A few 'different' Discus tankmates

[Proteus]

Thought I would share these pics with you all...

[DR.V]

is that zebra pleco ??

[kevkoi]

Lemme guess... top one is Hyspancistrus inspector "yellow spot" L201, bottom one I think it's Panaque nigrolineatus L190?

Nice little catties.. :D

[DR.V]

Lemme guess... top one is Hyspancistrus inspector "yellow spot" L201, bottom one I think it's Panaque nigrolineatus L190?

Nice little catties.. :D

How do you remember and know all those hard-to-pronounce names kev ?

[Shawnts106]

How do you remember and know all those hard-to-pronounce names kev ? \


LOL, years of experience...!!!

[kalebjarrod]

Let me guess

The top fish is my brithday present and the bottom one my christmas present

Thanks Pro yopu shouldn't have

[goldenpigeon]

hahahahaha u wanna share ryan? :D ;)

[Shawnts106]

maybe we can ALL SHARE!!!! hehehe, just dont cut the fish in half ok... !!! hahaha

[goldenpigeon]

um..... yeah :roll: yer um... u can pick them up at 8 shawn.... see u on saturday :shock:

[kalebjarrod]

lol

thats funny JNR

[Shawnts106]

IIGHT DAWG! WAZZZUPPPPPP NAWWWW... WERR U BE AT ET? LOL!!!

[buttnaked]

nice

[lesley]

I reckon plecos are the best things you can do for your planted tank!!

I haven't been able to afford any beauties like those, but, common plecos and brisltenoses, peppermints are in my tanks, doing a fabulous job of cleaning (I am actually dosing fertilisers trying to keep up enough algae for them!) and they are very entertaining.

One large pleco (well about 10", I know that they can get bigger!)tries to push the discus out of the way for food, but they just push back. I've got lots of driftwood and haven't had any problems with them attaching to discus.

I would love some of those, how about breeding lots and lowering the prices, Proteus or Kevkoi??

Lesley

[tara]

Can you tell me how big the spotted one grows? If they grow extreemly large can you recommend a small variety ?

[jim]

Zebra Pleco would be nice in the tank...they won't grow large, won't kill plants and won't bother dicus... They are also very beautiful.
The only problem is the price...it cost around AUD$900 - $1100 EACH...
If you can afford..it would be very nice discus tankmate..

[tara]

I have seen the Zebra Pleco's, very nice, didn't realise that they were that expensive. Is that price for a small or full grown one? Can any one suggest a more affordable one?

[kevkoi]

All the Loricaridae (ie pleco) family of fish are not listed on the importable list into Australia. The only cheaper plecos that are available in Australia are those that have established a foothold and are regularly bred in Australia.

The cheapest of the lot would be the common bristlenose catfish which generally retail for under $10 for small fish.

Then the middle range of plecos start at about $30 and go up to about $70 for baby fish 3-6cm:
Albino bristlenose catfish
Orange spot bristlenose catfish (L110)
Peppermint bristlenose
Common pleco (Hypostomus sp)<--- from here on, they are large plecos
Gibbiceps pleco
Gold pleco
Gold spotted pleco (G.joseliamanus L001)
... maybe one or 2 more I missed, but not many more.

The rest of the exotic plecos are what some term as "long distance swimmers" and miraculously appear in Aust occasionally. These often have amazing colours and patterns and are highly sought after by advance enthusiast. These START at about $300 and go up to thousands, almost irrespective of size. Welcome to the world of exotic plecos... :lol:

PS: July's PFK magazine had an article on "How to Breed ZEBRAS" by Grahame Jennings who has had 6 succesful spawns to date. Hmmm, now time to get me some zebs. :lol: Alas.... no money. :cry: :lol:

[tara]

Those zebra's are extreemly cute but as I am a beginner i wouldn't be game to go near one especially at those prices. Someone had them for sale on the Boronia site-I think it was zebra's and a few others but they were advertised as rare. My LFS recomended the peppermints. How big do they grow?

[tara]

I have been trying to find the Gold spotted pleco (G.joseliamanus L001) on the net that you recomended but all I could find were the gold nuggets which I think are petty much the same (I think) but no L001. Can you tell me what size they grow? Also would a 7" pleco be too big in a 200ltr tank with Discus? Can anyone recommend a good fish store that has a good variety so that I can check out some prices of pleco's ?

[kevkoi]

Tara, L001 (G.joseliamanus) and Gold nugget pleco (Baryancistrus sp.L19, L81. L177) are a WORLD of a difference.

Best reference for plecos anyone can give you online would be Planetcatfish (www.planetcatfish.com).

L001 are farm bred in Australia. Gold nuggets have not been bred in any large numbers (may not even have been bred yet in Aust!). Overseas, the Gold nugget is about about 20times the price of L001.

It's now winter in Aust. U will not see many young plecos like the L001, gibbies, etc which are bred up in QLD at this time of year as they are now indoors overwintering in heated tanks. Pleco breeding in Aust is seasonal. It's a Spring-end of summer thing when u see juvenile plecos.

Personally, I think the largish plecos bred in Australia are not suitable as discus tankmates. They have a nasty tendency to latch on to the side of large discus in an attempt to suck the mucous off the discus.

[Merrilyn]

Kev, I think I'm in love. Just get me a gold nugget pleco pleeeease. :wink:

[vishy]

hey,
If you keep an eye in the perth cichlid forums http://perthcichlid.com/forums/index.php
you may find a few interesting plecos and such that are swimming there way over to Perth! BTW the cheapest i have heard of zebra plecos goin for is 600 for a small one in perth.
They are beautiful arent they!
Matt

[tara]

Could you please tell me are the ZEBRA PLECS on the previous page good tankmates for Discus? I have been told that they would suck the mucus off the discus ???

[vishy]

I've never had experience with one but i'm sure they would be fine as they only only grow to like 10cm and the plecos that are usually refered to as sucking mucus off other discus seem to be of the larger size 20cm+.
good luck
Matt

[tara]

I am honestly considering getting one. But I aked the man who sells them and he said the would suck the mucus of the discus. The grow to about 3-4 inches. But also they like to hide alot so I wonder when they would suck the mucus off. They are not algea eaters, meat eaters.
Please help!