CatBrat

Hey, Sorry for the late reply :oops: They usually sell for around $180 each, but I bought all of mine on special (not all at the same time either). They're not that hard to breed, so hopefully once they mature I might be able to make some money off them. So, does anyone keep these, or have you seen them in any LFS's? Cheers, CatBrat.

BTW, as Ira said thats not a catfish, it's a type of loach (I think). Cheers, CatBrat.

Hi everyone, I was just wondering wether anybody else in New Zealand keeps, or has seen any Queen Arabesque Pleco's (L260). This is one of my ones if you don't know what they look like... I am currently keeping 3 young ones, about 6cm, in a tank by themselves in the hopes of one day breeding them. I think that I have 1 male and 2 females, but as they are still quite young I'm not 100% sure. Cheers, CatBrat.

Caves are fine. I have the half coconut where it usually spawns, lots of drift wood, and also a tile cave the same as what my Common's spawn in. My pH is around 6.2 and temp around 26*C. On the weekend I decided that I would do one last "rainy" season water change and then just leave them to do their own thing and see if that helps. Cheers, CatBrat.

Well they still haven't spawned yet . I don't know why. The female has been full of eggs for a couple of weeks. I have done cool water changes, increased current, decreased current, changed its direction and have been feeding them a good range of food. The male just won't start fanning?!? Have you got any suggestions to get them to spawn? But I have put all my Common Bristle babies in the breeding traps and they see to be doing really well. Cheers, CatBrat.

LOL, thats great news Kim Cheers, CatBrat

I just got back form my LFS, and they were selling a whole bunch of Clown Killies. I ask the owner how much they were selling them for and he said that because they were so small that he would only charge me $3 each . So I bought all 8. Does anyone else keep these? Do they need any thing special? How do you spawn them? Cheers, CatBrat.

It depends a lot on the species. Species such as Hypancistrus sp. (Zebras (L046), Queen Arabesques (L260) etc.), usually max out at around 5 or 6 inches. Depending on the L no. Gold Nuggets (L018, L081, L085 and L177), which are Baryancistrus sp., are said to grow from a max of 7" (L081) to some that get over 14" (L018, L085). I'm not sure of the max size Blue Spot, but from what I've read species of Spectracanthicus stay relativly small. There are a lot of diffrent species of 'fancy pleco's' out there and their sizes can range from tiny, less than 4cm max (Otocinclus sp.) to over a meter (Acanthicus hystrix, Acanthicus adonis). Cheers, CatBrat.

It's not an Albino Pleco, it is a type of Bristle-nose (Ancistrus sp.), so it will only grow to 5 or 6 inch's. Cheers, CatBrat.

Sounds good Kim. I will try to get over there on Sunday. I've been meaning to come and check out the shop for ages :oops:. Cheers, CatBrat.

I have 1x canister, 6x internals, 1x HOB, and 1x DIY Sump running in my tanks at the moment. I think the canisters are the best. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hey Chris, I have a breeding pair of these, but I am having real trouble raising the fry. They don't seem to hard to get to spawn, but the fry seem to be much harder to raise than Common Bristle-noses. I keep my pair in a small breeding tank with a few bits of drift wood, a big bunch of Java Fern and half a cocnut shell in which they spawn. I have a old power head type thing that I have modified into a filter, which does appox. 300 litres an hour. My pair seem to spawn every 25 days and they lay around 30 eggs or so. I think the problem with my fry is that I have been leaving them in the spawning tank. Next time I will move them into my Common Bristle-noes grow out tank and see if I get better results. Kim should be able to give you some good advice for raising the fry. Cheers, CatBrat.

You could either get a black backing sheet from your LFS, or you could paint a piece of polystryene (spelling) and then stick that on the walls of your tanks (this also helps to insulate it). I wouldn't paint a tank that is already set up as the fumes may effect the water (I'm not 100% sure if it would though). Cheers, CatBrat.

Thats great Kim :hail: How many females do you have spawning? Just one? My pair seems to spawn every 25 days or so. Is this similar to your pair/group? Cheers, CatBrat.

Thats a Peppered Cory. They are schooling fish and prefer to live in groups of at least 6. How big is your tank? Cheers, CatBrat.

Congratulations!! Yes this is the colour that they normally are. Yes, the male will guard the eggs and the fry. The fry will first feed on their yolk sack and once they have consumed this you can feed them basically on what you feed the adults, ie. Flake food, Zucchini etc. Good luck with them, and remember to keep us posted. Cheers, CatBrat.

This is called Phosphoresence (spelling), which is caused by microscopic organisms. You think that looks neat, you should see the water behind a moving boat on a dark night.......Simply stuning!!! Cheers, CatBrat.

To condition them for breeding feed them a good variety of good quality food. Things such as frozen blood worms and daphnia, quality flake food, and vegetables such as zuchinni, brocolli stems, and things such as this. If they are a pair they should spawn ever 30-45 days if the are kept in the right conditions and feed the right foods. Cheers, CatBrat.

They should be ready at about 8cm, if not before. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hey steve slack, Welcome to the site . One of the eaisest catfish to breed is the Bristle-nose Pleco. If you don't like the looks of them you could try some species of Cory's, (say Bronze corys, or Peppered corys ect). Just ask if you want some more info. Cheers, CatBrat.

LOL, I'm not so sure that it is a male now, but I've had it for about 2 years. I was plannig on doing the same thing when I set up the shed properly (and when I get enough money).

Hey, I've done some research on this before... They are cave spawners (like bristle-noses) and need a flat cave for spawning. The cave dimensions I have come across said it should be six inches long by three inches wide by about one inch high. They lay broods of 50-120 eggs which take about 9-10 days to develop and hatch. The water should have a fast current and be slightly acidic for breeding. Sexing is quite difficult until the are sexually mature (but it is still quite hard as the females also get the pectoral odontodes), when the male will get much longer pectoral odontodes (spines on the pectoral fins), also males in spawning condition get red tips to their front pectoral fin spine. They are omnivores, but they prefer small insects and the like. If your conditioning them for breeding feed them thing such as blood worms, brine shrimp and daphnia along with algae tablets. Cheers, CatBrat.

Hey Jammos, Do you know what size range they are, and if they have any in stock? Do they ship their fish? Also, do they have a website? Cheers, CatBrat.

Are you talking about the Duck weed (the one with the small oval leaves) floating on the surface or the long 'stringy' one? I'm not sure what the large, 'stringy' one is. Cheers, CatBrat.

Great looking Cat's there AQUAMANX . L200 would have to be one of my favorite pleco's, just ashame there so expensive here :evil:. Cheers, Catbrat.