Question

Going to pick up my new L239 today and a Snowball for a friend of mine.

After its out of the QT tank how well does the L239 get along with and L134?

This is a youngster so I will wait a bit for some more growth on it.

Is it true that they are mainly herbavours ? I have been reading conflicting things about this.

The snowball is not for me so I don't have to worry about it.

Hello Amy,

Nice fish.
L239 is a herbivour and like temp 25-29 and fast water.
L134 is omnivour and like temp26-30 and slow water.

They should be fine, just make sure that you have enough grazing rocks, wood etc for the L239 to nibble on and make sure no too much protein for the L239. I have also heard that the L239 is more territorial than the others, so make sure you have enough caves etc.

have fun cheers jk :thumbup:

Thanks for the info greatly appreciated. I still have the L239 in a QT tank for now but would like to put it in with the L134 in a few weeks.

The wood I have in the tank its going to go into I some nice wood with Christmas Moss all over it, I pull this stuff off by the handfuls as it keeps on growing like crazy and I don't do anything special for it at all. I think this L239 would love to be in there with that wood and plant, maybe it might even eat some of it too.

Interesting about the territorial thing I would have never guessed a little fish like this would be territorial. My Albino BN is a buggar so he will go to a tank of his own, he is a nasty beast.

One other question to ask you, before I put this pleco in there I have a sand bottom of approx. 1/2" I notice that when I do my weekly water changes it can get a bit nasty smelling at times and I always give it a stir and suck anything on the sand as well each and every water change. Would you recommend I take out all sand and just go bare bottom or just leave this sand maybe take out so there is just a thin layer?

No fish have become sick from it at all but I just notice when I am doing the vacuum that sometimes there is that not so nice odor.

Being a Baryancistrus, L239 can take a bit of protein. They'll naturally get some when grazing on algae.

The bad smell from the sand is a sign of a stagnant substrate and decomposing material. This can create a toxic situation for plecos and is also a sign of conditions which can be condusive to bacterial issues. When using a san substrate I like to use no more than what it takes to cover the glass as thorough cleaning can be difficult in heavily decorated tanks.

Thanks for that info Lorne, I will remove some of the sand so it just barley covers the glass then, it just looks better with a little bit of something over the glass but not to much so I will do that for sure.

I am offering some protein to the L239 as well, I did read that they need some but not a whole lot.

Thanks again

All wood chewing plecos are poop machines. Best to keep a bare tank for easy clean up. Learn to read the pleco poop to give u the telltale sign of too much protein or not. You will notice very long stringy poop indicating time to cut off the protein diet. If there is such a thing as healthy poop for wood chewers, it should be short and black. I believe 'poop reading' is an essential skill for all pleco keepers.

Thank you for that info, greatly appreciated.

leisure_man said:

All wood chewing plecos are poop machines. Best to keep a bare tank for easy clean up. Learn to read the pleco poop to give u the telltale sign of too much protein or not. You will notice very long stringy poop indicating time to cut off the protein diet. If there is such a thing as healthy poop for wood chewers, it should be short and black. I believe 'poop reading' is an essential skill for all pleco keepers.

Click to expand...

Despite the common name "Blue Panaque", L239 is a Baryancistrus and lacks the specialized dentition required to consume wood. Like the other Barys, L239 is an auwfuchs eater and doesn't directly consume wood.

I was just reading that they eat a lot of algae and biofilm, veggies pellet/wafer foods, veg/ meat should be a ratio of 60:40

What brands of wafers are best?

I have the Hikari Algae Wafers and I have never had a single fish like these. But love other kinds of the Hikari brands.

I sent a message to the fellow that I bought him from as to the brand he used to feed but have not heard back yet.

Are peas okay to feed them too?

You can feed any veggies you feed any other plecs. Peas are fine and offer all the benefits that it would to any other plec.

Hikari algae wafers are typically well taken but do contain a high percentage of animal proteins and has caused issues with some plecs in the past. New life spectrum wafers are pretty good, wardley wafers have high veggie content, Ken's fish has some good foods, Sera (are they still available?) had some good products.

Thanks Lorne,

The first two I can get but the Sera we do not have.

Thanks again......

Lorne,

I tried to find places that carry the sera but no luck at all.

Now we have a new food by Fluval here called "Fluval Vegetarian Med Sinking Pellet"

Can you take a peak at this on their web site and tell me your thoughts about the ingredients?

I just googled Fluval fish foods

In general I am not a huge fan of the "big brand" commercial foods for specialized feeders. I'm okay with community flake from the likes of Tetra, Fluval, and some others but for fish like plecs that aren't necessarily mainstream fish I tend to go to the slightly more specialized food brands.

The fluval food lists the 1st ingredient as spirulina but 2 of the top 5 (generally what constitutes the majority of the food) are from animal sources which could make it an issue.

Ken's Fish is on-line/mail order only I think. They have many specialized foods that are pretty economical as well. I like their food for bottom feeders of all types.

Thanks for the info Lorne, with Ken's fish do you mean his name of food or others like the Sera?

So I have to do some moving of fish today, and would like to put this L239 into a bigger tank now, may I ask you, if it were you would you keep this L239 in a tank of its own? or try it with the L134?

Didn't know Kens carried Sera foods. Sera foods can be a bit pricey but most specialty food brands are. I was talking more about Ken's house brand food. They've got some great foods that aren't readily available like earthworm containing foods and a number of different herbivore foods in a multitude of forms (pellets, bits, wafers, flakes, etc).

Amy said:

Thanks for the info Lorne, with Ken's fish do you mean his name of food or others like the Sera?

So I have to do some moving of fish today, and would like to put this L239 into a bigger tank now, may I ask you, if it were you would you keep this L239 in a tank of its own? or try it with the L134?

Click to expand...

What size tank are you planning? L134 and L239 can both be a bit aggressive however given that they arent terribly similar looking it may not be too bad provided they each have room and cover to run to should things get a bit testy.

Did some re-arranging to day with fish and in our living room we have a nice 10 gal with wood and moss growing on the wood I am constantly pulling out to control it. I decided to move the L239 by himself in there to grow out with 2 guppies in there as well nothing else. He should have lots of area there on the wood etc and caves as well. I also removed a lot of sand and have just a tiny bit barely covering the bottom. I think he will be quite happy in there.

I kept the L134 and the Albino BN together in another tank but rearranged their caves and wood in hope Mr. BN will now have a different cave to call his home.

Are BN usually nasty? This guy is a beast, he can be quite nasty at times for no reason at all. He keeps it up he will find a new home.

So now will just let the L239 settle in to the new home and I hope he is out and about like he was in the QT tank.