# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  Care of Peckoltia sp. L134

## Tangfan

*just ganna bitten by the pleco bug. saw 2 L134 & they were so cute could not resist buying them* 

*new to pleco keeping so can the pleco experts out there please advise. current setup:*

*1.5 ft x 1.5ft tank*
*sponge filter* 
*ada amazonia* 
*only the L134*
*feeding on algae wafer*

*I also heard from LHS that the L134 will be banned very soon like the L046, Is this true ? - if so must get more before the ban* 

*Thanks*

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## Don90

I heard L134 won't be banned because it is not a hypancistrus sp, but a peckoltia sp.

anyway, feed more meaty food. It isn't much of an algae eater. Try hikari carnivore.

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## celticfish

On a longer term basis I would change the ADA soil as it tends to breakdown after some time.
You can alternate between Hikari algae and canivore feed.
I find mine are not fussy between the two kinds.
While my L066 and L333 tends to go for canivore before going for algae wafers.
However, they do finish the food.

From what I know of the ban, all Hypancistrus have a blanket ban.
Pekolitia are not in the list but they may be affected by a new ruling that says only scientifically described species can be legally exported.
So scientifically described Hypancistrus that are not endangered can be exported.
Sadly most of the popular Hypancistrus L-numbers have not been scientifically described.

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## eeeeemo

i don't think L134 is as meaty as the hypancistrus too..
they take algae wafers much more willingly than my L046.

bought 6 myself recently too! cute as hell.
and the pieces i got really look leopardish..

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## Tangfan

hi all, thanks for claring the air

have bought hikari carnivore for them too but not eating up very well, how do i make them eat more?  :Confused: 

currently they are kept in a temp 1.5ft tank but i am setting up a 3ft for them. Some questions on this though

1) how many L134 can i keep in a 3ft x 1.5 tank? I intend to keep 6-8 pcs

2) how many shelters / should i provied for them?

3) can I keep them with tetras or apistos?

4) what is a good substrate / soil for them?

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## Tangfan

> i don't think L134 is as meaty as the hypancistrus too..
> they take algae wafers much more willingly than my L046.
> 
> bought 6 myself recently too! cute as hell.
> and the pieces i got really look leopardish..


eeemo, totally agree - my girlfirend also could not get enogh of them so setting up another new tank

my L134 are still quite small though about 4cm, saw a few bigger / nice ones at C328, very tempted to get. Hope small & big can mix.

Did you got yours from there?

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## eeeeemo

> hi all, thanks for claring the air
> 
> have bought hikari carnivore for them too but not eating up very well, how do i make them eat more? 
> 
> currently they are kept in a temp 1.5ft tank but i am setting up a 3ft for them. Some questions on this though
> 
> 1) how many L134 can i keep in a 3ft x 1.5 tank? I intend to keep 6-8 pcs
> 
> 2) how many shelters / should i provied for them?
> ...


hey mans, putting them in such a small temp tank, i hope you get your 3ft set up asap!

1) you can keep that number i guess. i keep 5 in a 60x30x36cm tank!!!! but with plenty of driftwood. i hardly get to see them except peeping through small holes.

2) it will be best if you can provide each with a cave as you do not know how many will take up. i am sure there will be some who just do not like caves at all.. i read for L134, females take caves up too. but really right.. every pleco is an INDIVIDUAL. i have a female zebra who takes a cave once in awhile but she breeds like any other female. i have males who only like driftwood. so far i have 3 L134s that like caves and 2 that likes driftwood. i provided them with 4 caves. USE PLENTY OF COVER to break territories, L134 are quite aggressive i think.

3) tetras yes! apistos might disturb the smaller pieces but most probably would not affect their feeding.

4) use inert substrate that is a) not sharp b) not glittery c) dark coloured. or you could use sand but use a very thin layer of sand. just enough so that their barbels can dig right to the bottom when they are just moving around on the ground.

soil breaks down fast, will become dust and clog your filter fine wool quickily. though it is good for bringing the ph down.




> eeemo, totally agree - my girlfirend also could not get enogh of them so setting up another new tank
> 
> my L134 are still quite small though about 4cm, saw a few bigger / nice ones at C328, very tempted to get. Hope small & big can mix.
> 
> Did you got yours from there?


yes! i got 5 of them from c328! was very lucky as the shipment/delivery arrived just before i reached c328. i was dropping by to buy some shrimps and was expected nothing in their pleco tanks. took a small peak just before paying for my shrimps and saw the larger ones with cool leopard spots!! =)
couldn't resist.

one thing i found out. they LOVE driftwoods. by looking at their poop. i can tell that they chewed quite alot of my wood as my feed is light yellow or red but their poop comes out very dark brown. the colour of the wood.

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## Tangfan

thanks man for the advice

I bought another 4 from C328 - yes they are too cute to resist & i have 6 now  :Grin: . Was not as lucky as you to be able to choose the ones with spots though. 

But I am running out of place so i have to scaled down to a 2ft tank and setting up today. Hope that the L134 will be ok though.  :Confused: 

Will be adding driftwoods + bogwood to the tank but not sure if they like bogwood though. Interesting that they love dirftwood as I have read that they are more of a carnivore.

Saw on the other thread that your L46 have spawned, Congrats man !!  :Well done:

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## Puffer

I have a pair (about 2.5")in my 2 feet bare bottom tank (not sure if it is a working pair though). I thought with bare bottom, I can maintain clean clear water with easily water change. Their poos are really alot man, and judging by what you have mentioned, yes, the colour is very dark brown. I feed them Hikari Carnivore pellets, Hikari Algae waffers, and NLS H2O stable waffers - 2 pellets a night alternate days. Frozen blood worms once a week. I put in a pair of sparkling gourami fry (about 1.5cm now) just to be safe on mosquito larvae issue. One of the L134s likes to hide in my driftwood 'caves' while the other like to be behind my internal filter. So I guess you are right to say that each individual has its own liking.

I would like to know, if any brothers have any experience or knowledge:

(1) since they munch on driftwood/bogwood, is it necessary to put in (or exchange) the wood regularly?

(2) how to know if it is a working pair? Like how is their behaviour like when in spawning mood? I have very active bristlenoses which eat openly in my other tank. I am wondering if I introduce the bristlenoses into this tank with these L134s, would it encourage them to come out of their shyness? I have this tank without lighting, only relying on my room light.

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## Morgan01

just joined the gang here. newly acquired today from PM

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## eeeeemo

looks stressed bro.
faded black stripes and sunken tummy!
flaring also. better watch out for it.

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## SCOPE

what i know is that they need some wood in their diet to help digestion purpose.....not really eating the wood....it will take a long long time for the wood to be used up....

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## Quixotic

> 2) how many shelters / should i provied for them?


I can't remember where I read this, but I seem to have a deep impression that the ratio of shelters to the plecos is 3:2. That is, provide 3 shelters for 2 plecos, so that they can choose 1 shelter each but if they don't like the shelter, they have an additional alternative to choose from. There is no right or wrong regarding this though.




> (1) since they munch on driftwood/bogwood, is it necessary to put in (or exchange) the wood regularly?


Wood is actually not necessary, they don't depend on wood as their required diet. Nevertheless, there is no harm in providing wood as they may eat some, which is probably good for their guts.




> (2) how to know if it is a working pair? Like how is their behaviour like when in spawning mood?


When the female is ready, she will inspect the male's cave(s). But you would need to ensure that you have a female in the first place (they are plumper) and provide the necessary triggers to induce spawning. Having a colony of them may work better.

Here is some information on spawning them, http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesw...article_id=241.

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## eeeeemo

hi

just to share my leopard print L134 =)

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## Tangfan

nice L134! lots of spots




> just joined the gang here. newly acquired today from PM


nice & cute fellow, where is PM?

update: have setup a 2ft x 1ft x1.5ft tank for them but still conditioning the tank. Have added about 10 cardinals to cycle it. So far cardinals are doing ok but it was a big mess when I shifted the ADA Amazonia soil over.

Included 1 internal filter with rain bar + 1 sponge filter, hope this is enough for filtration and oxygen.

Can anyone tell me whether L134 likes strong, medium or mild water flow? :Confused: 

Intend to add the 6 L134 into the tank this weekend. Thanks for the advice as they are eating well on the Hikari Canivore pellets. I also feed them some brine shrimps on and off.

Is it normal for L134 to flare their dorsal fins ?

Hope to post some photos when they are in the new tank.

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## Aquaculture

PM is Petmart located at Serangoon North.

I've added a L134 last week or so. Its lost in my heavily planted 422 and would not come out even meal time. Any suggestion to lure it out? Seriously I don't even know if its dead or alive.

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## khtee

off the lights at night and use small beam torchlight. Wait for them to come out. They are afraid of the lights so *don't* shine directly at them. Another way is pull out all the plants.  :Razz:  just kidding.

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## Puffer

I've lost one and the other is suffering from bloated stomach :Sad: . Currently, I've housed it in a hospital tank with heater and ketapang leaves. The bloatedness seems to have subsided this morning. I'm wondering what could have caused this:

(1) water quality - I have wc 30% every 2-3 days.
(2) food - recently I've been feeding 2-3 hikari carni pellets and only noticed the lost of appetite the last 2 days (uneaten pellets left overnight turned powdery). Perhaps the pellets broke down and made the water turned worse. I could have fed too much meaty food.
(3) wood - I haven' been washing the driftwood and when removed yesterday, I realised there was a layer of brownish slimy stuff on the wood. Perhaps the fish have been deprived of munching the wood to aid digestion of their guts.
(4) other reasons - ??

Learning from my mistakes. Hoping for the best.

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## illumnae

Internal parasites could be a cause. Try treating with Metronidazole and/or Praziquantel (the former can be found in Miracle baby MQ4 from C328, just ask auntie for MQ4...a combination of both can be found in Jungle Labs Internal Parasite Guard, again at C328...new stock just arrived this week)

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## Puffer

Thanks Bro. But I've heard that plecos in general do not take in medications readily? Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe worth a try, but I'll like to have opinions from you all who are more experienced.

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## luenny

Hmm ... what else do you feed your L134? Only hikari carnivore pellets? When I put both carnivore pellets and algae wafer together in the tank, my L134 usually go for the algae wafer first.

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## Puffer

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I feed them Hikari Carnivore pellets, Hikari Algae waffers, and NLS H2O stable waffers - 2 pellets a night alternate days. Frozen blood worms once a week.

My pair would go for carni pellets more readily.

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Like Luenny, my L134s also prefer algae wafers, but they finish up all kinds of food that I feed them with as well, such as carni pellets, frozen bloodworms, NLS pellets, brine shrimps etc. I find that L134s are more active in seeking out food as compared to other plecos, hence slightly more enjoyable to watch especially during feeding time.

A picture of one of my L134s:

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## Aquaculture

How I wish mine wasn't so shy... Have got to try the lights off method.

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## luenny

My L134 is getting less shy. They are coming out more often when the lights are on too. Here's a picture of one of them feeding with the cories.

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Luenny, your leopard frog looks well fed! Mine can be very greedy too, handsome looking piece you've got :Well done:

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## luenny

Thanks clint, yours looks very nice too. At first the black and white stripes makes me think it's a zebra.

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## iwishweallcouldwin

> Thanks clint, yours looks very nice too. At first the black and white stripes makes me think *it's a zebra*.


Haha that's what I bluff myself into thinking every time I look at my tank :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

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## Aquaculture

How long did yours take before it becomes less shy Luenny? 

I caught a glimpse of mine at the moment the lights turned on then it swam away... got to ambush it with my camera the next time round. Just hopefully it goes to the same spot.

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## luenny

Hmm ... I think a week?  :Grin:  I only have them for less than 2 weeks.  :Laughing:  I guess with 50 corydoras swimming around, it really helps them to feel safer.

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## Tangfan

luenny, lucky you no wonder your L134 is swimming around happily.

I have 6 of them in my 2ft tank & i can only catch glimpses of them moving here & there and sometimes during feeding.

Heard that a big batch of wild discus is coming in, wonder if they are a good companion for L134 ?

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## Aquaculture

Only a week? Really envy you. I've have mine for 2 weeks, 3 days and its still hiding. Got my camera out to try to ambush it at the same spot I saw the night before but it wasn't there. Haiz...

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