Queen Arabesque info...

[rjl420]

I just picked one of these guys up, I've only kept commons before, but I've wanted a smaller, nicer looking pleco for ages and I finally found one.

he/she's in a 35 gallon planted tank with

dwarf puffers
harlequinn rasboras
ottos

I have several good peices of driftwood for munching on and I usually feed zuchini/lettuce or other veggies once/week.

can anyone give a rundown on what to expect/provide to allow it to flourish? am I correct to assume they don't eat plants for the most part? how about some sexing info?

 

[optix]

Was your L-260 wild caught??

EDIT: lol oh yeah heres the page for your info http://www.planetcatfish.com/ilibrary/loricari/hypancis/229_f.htm

 

[rjl420]

I don't know if it was or not. they only had 3 others and they ranged in size from 2.5" (the one I got) to almost 3.5 inches. if I had to guess I'd say wild caught since it doesn't look like they were raised at the same time. does it matter? kinda like puffers with internal parasites or something?

edit: oh yea, thanks for the link, I can never find anything at PC lol

 

[optix]

Usually wild caught means stronger genes along with the fact you can say I have an F0 L260. Thats always cool

 

[JnS]

how much did they cost you?

 

[rjl420]

$25 @ petsmart of all places lol

 

[optix]

Hmmm im thinking its not wild caught if you got it from petsmart. No big deal though.

 

[rjl420]

doesn't really matter to me, but from what I see there, i think they are getting them from someone local. doesn't seem to be a regular tag as far as petsmart tags go, just a peice of paper with the price.

 

[optix]

hmmm could very well be. Guess we'll never know. Its a beautiful fish either way.

 

[mokmu]

I feed them mostly tetra pellets. Some frozen bloodworms from time to time. They don't really rasp on driftwood but mostly hide under it.

Sexing is easy. Normally the females have all white underbellies. Unfortunately, sometimes submissive males also have "white"underbellies. If this is the case then check for the odontodes on the cheeks. If they are well defined then they will be male. To finally check for females, look at the size of the belly. The female will have a fuller belly and will be much rounder if viewed from the top.

Of you are certain to have a female and a few males, just have a small 20 gal tank and point some current to a cave which you have provided. As long as the cave has only one opening and will fit only one fish at this entrance/exit. They are surprisingly easy to breed. Well, that's my point-of-view and I'm not really an expert on fish to begin with. So imagine my surprise.