Help With L81 Gold Nugget Pleco

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duragon

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Jan 16, 2010
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Hi.. I just bought a L-81 Gold Nugget Pleco today, and so far hes been hiding behind the filter intake, or stuck to the back glass out in the open since he was introduced to the tank. I know hes only been in there a few hours, but the other plecos I've gotten have immedately gone into hiding and/or started looking for food.

Should I be worried?
 

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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I would just give him more time to adjust to his new home. This behavior doesn't indicate a problem with the pleco. Keep us posted on his acclimation.
 

duragon

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Jan 16, 2010
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I have another piece of cucumber in there. Today I noticed him rasping on the wood and back glass a bit, but still sitting behind the filter intakes and heater. It is pretty shy and when I shine the flashlight on it, it takes off. Its stomach looks a bit sunken in to me which I've read is bad.

The last one I had lasted.... 6-8 months and became bloated and died. I was told that it was because I fed him too much protein via algae wafers and shrimp pellets. I hope this one makes it, he really is pretty. I glad that he is rather shy though, as at the end of the last ones life he was in the open always. It was similar to what this one is doing, but not the same.
 
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Here is an interesting quote from Ingo Seidel's "Back to Nature Guide to L-Catfishes in the section on feeding. It is the part regarding the feeding of the highly specialized Aufwuchs feeders:

In the wild the central Amazonian species as well as those from the upper orinoco drainage inhabi very warm shallow-water zones with a strong current and feed all through the night. In the aquarium, however, they frequently receive food only once a day and are also generally kept at too cool a temperature. Species like the very popular "Golden Nuggets" (Baryancistrus sp. 'Lo18', 'L081', 'L177') for example, usually respond to this by a complete standstill in their growth. Even after years of captive maintenance under these conditions they frequently remain unnaturally small. In the worst case scenario they may also become emaciated and sooner or later die.

For this reason it is important to feed these out-and-out vegetarians several times per day (at least twice) with a diet consisting predominantly of vegetable foods. Suitable foods include many types of vegetable, for example, lettuce, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, sweet peppers, carrot, potato and many more. Even if this food has to be weighted down with pebbles, a piece of non-rusting metal, or similar, it offers the major advantage that it is available to the fishes throughout the day and they can feed on it continuously in accordance with their natural habits.
From page 34 of the English language edition.
 

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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I would offer zuchinni rather than the cucumber. Zuchinni is more readily accepted by these feeders than cucumber is. Soften it just a bit in a bowl of water in the microwave, and push a fork thru it and place it on or in the gravel. Try to place it in an area that is a bit hidden from view so that the pleco isn't frightened to come out in the front of the tank. I keep the slices in the tank for 24 hours. What temp do you keep you tank at?
 

authmal

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Aug 4, 2011
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I would offer zuchinni rather than the cucumber. Zuchinni is more readily accepted by these feeders than cucumber is. Soften it just a bit in a bowl of water in the microwave, and push a fork thru it and place it on or in the gravel. Try to place it in an area that is a bit hidden from view so that the pleco isn't frightened to come out in the front of the tank. I keep the slices in the tank for 24 hours. What temp do you keep you tank at?
+1. I've been experimenting. My BN gets all :perv: when he finds the zucchini (I usually veggie clip it raw). He'll nibble at cucumber (raw), broccoli stalks (blanched), and watermelon (raw). But definitely goes nuts over the zucchini. And the shrimp that try to get a taste of the zuke? Better watch themselves, or they'll get tail slapped away.
 

duragon

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Jan 16, 2010
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Ok, Ive got zucchini in there, but the other fish are all over it. I'll try to move it to a more hidden spot and adding a new piece for the other fish. I feed my fish NLS sinking pellets 2x a day, and leave the zucchini in there over night. I hope he makes it.

My temp is at 81F currently.

He seems to be looking for food. Every now and then I will catch him rasping on the glass, which I guess is good.
 

pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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Your temp is good. They are mostly vegetarian so he will often be cleaning the biofilm from the tank glass and all things in the tank. You do have to be careful with too much protein in some of these vegetarian plecos. I breed L144's and I've learned all about how sensitive mine are to protein levels in food. So zuchinni is a staple for mine. The fry have it 27/7. Messy, but necessary. The other staple food I feed is Ken's veggie sticks. They do like algae wafers but most algae wafers contain more protein than you would imagine, so I feed that sparingly. The gold nugget is mostly nocturnal. Do you have a piece of driftwood in the tank big enough that he can hide behind? That is what they like to do.
 

Arakkis

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Apr 7, 2008
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I'm a lazy one so I give mine carrots because they sink =)
 

duragon

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Jan 16, 2010
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Yes, there are several wood piles etc in the tank. Only 1 is occupied by another pleco.
 
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