Tanks and Plants
- #1
Before I begin I want to say a few words about my local fish club........I am very fortunate to belong to the Honolulu Aquarium Society(HAS) the club has been around from the 1960’s and is still going strong in 2018! I have learned so much from the members especially the older ones. Their knowledge is based off of many many years of being in the hobby!
If there are any local forum members that is interested in the club please message me.
Ever since I laid my eyes on the L-046(For those who don’t know what the letter and number mean I will get to it later in my thread) I knew it was a fish that I absolutely wanted! But when I first started to research this fish I saw that a single fish could sell for, easily $100.00+ and if I wanted to breed them I would need a small group at the very least! That put that on the list of IF I ever had money, then I would see if I could get some, but living in Hawaiidise(HawaiI and Paradise as some call it)does come at a price, it is very expensive living here! And being a FT single father of a very active 6 y/o, even though he is the one fish, I mean person I love the most, I often have to choose hmmm do I want this fish or that for my Aquarium or should I buy him a toy or clothes, GOT YOU! That choice is a no Brainer! Of course I would choose my fish, I mean son over fish any Day!
A few weeks ago at our monthly club meeting the guest speaker was a pretty young local boy who I didn’t know personally but have heard of his name in Aquarium hobby here in Honolulu. He is a member of the Honolulu Aquarium Society and the presentation that he was giving was on the L-046. I knew that he bred them and was very successful in breeding them. Unfortunately I could not hear or watch his presentation because I was entertaining some new members. The one thing that is great about our club is that at every meeting there is a fish and equipment auction for those who want to sell things they don’t use or have an extra amount of fish that they want to sell. I knew that the speaker had brought 2 bags of L-046, one bag had 2 Inside and the other had 3 inside. The starting bid for the 2 was $100.00 and the starting bid for the 3 was $200.00.
When I first saw the bags I was really excited but at the same time I was like, damm I don’t have a tank setup for them or anything. The time came for the L-046 to be put on auction. The first bag was the one with 2 inside. I started off the bidding at $100.00 and then another member who already has over 20 L-046, well the bidding went on until it stopped at $160.00, I had won the 2! Next was the bag with 3 and the starting bid was $200.00, at first no one placed a bid and it was about to end and I stuck up my plate. I was hoping that no one would place a bid but sure enough the same member who bid against me for the first 2 placed a bid. But lucky for me the bidding stopped at.............$210.00.
Now I was the new owner of 5 L-046, with no tank or anything to put them into when I got home.
Lucky for me at home I had a bucket and the most important of all a HEATER! Most places in Honolulu you don’t need a heater for your fish but I had purchased one before because during winter some of my tanks would drop down to..........the lower 70’s, I panicked and got a heater used it for a few days and hadn’t used it for awhile, until that night.
The first night was rough I came home around 11:30pm and had to get a bucket ready, look for my heater, get some dechlorinated water and make sure it was at the right temp. After everything was done it was all or nothing, so in they went. The first night was hard I just spent close to $400.00 on some fish that I didn’t have a tank setup for and I surely did not want any of them to die. I thought paying $25.o0 for a fish was expensive, this for me was a fish on its own.
The next morning I woke up and wen straight to the bucket and looked, hoping not to find anything dead. I looked and they were all there. But they weren’t moving... my heart dropped until I shook the bucket and saw all 5 of them move! That was a huge relief! I fed my other fish and ate breakfast. As soon as it was time, I got ready and headed out to my LFS. The whole time I was driving I was wondering what size tank should I get, where am I going to get my caves, and how am I going to take care of this fish!
I arrived at my LFS and went in. I saw a good friend of mines who works there and told him the news and he was happy for me. He helped me decide on what tank I should get and what else I should do. I settled on a Rimless Aquatop Cube Tank (12 Gallons). My L-046 aren’t big, they are in fact small juveniles and I have at least 3 years before they are ready to breed and hopefully I can make them thrive in that time.
I got the tank and the next thing I had to get was a filter and caves. The filter I decide on for now is the Aquaclear 50, while I wanted a canister I think for that size tank and they fish size the canister would put too much current in the tank. The AC 50 is perfect for now!
My last stop was do get the caves and I went to 5 different LFS and NONE of them had the small cave that L-046 likes. I had some good caves for other fish but these caves are way too big for L-046. But I had no choice. And then it hit me! I don’t have any slate! By this time it wasn’t in the afternoon and I had to go home to do things around the house and to take down a tank so it would clear space for my new tank. I never realized how much work it is to take down a tank. And the problem I faced was the caves that I was going to use was in that tank and that tank had recently gone through a super ick. It killed my 5 super red bushy nose plecos and my albino Long fin bushy nose pleco. This ick was BAD! Within 2 days of finding the ick and treating it, it killed all those fish.
Now I was stuck with what to do. I know I needed those caves but I didnt want to potentially expose my new and expensive L-046 to something that could kill them. So what I did was I took the caves filled it with water and used some Clorox. This was going to be another night that my L-046 would be living in a heated bucket. I had no choice. Again that night was a sleepless night with my mind on my fish. I woke up the next morning and went straight to my bucket. Hoping again not to find anything dead. I shook the bucket and they moved! Again my heart was lifted back up! I started to clean my new tank and then it hit me! I still didn’t have any slate or anything to build some platforms so that the L-046 could hide and be comfortable In. I had to stop what I was doing and I went to Home Depot not knowing what slate I could use. I knew I wanted something that was all natural and most importantly nothing added to the slate which could leech into my new tank. The worker there was great and he helped me find a slate I was looking for.
I went home got everything ready and started to fill my tank. I got the caves that I had been soaking in the bleach water, rinsed them and placed them in a bucket with freshwater and a good dose of Prime. I had to make sure I didn’t have any traces of bleach left!
I got the caves ready and the slate and started to build my new tank. The moment arrived when I had to put my new fish into their tank. Now the part that most of you will not like is that this tank is a fully uncycled tank. But with the type of biological media I use and the type of beneficial bacteria I have I wasn’t too worried about it just as long as I followed my instincts and do what I know I had to do. But because the fish are also very small they don’t produce a big bioload so that does help keep the water cleaner. I also use a small piece of poly-filter to help take out any excess ammonia while giving the beneficial bacteria food so that they can start to grow and thrive. What I have been noticing is that the food I am feeding and this is the same food that the breeder uses is the next morning any uneaten food will have mold on it. It seems that because the water is at 80° it turns the food bad fast. I could be wrong and if any one has this problem happen to them please let me know.
Every morning I siphon out all the excess food and I top off the tank. My fishes my been eating and they are slowly growing!
I am hoping that my new L-046 will continue to grow and stay healthy! I have taken a big risk but hopefully with my experience I can beat the odds and hopefully get them to breed! In a couple of years we can see!
Thank you for reading my short story on how I got my dream fish L-046! Most of you will know the number but for those who don’t know what that number refers to it is how plecos are named In the scientific community. They do this because the same fish can have a different name in a different location but when you refer to L-046 or other plecos they all will have a L and a number. This way there is no mix up on the fish. Corydoras also have this method of keeping track of each individual species, but in Cory’s instead of an “L” you wil have a either a “C” or “CW” followed by a number.
My dream fish L-046 is also commonly know as the Zebra Pleco!î
I hoped you guys enjoyed my story on how I got my Dream Fish!
I always wondered if the fish was black with white stripes or white with black stripes
Sorry for the BAD pictures! They don’t swim out during the day and these pictures are the best one so could take with my IPhone X.
On a side note: the reason this fish when you see them for sale are so expensive is that they are now on the CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) List.
https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.php
They now cannot be legally exported out of their homeland of Brazil. Also these fish are only found In 1 river in the entire world. That river is named the Rio Xingu
This is only a temporary tank and setup. As they get bigger I will put them in a bigger tank!
If there are any local forum members that is interested in the club please message me.
Ever since I laid my eyes on the L-046(For those who don’t know what the letter and number mean I will get to it later in my thread) I knew it was a fish that I absolutely wanted! But when I first started to research this fish I saw that a single fish could sell for, easily $100.00+ and if I wanted to breed them I would need a small group at the very least! That put that on the list of IF I ever had money, then I would see if I could get some, but living in Hawaiidise(HawaiI and Paradise as some call it)does come at a price, it is very expensive living here! And being a FT single father of a very active 6 y/o, even though he is the one fish, I mean person I love the most, I often have to choose hmmm do I want this fish or that for my Aquarium or should I buy him a toy or clothes, GOT YOU! That choice is a no Brainer! Of course I would choose my fish, I mean son over fish any Day!
A few weeks ago at our monthly club meeting the guest speaker was a pretty young local boy who I didn’t know personally but have heard of his name in Aquarium hobby here in Honolulu. He is a member of the Honolulu Aquarium Society and the presentation that he was giving was on the L-046. I knew that he bred them and was very successful in breeding them. Unfortunately I could not hear or watch his presentation because I was entertaining some new members. The one thing that is great about our club is that at every meeting there is a fish and equipment auction for those who want to sell things they don’t use or have an extra amount of fish that they want to sell. I knew that the speaker had brought 2 bags of L-046, one bag had 2 Inside and the other had 3 inside. The starting bid for the 2 was $100.00 and the starting bid for the 3 was $200.00.
When I first saw the bags I was really excited but at the same time I was like, damm I don’t have a tank setup for them or anything. The time came for the L-046 to be put on auction. The first bag was the one with 2 inside. I started off the bidding at $100.00 and then another member who already has over 20 L-046, well the bidding went on until it stopped at $160.00, I had won the 2! Next was the bag with 3 and the starting bid was $200.00, at first no one placed a bid and it was about to end and I stuck up my plate. I was hoping that no one would place a bid but sure enough the same member who bid against me for the first 2 placed a bid. But lucky for me the bidding stopped at.............$210.00.
Now I was the new owner of 5 L-046, with no tank or anything to put them into when I got home.
Lucky for me at home I had a bucket and the most important of all a HEATER! Most places in Honolulu you don’t need a heater for your fish but I had purchased one before because during winter some of my tanks would drop down to..........the lower 70’s, I panicked and got a heater used it for a few days and hadn’t used it for awhile, until that night.
The first night was rough I came home around 11:30pm and had to get a bucket ready, look for my heater, get some dechlorinated water and make sure it was at the right temp. After everything was done it was all or nothing, so in they went. The first night was hard I just spent close to $400.00 on some fish that I didn’t have a tank setup for and I surely did not want any of them to die. I thought paying $25.o0 for a fish was expensive, this for me was a fish on its own.
The next morning I woke up and wen straight to the bucket and looked, hoping not to find anything dead. I looked and they were all there. But they weren’t moving... my heart dropped until I shook the bucket and saw all 5 of them move! That was a huge relief! I fed my other fish and ate breakfast. As soon as it was time, I got ready and headed out to my LFS. The whole time I was driving I was wondering what size tank should I get, where am I going to get my caves, and how am I going to take care of this fish!
I arrived at my LFS and went in. I saw a good friend of mines who works there and told him the news and he was happy for me. He helped me decide on what tank I should get and what else I should do. I settled on a Rimless Aquatop Cube Tank (12 Gallons). My L-046 aren’t big, they are in fact small juveniles and I have at least 3 years before they are ready to breed and hopefully I can make them thrive in that time.
I got the tank and the next thing I had to get was a filter and caves. The filter I decide on for now is the Aquaclear 50, while I wanted a canister I think for that size tank and they fish size the canister would put too much current in the tank. The AC 50 is perfect for now!
My last stop was do get the caves and I went to 5 different LFS and NONE of them had the small cave that L-046 likes. I had some good caves for other fish but these caves are way too big for L-046. But I had no choice. And then it hit me! I don’t have any slate! By this time it wasn’t in the afternoon and I had to go home to do things around the house and to take down a tank so it would clear space for my new tank. I never realized how much work it is to take down a tank. And the problem I faced was the caves that I was going to use was in that tank and that tank had recently gone through a super ick. It killed my 5 super red bushy nose plecos and my albino Long fin bushy nose pleco. This ick was BAD! Within 2 days of finding the ick and treating it, it killed all those fish.
Now I was stuck with what to do. I know I needed those caves but I didnt want to potentially expose my new and expensive L-046 to something that could kill them. So what I did was I took the caves filled it with water and used some Clorox. This was going to be another night that my L-046 would be living in a heated bucket. I had no choice. Again that night was a sleepless night with my mind on my fish. I woke up the next morning and went straight to my bucket. Hoping again not to find anything dead. I shook the bucket and they moved! Again my heart was lifted back up! I started to clean my new tank and then it hit me! I still didn’t have any slate or anything to build some platforms so that the L-046 could hide and be comfortable In. I had to stop what I was doing and I went to Home Depot not knowing what slate I could use. I knew I wanted something that was all natural and most importantly nothing added to the slate which could leech into my new tank. The worker there was great and he helped me find a slate I was looking for.
I went home got everything ready and started to fill my tank. I got the caves that I had been soaking in the bleach water, rinsed them and placed them in a bucket with freshwater and a good dose of Prime. I had to make sure I didn’t have any traces of bleach left!
I got the caves ready and the slate and started to build my new tank. The moment arrived when I had to put my new fish into their tank. Now the part that most of you will not like is that this tank is a fully uncycled tank. But with the type of biological media I use and the type of beneficial bacteria I have I wasn’t too worried about it just as long as I followed my instincts and do what I know I had to do. But because the fish are also very small they don’t produce a big bioload so that does help keep the water cleaner. I also use a small piece of poly-filter to help take out any excess ammonia while giving the beneficial bacteria food so that they can start to grow and thrive. What I have been noticing is that the food I am feeding and this is the same food that the breeder uses is the next morning any uneaten food will have mold on it. It seems that because the water is at 80° it turns the food bad fast. I could be wrong and if any one has this problem happen to them please let me know.
Every morning I siphon out all the excess food and I top off the tank. My fishes my been eating and they are slowly growing!
I am hoping that my new L-046 will continue to grow and stay healthy! I have taken a big risk but hopefully with my experience I can beat the odds and hopefully get them to breed! In a couple of years we can see!
Thank you for reading my short story on how I got my dream fish L-046! Most of you will know the number but for those who don’t know what that number refers to it is how plecos are named In the scientific community. They do this because the same fish can have a different name in a different location but when you refer to L-046 or other plecos they all will have a L and a number. This way there is no mix up on the fish. Corydoras also have this method of keeping track of each individual species, but in Cory’s instead of an “L” you wil have a either a “C” or “CW” followed by a number.
My dream fish L-046 is also commonly know as the Zebra Pleco!î
I hoped you guys enjoyed my story on how I got my Dream Fish!
I always wondered if the fish was black with white stripes or white with black stripes
Sorry for the BAD pictures! They don’t swim out during the day and these pictures are the best one so could take with my IPhone X.
On a side note: the reason this fish when you see them for sale are so expensive is that they are now on the CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) List.
https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/what.php
They now cannot be legally exported out of their homeland of Brazil. Also these fish are only found In 1 river in the entire world. That river is named the Rio Xingu
This is only a temporary tank and setup. As they get bigger I will put them in a bigger tank!