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Post by barbara on Apr 18, 2009 16:40:10 GMT -5
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Post by bikeguy33 on Apr 18, 2009 16:47:15 GMT -5
what gorgeous lil creatures. as for them not eating....you have to keep in mind, they are mostly nocturnal. they will very often feed at night or when you arent watching
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Post by eve on Apr 18, 2009 17:06:18 GMT -5
ima second that those are absolutely gorgeous
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Post by barbara on Apr 18, 2009 17:07:54 GMT -5
what gorgeous lil creatures. as for them not eating....you have to keep in mind, they are mostly nocturnal. they will very often feed at night or when you arent watching Yes, thanks. They are also wild caught, so getting used to captivity could take some time. We're having patience, and trying not to over feed them. We had ordered some wild caught bristlenose, but they didn't come in. We took these instead, with a little more money tacked on. I don't regret it one bit.
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Post by brenda on Apr 18, 2009 17:29:15 GMT -5
Those are just gorgeous and you should show off. lol
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Post by goldenpuon on Apr 18, 2009 19:42:53 GMT -5
Beautiful fish. I like the pattern on them. Very unique!
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Post by kagome on Apr 18, 2009 22:10:26 GMT -5
Gorgeous! How many did you get, just the two? If you end up with a spawning pair I will totally buy some fry!
Just a thought, have you tried adding some blanched vegetables on a vegetable clip? I've found zucchini, kale, and romaine to be successful with sick plecos or those having trouble acclimating. I would really suggest buying organically grown for anything you put in the tank. I've always had them switch to algae and/or wafers once they settled in and got used to the tank. Also the veggie clip is good because you can definitely tell if they have been munching on something. Sorry if you've already tried this and they're still not eating, just thought I would make the suggestion.
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Post by barbara on Apr 18, 2009 22:22:44 GMT -5
Don't be sorry, excellent suggestion. These are more carnivores however, and I think they are getting tempted. Moving them to a 55 made sense, and while that puts that tank out of commission for a little while, it's worth it to make sure they are healthy.
I got 4 of them. They were sorta pricey...so that's what I could afford. And if I get fry, I doubt I'll sell them...but I will put you on the list to receive some.
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Post by Carl on Apr 19, 2009 10:53:02 GMT -5
These are beautiful Barbara!
You say these are more carnivorous than other Plecs?
Do you know what they eat in the wild?
As well what specific region of Central or South America do they come from?
Sorry for the questions, especially if you do not know for sure, I am just interested in learning more about these guys.
Carl
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Post by barbara on Apr 19, 2009 11:24:11 GMT -5
These are beautiful Barbara! You say these are more carnivorous than other Plecs? Do you know what they eat in the wild? As well what specific region of Central or South America do they come from? Sorry for the questions, especially if you do not know for sure, I am just interested in learning more about these guys. Carl Carl, what I know for sure is that they are omnivores, and that they are wild caught from Columbia. That is making the ID harder, as most of the plecos that look like them are from Brazil. Most of the plecos that look similar lean more towards carnivore, so that's how I'm treating them. They are getting a variety of foods to see what they will eat. I don't know what they eat in the wild, because I can't get a positive ID for them. I've got guesses, of L-140, L-202 (which is what they are supposed to be), L-015 and L-288. Pleco ID is difficult at times.
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Post by murdock6701 on Apr 19, 2009 17:05:57 GMT -5
I hope you are able to ID them, but if not, they are still BEAUTIFUL! being unable to identify them, I guess it'll be fun seeing how large they get - youre a very lucky girl!
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Post by barbara on Apr 19, 2009 21:47:38 GMT -5
Thanks, I love them. They are really skinny, and we are going to start a parasite treatment tomorrow. Most reputable wholesalers do this, but I'm not at all certain it has been done. They are really skinny, emaciated even, and getting them to eat is trying. We got advice from someone who often gets wild caught plecos, and some of the meds they can handle, and what to treat for. The only symptom is not wanting to eat, and skinny, so we're going to treat by that advice.
We tried some ground up krill today, along with some zucchini.
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Post by Carl on Apr 20, 2009 9:51:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the education Barbara. I have had this skinny fish problem with other imported fish such as Loaches. Since you noted that these are at least omnivores, I might suggest a diet that includes a high amount of Spirulina based foods, as the better ones include whole fish meal (which is important by itself when compared to the lower quality fish meals often used by some food). The Spirulina will improve immunity which could be advantageous for a weak or "skinny" that is recently imported. See this article: Spirulina Algae; The aquatic health benefits for Tropical, Marine and Goldfish.Carl
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Post by kagome on Apr 20, 2009 22:49:22 GMT -5
I've been doing some research and I think these guys are L140. Unfortunately I have not been able to find something that is definitive beyond a shadow of a doubt but I do have some reasons to think that they are not the other kinds.
L202 has thick bands and not the undulating stripes these guys have and the dorsal fin is a different shape, same thing with L015.
L288 has much more mottled markings on the body, spots on the face instead of stripes, and has a much more elongated nose.
I'm going to keep digging and see what I can find.
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Post by barbara on Apr 20, 2009 22:57:49 GMT -5
Thanks for looking! They might be L140, or I've also heard they may not have an L number yet. I appreciate your time in this. They seem to be doing well, and I bought them all sorts of new foods today.
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Post by kagome on Apr 28, 2009 18:15:36 GMT -5
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Post by barbara on Apr 28, 2009 19:39:58 GMT -5
Wow, that's pretty close. I'll take a good look at them later.
They seem to be doing well. They eat pretty well, and seem to like some of the expensive food I bought for them. Of course, they have to have the expensive stuff!
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Post by barbara on Apr 28, 2009 21:29:59 GMT -5
Kagome, after reading on the L-236, I have my doubts. I don't know if you can tell from the pictures, but mine are more yellow. The L-236 has the description of white with black markings. You definitely are on track with the stripes though, I'll give you that. I appreciate your help. That's probably the closest anyone has come, with the barring on this fish.
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Post by kagome on Apr 29, 2009 1:11:22 GMT -5
Yeah, I wasn't sure if maybe it was just the pictures making them look more yellow, but that pattern is the closest I have found. I've actually found some really cool species of fancy pleco that I had never seen before while trying to identify these guys for you so it's been really fun. What is it with me and bottom feeders, wait....don't answer that. lol Try buying organically grown kale and zucchini in December for your plecos and having your husband want to throttle you for it! lol But then I made him totally awesome stir fry and he forgave me.
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Post by barbara on Apr 29, 2009 2:25:27 GMT -5
You and my husband would get along just fine. He loves the cories, loaches, but especially the plecos. He's got several Rhinos, one is nearing 9 inches or so, and a 14 inch common.
There are some really cool plecos. The ones I have are really neat. We also got some L-129s, the Black Zebra. Cute little buggers. I'll try to get some pics soon, but they are difficult to photograph.
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