

Re: New start for the L046's

Pat I wouldn't necessarily say that. I think alot of people are breeding them these days .. Theres alot of domestic bred ones for sale. They are still very challenging but when compared to wild Discus I would say the Discus have them beat... not basing this any experience breeding them, but given the numbers of L046 available I would say breeding them is not harder than wild discus.


al

Thanks Al, I wasn't sure but had read the zebra plecos were hard to breed. I wonder if the F1 are equally hard?
Pat

[jeep]

Re: New start for the L046's

Good luck with these guys!

[Iminit]

Re: New start for the L046's

I’ve talked to a few people who’ve kept them with the intention of breeding. None have done it. On another site the theory is the sellers are only selling males. Keeping the females so they can keep the prices up. Yes some aquarium celebrities (aquarium co-op) have put up videos but I haven’t seen any from the average keepers. At 200 a fish you can understand why they’re not selling the females. I had a pair of these in the late 80s. Cost $25 a piece. Same price of a 4” Wattleys discus (the high mark of discus then). Prices never went down and they are not sold in every pet store like discus. Very limited supply. Not sure what’s up with them now. Last time I looked into them was when coralbandit bought some from discus madness.

[brewmaster15]

Re: New start for the L046's

I’ve talked to a few people who’ve kept them with the intention of breeding. None have done it. On another site the theory is the sellers are only selling males. Keeping the females so they can keep the prices up. Yes some aquarium celebrities (aquarium co-op) have put up videos but I haven’t seen any from the average keepers. At 200 a fish you can understand why they’re not selling the females. I had a pair of these in the late 80s. Cost $25 a piece. Same price of a 4” Wattleys discus (the high mark of discus then). Prices never went down and they are not sold in every pet store like discus. Very limited supply. Not sure what’s up with them now. Last time I looked into them was when coralbandit bought some from discus madness.

Tom, alot of what is sold is actually captive bred. Wild L046 are very hard to get. Additionally the price has come down alot. They used to go for over $200 a piece and now can be had for $100. Thats from captive breeding increasing the supply..

Interesting reads...

https://www.amazonasmagazine.com/2022/11/16/brazil-shortsightedly-proposes-zebra-pleco-for-cites-appendix-i-listing/

https://www.zebrapleco.com/articles/2_L46_from_start_to_finish.php

https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45572

[Charlyc11]

Re: New start for the L046's

First wild L046's are illegal to export or import to US since they are almost extinct in Rio Xingu basin in Brazil place of origin. I bought mine when you could not sex them (to young) from 2 vendors.

Cool beans mate. How long have you had them for now?

I got my first 4 six months old in December of 2022 from TFK Aquatics with some trading of a few PBR's pairs and cash on top. Then I got 6 more maybe three months old from La Paz in February 2023.

[Discus Fever]

Re: New start for the L046's

Chuck good luck on breeding them, what are your water parameters for them? I have always loved the L046's and hold a special place in my heart for them, if you run out of room with babies just let me know I would definitely take some off of your hands.

[Charlyc11]

Re: New start for the L046's

It looks like they are going in a 20 long since I have not see a used acrylic yet. Prepping the tank I had previously painted white on 4 sides now I scraped the paint off on 3 sides and left the bottom white. I will spray paint the back blue and start cycling with sponge filters I have on the large tanks.

[For100]

Re: New start for the L046's

Too much talking.

Pictures please!!!!!