L134 and L333 Pleco special

[Apistomaster]

Here are some photos of the F1 Plecos I have on sale until April 15.
Buy 6 and get one more free.
Reserve the special price buy a $50 deposit
Shipping/postage is extra. We will decide together when the weather is safe to ship.
Normal prices are 6 L134 Leopard Frogs for $240; this sale get 7 for the same price as 6.
Normal prices are 6 L333 for $150; this sale get 7 for the same price as 6.
Some new photos of the Plecos for sale.
Here are 2 photos of the L333's.

These are 3 photos of the L134 aka Leopard Frog Plecos.
The one one the right has some of the fine river sand sprinkled on him; it is not Ich.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Very nice Larry, they look lovely healthy fish. L333 (Hypancistrus sp) & L134 (Peckoltia sp.) are two of the most sought after L No.s in the UK (now wild fish aren't being exported under IBAMA), and you would have people besieging your house to get them.
cheers Darrel

 

[Apistomaster]

Hey Darrel,
Thanks for the compliments.
I have received a good response to my little pleco sale. Interestingly about half are being bought by Discus keepers an the balance to pleco specialists.
I have long used them as beautiful supplementary bottom feeders that need the same food and water temperatures.

I know that wild fish wholesale prices in Manaus is about US$12.50 per fish but many orders are not filled but in other cases the supply is being more thinly divided among all the big buyers. There are a few breeders of L134 in the USA but not enough to fill the demand.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
A lot of people keep (particlarly L134) with their Discus here too, but all the smaller "black and white" plecs are really sought after.

I belong to a UK forum ("Plecoplanet") and the ratio between people wanting them and selling them is probably 10 buyers to each seller.

cheers Darrel

 

[Apistomaster]

Hi Darrel,
That s interesting. It know that since Brazil banned the exports of their native Hypancistrus species a few years ago. like L333. L260 and L66 to list just a few, it has been very rare to find anyone selling wild fish. It was a decision that was made without much fore warning so a lot of potential breeders missed thjeir last chances to get wild ones. And now the fishing pressures on the still legal to export Peckoltia sp L134 has increased to the point where exporters are not fully filling their customers' orders, the fish that are coming through now cost much more than they did a few years ago and there has been some discussion that at least the Peckoltia L134's may be added to the list.
The exports of Hypancistrus spp L333 and L66 may be allowed again soon but no official announcement from Brazil's IBAMA, their interior/fish and game dept,
has been issued. The majority of the cool Hypancistrus come from the Rio Xingu most famous for the L46 Zebra plecos. Unortunately, plans are becoming a reality, The Belo Monte Hydroelectic dam will begin construction and this is almost certain to drive the Zebra Plecos to extinction. They are only found in the area immediately around Altimira. Some of the other species may are better. L333 and L66 are pretty adaptable fish and large specimens have pretty large sized broods 40 to 70. They are also more readily bred than L134. I have some of my first F1 L134 which are now about 2-1/2 years old and I am trying to see if I can breed them at this age. I had my wild caught breeders over two years before they spawned and they were already about 2-3/4 inches when I got them. Now I have had my small breeding group for 5 years but just a couple weeks ago I got my first brood of what is the beginning of my 3rd breeding season. Unfortunately I lost one of my 3 females last winter. She was hiding in a crevice in a piece of wood I removed and I did not notice until a dried L134 fell out of that wood. That means I will only raise 2/3 as many fry as I have in the past unless my F1 Group begins to spawn but I don't think that is likely. However, I do think I was able to sex my oldest fish so maybe they are capable and maybe being tank bred will make them easier. They seem to have a definite spawning season My L134 have begun spawning within plus/minus 2 weeks from March 1st for 3 years and both the 1st 2 spawning seasons ended the same way around Sept 1st.
The L333 seem to spawn the year around.
I'm glad I am not having to buy any new wild plecos. The parasite problems and high losses among the newly imported fish is a pain and makes the survivors very expensive. They not only often are sick but their problems sometimes spread to plecos I already had. I really did not enjoy those first experiences during the phase of collecting enough to make up breeding groups. They are all harem spawners like many Apistogramma spp except it is the male that cares for the eggs and fry. I like to set up 2 trios in a 20 long for the smaller species. I have 3 males and 4 females of the L333 set up in a 40 breeder tank. They are able to get as large as a large adult common Bushy Nose. Big males may exceed 4-1/2inches. My largest male L134 is only about 3-5/8 or maybe 1/8 inches more. Still well under 4 inches in total length.
These plecos are great in Discus or any SA warm water tank because they do best when maintained around 84 to 86*F. But because they will take over any cave, you wouldn't want to keep any pleco with any cave spawning Dwarf Cichlids you really want to breed. Their most determined defense of a nest will not deter any hard shelled pleco catfish.