flatfish

Sorry to hear about your loss. I had a similar thing happen several years ago and lost 6 small discus.

Sorry to hear you have to get rid of your fish. They are great looking cories. I used to have three of them. C. melanistius brevirostris is the same thing as C. brevirostris. It used to be known as a subspecies of C. melanistius but was later given full species status.

Hi Fishboi, try this link, http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/bre ... Bruno.html The names been used for three species of Hypostomus (L77, L137, L138). So yes it could be a rusty plec.

I recently owned some Corydoras brevirostris which I'm pretty sure were sold as black sail Cories. They are very similar to C. melanistius which are apparently sold as black sail Cories. http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_melanistius.php

Yeah Ian explained it better. There are 100s of species of plecs (or suckermouth catfish or Loracarids), of which Panaques are one sort, and there are a number of different species/types of Panaques. So as Ian said all Panaques are plecs but not all plecs are Panaques.

snookie Hope this makes sense. To quote from a popular online website "Plecostomus, pleco, or plec is a general name for a type of freshwater tropical Central and South American fish belonging to the family Loricariidae." The loricarids (also called suckermouth catfish) are generally elongate with a body covered in plates (except the belly), giving them an armoured appearance. There are over 600 species and a number are relatively common in aquariums; eg. common and redspot plecos, common bristlenose, whiptails, etc. The name may have originated from the common Plecostomus's scientifc name of Hypostomus plecostomus. There are a number of genera (the first part of the scientific name) in the family including Hypostomus (common pleco is a species in this genus), Glyptoperichthys (redspot is one of these), Ancistrus (bristlenose), Panaques (royal plec and flash plec), etc.

Flash plecs (L204). They were called this on an importers fishlist (and L204 was listed after the name, and photo). Probably the name they were brought as. It would be nice to see some consistancy in the use of flash plec. I've also seen them listed as zebra plecs.

Gorgeous looking fish, and one that I thought looked familar from a friends Aussie fishing photos. I've just looked it up in the book "Freshwater Fishes of Australia" and indeed it is a very sought after angling species known in Australia as the Gulf Saratoga, Scleropages jardinii (there's another species known as saratoga or spotted barramundi, S. leichardtl). Both species like hanging under floating vegetation such as water lillies and feed mainly on surface prey such as frogs, aquatic insects and crustaceans. Anglers often target them by casting soft plastic lures such as imitiation frogs at the gaps in the water lilies. They are suseptible to overfishing so they are often caught and released. They are usually solitary and territorial and spawn prior to the wet season when surface temps approach 30 C. Both species commonly grow to 55 cm but may get to 100 cm.

I was in Wonderworld (Rotorua) today and I'm pretty sure they had a large spotted Metynnis. Not as spotted as the previous link but that may just be the juveniles.

If anyones thinking of ordering from overseas online stores, just remember to take shipping into account, as it's usually very expensive. It's often worth asking if there's a cheaper rate as sending it by sea takes a while but works out a lot cheaper. There may also be charges (GST, import duty) that apply from customs.

After making a few stuffups myself, I think your best bet would be to purchase a bottle from a local gas supplier (a 5kg bottle in Wellington costs about $300) and then buy a CO2 regulator with solenoid, bubble counter, etc. from Trade Me for around the $200 mark. You could purchase the regulator from one of the overseas online stores but as you're aware there is more than one type of fitting used internationally and you need the right one. As for the diffusers there are a number on Trade Me or you could purchase them online as theres no problem with fittings. Ideally you'll need CO2 proof tubing as well as the normal stuff slowly leaks CO2.

Looks like a common pleco to me. According to a popular online site, they can handle pH's to 8.0. However, if you're thinking of placing it in an african tank, remember that many plecs require bogwood in their diet (apparently many of the good algae wafers have that covered) and enjoy hiding in it. Red spot plecs, Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, apparently can handle pH's to 7.8, so they might be worth a go. However they can grow to 45 cm. Some fancy plec species do come from South American rivers with remarkably high pH's. For example, flash plecs (L204) can handle pH's to 8.6 and apparently have been kept successfully in African tanks, although given their price and their fondness for bog wood (its an essential part of their diet and they love hiding in it) I dont know if I'd risk it. Probably safest to stick with the cheap species.

nice fish. Three of them must be quite a sight.

Hi Luke, yeah the flashs cost a bit but they are beautiful looking plecs, and I'm still hoping they'll eventually produce some offspring. I've got close to a spawn and the females still spending a fair amount of time at the males log, but starting to lose interest. I must admit gold nuggets are pretty hard to beat. They are very difficult, but not impossible to breed. Apparently Vires has breed (L018) several times.

I have the following. Suckermouth catfish 4 x Iquito tiger plecs (L226 - 2 males, 2 females) 4 x flash plecs (L204 - 1 male, 2 females, 1 juvenile ?male) 2 x ?mustard (spots are pink) spot pleco (LDA31 - 1 male, 1 female) 1 x royal plec (juvenile) 3 x Queen Arabesque plecs (1 male, 2 juveniles) 2 x ?king tiger plecs (L333, 2 juveniles) Corys 7 x C. leopardus 7 x C. sterbai 5 x C. metae 6 x C. schwartzi 3 x C. brevirostris

well the female was back at the log today but has been spending a bit of time away and is eating. I will continue with the RO changes for a few more days yet but I think she is beginning to get sick of the males reluctance to participate (she's not the only one). I suspect that she'll soon be resorbing the eggs into her system but you never know your luck. At least they were both well conditioned, she was keen for over a week, and any activities got to be promising for the future. The fact that she kept on coming back to the front of the log, even after several interuptions by me, suggests she was rather keen. I might try housing the male by himself for a while. He can stake out a territory and do his own thing. Then I'll introduce the two females. Should be interesting.

thanks for the food tips, sounds like your L226's like a bit of high protein as well. The female flash was scarred by the powerhead as I placed it about 20 cm from, and to one side, of her, at the bottom of the log as that's were all the actions been. She came back for a while but didn't seem to like the current flow which was fairly gentle. I dont think shes back yet but its hard to tell as the lights aren't on. She'd been sitting there for 11 days and may have been starting to lose her keenness anyway. It might be time to start think about a moving the group to a three foot tank where a 5% water change doesn't mean 20+ litres of water.

I have a young pair of LDA31's. The male is filling out nicely and there both putting on good size. They cost a bit but there fantastic looking fish.

just a few shots of my Panaques. I have a few species of corys as well and 5 Hypancistrus. male flash plec (L204 - he's a bit larger now) female Panaque changae (L226) and my favourite Panaque albomaculatus (LDA31) and my most recent addition, a royal - I think its a goldline

Just read an article on how to put photos in. Here's some shots of the flash plecs. The light levels are low but they still stand out well. Note how clean the log is and the female also looks fairly broad across the back. female at entrance to hollow log male and female I just tried introducing the powerhead again and again scarred her. Hopefully she'll be back in the morning but I think thats the last time I try introducing it.

I do have photos of the female at the log entrance but don't know how to post them on the site.

thanks for the advice Steve, I tried putting a small powerhead aimed at the cave two days ago and scarred the shit out of the female (not good). It took her quite a while to come back. I might give it another go. They are getting plenty of food in the evenings but I dont think they are doing a lot of feeding, at least not while the lights are on or shortly afterwards, when I normally often see them. As for food. They do love Hikari algae wafers and eat quite a few, and they will eat zuchini but don't appear to be overly fond of it (unlike my P. albomaculatus and P. changae which mow it down). They also not suprisingly eat heaps of bog wood. They do seem more omnivorous than my Panaque changae (L226), particularly I assume when they are conditioning up (the last few months). They primarily feed on algae wafers, but do eat any non-vege tucker I've tried them on (bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, discus tucker, shrimp pellets, flake, etc.), particularly the male which probably explains his awesome condition. While we're on the subject of food. Fishboi, what do you feed your P. changae on? Mine eats heaps of zuchini and algae wafers but dont appear to touch anything thats not vegetable matter. Any new suggestions, even other veges to try.

unfortunately I didn't have much choice on this one. The male has a ceramic cave thats made to fit his dimensions right beside his log and is not interested in it. And as I said I was planning on moving the group out shortly to try them in a three foot tank. If anything happens I can strip down the tank and remove most of the big occupants (discus) in a few minutes or lift the hood of and remove the log with the male inside (he usually wont leave it willingly when I've cleaned the tank out in the past). If the eggs are sticky I may get away with it.

I have 4 flash plecs that I got several months ago: a mature male - he's 12 cm long, 4 cm wide, and just over three cm high; two mature females, and a smaller fish which is possibly another male. They are in a six foot tank with discus and several corys. It used to be more heavily planted but recently I set it up for the plecs with heaps of bogwood and plenty of java fern and Anubias. The light levels are low and there is a large hollow log that the activities been happening around. I had planned on moving them to three foot tank to try breeding them but they had other ideas. Recently, I'm not sure exactly when, the male started a cleaning frenzy on his log and cleaned all excess algae/detritus from the outside and presumably the inside of the log. Last Monday one of the females took up a position at the log entrance. She been there ever since and although she frequently gets pushed away by the male she only moves a few centimetres then moves straight back. I've been trying to fake a wet season with daily water changes including more recently a 5% RO change each evening, increased water flow, extra airstones to increase the DO, and temperature drops but the male still wont let her in. She looks slightly swollen and I'm sure shes holding a batch of eggs. The second female can occasionally be seen very close to the log as well. Hopefully he'll decide to play ball shortly. Apparently a week is not unusual although its been a little longer. Any ideas?