advice on first setup :)

i am basically going to be seting up my first plec tank and wanting advice what to put in it decoration wise to help the plecs breed?. i have breed bristlenose before but i take it they are easy with how many u see for sale. also what is the best plec group to start of with?, with me been a beginner. but dont really want anything that grows over 7 inch and preferably something nice looking nothing too dull. iv been thinking of a nice group of 6 leopard frog plecos and got offered some for 15 pound each yesterday at 2inch in size. the tanks are all cycled. but they will probably be going in a 65 litre tank or a aquaone 500. will be looking at spending about 150 maximum on a group of plecs but cheeper the better.
thank you
liam

My breeding tanks are pretty basic, thin layer sand substrate, enough caves for each fish and a couple extra, some slate angled over caves and a piece of bogwood.

Leopard frogs are known to be quite difficult to get breeding but it can be a good challenge for you and they don't get too big. If you buy them at 2" be prepared to wait another year to 18 months for them to reach maturity.

They can be quite agressive so I would be wanting to put them into a lot bigger than 65 litre tank :yes:

how many leopards could i put into a 65 litre tank? and also read to breed do you keep the light of? or just have it as i normally do

Welcome to the world of pleco breeding.

You are doing the right thing asking advice on this site.
The members here have a wealth of knowledge and information to share.

If you’re thinking of breeding some form of pleco may I suggest you start with some thing very easy this will give you an insight in to how it all works.
L134,s are about the most frustrating fish to breed. They display some nasty aggression if you don’t get the mix right.

Once you have spawned a few of the more easy fish you could move on to L134,s or L183 or may be some thing that you would find more of a challenge?

The basic setup for spawning is pretty simple, a tank with as much floor space as you can get, some caves wood, slate or clay depending of the Species and the avalibility.
Then it is finding the trigger.
Leavening the lights of is not as mad as it sounds; your fish will spawn when they have no or very little danger present so a dark tank would put them at an advantage.
Water quality and diet are two of the main triggers.
Most plecs spawn when the rain will wash small amounts of vegetable or other organic matter in to the river system this would rot down and form edible organic matter once the fry become free swimming.
The main problem you will have is that a successful spawn will have very few causalities so your need space to grow the fry on, some genus will through large spawns of over 100 fry some very small spawns of less than 20 fry.

One short cut is to buy a proven group some breeders like me get bored after a few spawns and sell the group on for reasons of space or a new challenge.
The point about aggression in plecos is about the most important issue.
Males will kill for a prime spawning cave mainly because the weaker fish can’t run away and this will aggravate the aggressive male so he will basically say “Game on pal you want to push me I will remove you from the game”
Some genus work well as pairs or trios of two females to one male some work better as mixed groups. Never have a group with more males than females it will end in death at some point at some time.

Some males will become so aggressive during mating they will kill the female in nature this presents no problems he has killed one she was weak he picks a new one. Sadly with female fish demanding a high price you don’t want your male killing off his harem in just a few days.
So basically big tank good water copy the conditions in nature and understand the fish.

thank you for the help and brill posts.
more questions lol. what would be the best for me to start with that has nice colouring?
would i beable to keep something in my 5ft malawi tank if need be?
what could i put in my 65 litre community tank or my spare running aqua500?
thanks again :thumbup:

Please do not place any soft water fish like a pleco in a hard water tank with fish as aggressive as Malawi’s.

I think before you start try to get a good understanding of water and the conditions that plecos live in.
Getting the water wrong & mixing fish that are not compatible are two of the quickest ways to get dead fish.
I would get away from the mind set of choosing the fish because it looks great, most fish that look great are not easy to keep.

Try bristle nose plecos or some of the cheaper Hypans like L129/ L201

Stay away from aqua one 500, only 50cm wide and plastic pile of rubbish. Stay away from aqua one and get something basic and cheaper like clear seal for breeding or a second hand jewel with more floor space for the amount litres. Aqua one 500 has more height and you won't fit much in it apart from a couple of bristlenose and maybe a couple of mollies. I hate the lighting on those and the lids buzz or rattle. I had one for a few months and was useful for growing out zebra danios but thats it.

Hi,

Also congrats on asking first before taking the plunge.

I agree with mac, do not mix fish please. It is like putting a polar bear with a brown bear, will it work possibly, but overall in the long term there is no benefit. For the Malawi get some african synos or other cats.
I also agree that we are keepers of water, get this right then your fish for the correct water will thrive.
I prefer 120liter minimum for Ls. I also prefer a small sand base, some caves, so for 3 Ls, about 6 caves, some slate and driftwood and java fern as well. Find out if they like fast or slow water and the temp they need and off you go so to speak. I would also suggest L333 as a beginners fish, but they get a little bit larger. L129 and L201 are also smaller and nie Ls as well. cheers jk :thumbup:

I agree with bigbird, 120L is a great size for plecos. Its not so much the height in the tank you are looking for. Some of mine are only 1ft high. Its the floor space. Rule of thumb is one square foot of floorspace per adult male in the regular sized plecos.

If you look for the L333 in the white variety, they seem not to grow quite as big as the yellowish ones.

Your 65liter tank I would keep for quaranteen tank or make a really nice planted and whiptail breeding set up.

If you really have your heart set on the L134, get a mated pair for the tank. Canister to increase the water volume is a must and my choice would be the ehiem classic 2213.
Add in a powerfilter of say 800lph or even if you want to really blast them with little wattage, a wavemaker of 2000 to 3000lph which is only 5-6watts. Make sure you have a good airstone or sponge filter as well. They like their oxygen they do.

You will need a cave for the male and probably some driftwood or slate over that so the female can sit close by.

thank you again and i had to ask as i did just jump into malawis before without asking many questions so dont want to do the same with plecos. so more questions aswell
would you advise a wavemaker with any type of pleco?
iv got 2 tanks on order a 4 foot tank split into 2 and a 3 ft tank both 15X18 i think. so these might be my tanks for the plecos and can also get hold of many of these tanks and some not even split into 2 as my local fish shop is seling up and retiring so only charging 5pound for 2ft tanks 7.50 for 3ft tanks and 10 for 4ft tanks.
couldnt u mix bristlenose with leopard frogs?
and would they breed if together?
my heart is set on leopard frogs tbh as i dont want a challenge lol but also can wait.

keep the L134 on their own in the 3fter. I would not mix. cheers jk :thumbup:

ok if i get some will do.
but just been having a look and what about l201 and also like the l333 is there any others that stay small that i could start with?
and also does anybody have any l201 or l333 for sale at a decent size?

L201 stay small and you could easily keep a groupd of 5-6 in a 3footer. good luck with them. Remember a good eheim filter, sand on bottom, some caves, some slate, some driftwood and air stone. cheers jk :thumbup:

does it after be eheim lol and thanks atleast i no what i definetly need know in any of my pleco tanks. just gota try and get hold of some know. just been offered 5 l201 for 50 pound. what you think?
thank you

10 pounds a pop is a fair price fro any hypan.
Yes it must be a Eheim if you use any outer filter you will suffer boils and puss will spring from any open wounds and a plague of locust will devour your crops blood will fall from the skies and the whole of humanity will die.
OK being honest all of this may not happen but your be replacing any filter you buy quite soon after buying it unlike most Eheim owners who have filters that do last for years. I have one older than my daughter who is now in her 30,s

with filters, you get what you pay for. I just find that Eheim has a much longer life and reputation. I do not know prices from UK, but if you wish to buy L201, place a WTB add in the forum under UK http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=66 and see if you get any cheaper. cheers jk :thumbup:

macvsog23 said:

10 pounds a pop is a fair price fro any hypan.
Yes it must be a Eheim if you use any outer filter you will suffer boils and puss will spring from any open wounds and a plague of locust will devour your crops blood will fall from the skies and the whole of humanity will die.
OK being honest all of this may not happen but your be replacing any filter you buy quite soon after buying it unlike most Eheim owners who have filters that do last for years. I have one older than my daughter who is now in her 30,s

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don't use a door stopper you mean. I didn't see any of that written in the bible. What chapter verse was that? Thou shall not use anything other than Eheim Chapter 20 verse 1 million Thou shall not use door stoppers

jessonthenet said:

don't use a door stopper you mean. I didn't see any of that written in the bible. What chapter verse was that? Thou shall not use anything other than Eheim Chapter 20 verse 1 million Thou shall not use door stoppers

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Leviticus along with some thing about the leveling of goods and a man can not lay with a man a along with suffering a witch

okay

:lol: father Bob