autumn

I got him 2 days ago, tried to determine his L number by browsing planetcatfish.com, he is more like an L027 isn't he? can you determine his gender from the pictures? any advice about how to keep him happy? my tank is 18 gallons ammonia is zero, nitrate 0.15, temperature 28C. He looks happy, he has been eating NON-STOP for 2 days (algae and driftwood) he is quite active (a bit shy though) and contrary to my expectation a very fast swimmer! it took the salesman quite a bit of time to catch him with a net. I have two rock caves perfectly fit for him but he rather be hanging on the driftwood all the time! The way he moves is very interesting and funny too, it's like he's a nervous lunatic anyway he is a very entertaining fish and well worth the money! Yesterday I found one of my danios trying to nip his fins 1 or 2 times but seems it was just out of curiosity I haven't seen that happen again.
by the way I read somewhere that they blink! I was sure it's a joke but I actually saw him do it!! does it every 10-15 minutes. why do they do that? do they have eye lids? to me it was more like turning his eyeballs vertically.

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Allie

Close, it's in the same family. That looks like a young royal pleco, L190 to me. You know they can get up to 11"+ right? He's gonna a need a big tank eventually.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=151

Barbrella

He's beautiful! Looks like the young form of the L027c. They need lots of wood in their diets, plus veggies, some meaty food etc. and very strong filtration.

You can read all about them and their care HERE

I"m sure you know these panaques grow to about 15" and according to that article will need a 100 gal tank?

autumn

Yes Allie I was wrong it's more like L190:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...?image_id=1547

Barbrella, I read somewhere they grow very slowly so I hope I can get a bigger tank before he gets too big or I'll need to trade him for a smaller one.

Allie

steveangela1

Beautiful pleco! you might want to keep your eyes on craigslist, theres a lot of good deals on there for bigger tanks.

Sabi

Lovely pleco you have there!
I'm with Allie.

autumn

way OT but why everybody is female in this forum?! is fish keeping a female thing?

steveangela1

lol.. there are some men on here... for me and my husband I am the one who does the taking care of the fish, he sits back and watches the tanks but he works 2 jobs too...

MissMTS

Yup, you have a royal pleco. I have one and they are very cool plecos. The only drawback is they can get up to 13 inches and they are MESSY! Whenever I vacuum his the gravel under his favorite piece of driftwood, it is disgusting how much dirt and poop I find down there!!! If you can eventually get a tank large enough for him, you should really enjoy him. Congrats!

Allie

LOL I think fancy plecos are a female favorites. I know a lot of women who love fancy plecos.

Barbrella

Isn't it amazing? I have one Rio Ucayali pleco in my 20 gallon, and the filth he generates has be seen to be believed! I"ve had to more than double up on my WCs.

But I adore him anyway.

Butterfly

Yes they are actually turning the eye and it makes it look like they are blinking. Plecs are really cool and yours is really pretty.
Carol

steveangela1

My sailfin is a nasty bugger too! his spot I have to go over 3 times when I vaccum. Hes pretty good sized though, around 10 inches right now.