Leopard Frog Pleco

[toddnbecka]

The pic makes it look a little like an albino channel cat I saw once that had been in a tank treated with methylene blue. It dyed the catfish a very nice shade of light blue. Most of it wore off, but the fins stayed blue.

 

[makemineirish]

I love these guys and currently have a single pair that I picked up at my favorite LFS. You may already know this, but in case you don't:

L134 are listed as "omnivorous", but skew much more heavily to the carnivorous end of the spectrum. Wafers don't excite them much, nor will they play the standard pleco role of clearing out your algae. That being said, I still feel that they are a great addition (given appropriate tank conditions). Their smaller size and at maturity and relatively peaceful nature makes them an option for more aquarists.

I am actively on the lookout for another pair to add to a different tank, but have only seen them for sale online in groups of six or more.

PS-For those of you comparing prices, my local (Austin, TX) LFS had them priced at $65, but offers an annual membership for $25. It gives me 15% off freshwater purchases, knocking these guys down to $55.25 + tax.

The fact that the membership paid for itself the day I bought it should clue you in to the fragility of my sanity.

 

[toddnbecka]

I didn't pay more than $25/each for any of mine, picked up 2 groups of juvies and a stray single at different times. I've seen outrageous prices for proven breeding pairs or trios, prefer to pay less $$ for more younger fish and wait for them to mature. Takes a year or two for them to reach sexual maturity, but that's still faster than Hypancistrus.

 

[makemineirish]

Agreed.

Mine are not a proven breeding pair and are still juveniles, despite the pricetag. I like these guys enough that it is one of the species I intend to stock in both South American tanks that I am working on. I found them slightly cheaper online (6 for $240), but not once you factor in shipping costs.

The seller did not have any other species on my wish list to make the shipping fee economical. Nor would he select for gender. Realistically, I don't need that many and would prefer not to have them from the same clutch. While breeding is not the key objective, I have had respectable success with other species in community tanks in the past simply by keeping everything happy. I think the larger tank sizes give me an advantage there.

These are one of the species that I would actually make an effort to "trigger" spawning. I have one pair in the 150g and would like to find another pair or trio to add to the 220g.

 

[makemineirish]

Where did you get yours from? If they have anymore available, $25/ea might incite me to pay a shipping fee....especially if they had anything else on my planned stock list.

 

[toddnbecka]

I got the groups shipped from a couple different people who had bred/raised them, the single turned up at a local cichlid club auction. Spencer Jack was the speaker, and brought 2 of them down from Canada. I really didn't need another one, but since it wasn't getting bid up too high I couldn't resist. When someone posts them f/s at that price they sell out pretty quickly, usually a week or less. I haven't seen any listed recently, just jumped on those when I saw them. It was about a year between the 2 groups, the first ones are looking more like adults now, the younger ones are growing but still need another year.

 

[Aqua dude18]

Wow there nice I have a small group and they are still quite young so they are very shy. I've noticed one of them are bright white and black

 

[bettaowner]

I need to get one of those plecos.

 

[San Raphael Catfish]

Very nice. I would love one. Have not seen one here.