Gold Nugget Pleco

just a tip

you shouldn't buy the submerged wood...
its not bad or anything but the cuts are really plain
look for malaysian driftwood if ur petco has it and you'll find much better looking pieces of wood :)
 
I was going to buy a gold nugget but then I found this picture lol
I also found another picture and it was huge but I couldn't find that one to link too...
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?image_id=5820
I also thought his coloring was too close to my bn and I wanted something different looking so I am holding out for a clown.
I too read that they can be aggresive to other pleco's so I couldnt' get one anyway because I already had a pleco.
 
i read that there gold color goes awy when they get older
 
yeah i saw that there are a few spiecies put in to this common name or just one is it the same as the golden sunburst pleco?
 
not sure what the golden suburst is, but there are several L#'s for gold nuggets. L18, L81, L177, L85. Personally, I find them difficult to tell apart; especially at the larger sizes. L81 is distinctive with its small spots, but the others look very similar. I think that L85 is just the adult version of L18. Check planetcatfish for more info.

Care is pretty much the same for all, though. Just keep them warm and feed a primarily protein-based diet with veggies thrown in often. I think L81 tends to stay the smallest, but they're all "medium" plecs as adults.
 
I'll agree that they grow slowly. However, growth can be sped up if you simulate their natural habitat. In the wild, plecos get a constant supply of clean water because they live in rivers. This is especially true for gold nuggets, other baryancistrus and hypansictrus who live in fast, warm water. They also graze all day on algae, invetebrates, and the high protein film coating their environments. I would guess that a plec grows faster in this environment than in the standard home aquarium.

So, if you keep your water warm (82-ish), clean (very low nitrates), and leave some food to graze on constantly, you should get better growth. It would help if your GN doesn't have competition for food (i.e. other aggressive fish like cichlids), too.
 
Hmmm, never thought it could be because of environment. The water is at 80-81, NItrates never above 5, weekly cucumber halves implanted with NLS and shrimp pellets. It takes him 2/3 days of constant eating to finish the cucumber, the other 2/3 days he spends munching on driftwod. I don't mind his slow growth though, as long as its not a sign of disease/malnutrition.
 
cucumber is basically worthless for nutrition. Try zuccini instead. Also, I would replace it each day so that it does not rot. Trying to digest rotten food constantly may inhibit growth. Just a theory, anyway. It can't be good for the water, anyway. Also, GN's are more carnivorous than herbivorous. Officially they're omnivorous with a tendency to prefer more meat. I throw cocktail shrimp at mine and they love it. Brine shrimp, worms, and mysis, too.
 
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