Hoplo not moving

[henry1245]

Hi all,

Me again!!

I got a Hoplo catfish at the weekend (along with a pleco and platy) but the Hoplo hardly moves... It just sticks it's head on a plant and looks dead... When I went to remove the 'dead' fish it came to life, however all it seems to do it lie still in or on a plant looking dead... Is this normal Hoplo behaviour?

Thanks!

Henry

 

[Rokuzachi]

Which kind of Hoplo is it?

I have three H. littorale, and when they are not active they sort of perch themselves on/under decor and just chill out for a while. They've been doing this since I got them, so I assume it's their resting state. They always come to life when they see me, or when a piece of food passes close enough for them to smell. I figure as long as they "wake up" to eat they're probably fine.

 

[henry1245]

I'm not sure to be honest, it was labelled simply as Hoplo catfish in the store.. Sounds like similar behaviour to yours, I'll get some algae pellets tomorrow and see if dropping one of those in wakes him up!

Thanks for your help!

 

[Rokuzachi]

Does he look like this? (littorale)

Or this? (punctatum)

Or this? (thoracatum)

Or this? (magdalenae)

I've been feeding mine NLS Thera +A for two months now and they go totally nuts over it. If i hold it at the surface they'll come up and propel themselves half way out of the water to get it off my fingers.

Prior to that they took Hikari wafers and shrimp pellets. I think they'll eat pretty much anything - and a lot of it. What size tank do you have him in right now?

 

[henry1245]

Does he look like this? (littorale)

Or this? (punctatum)

Or this? (thoracatum)

Or this? (magdalenae)

I've been feeding mine NLS Thera +A for two months now and they go totally nuts over it. If i hold it at the surface they'll come up and propel themselves half way out of the water to get it off my fingers.

Prior to that they took Hikari wafers and shrimp pellets. I think they'll eat pretty much anything - and a lot of it. What size tank do you have him in right now?

It's a thoracatum, about 1.5"... I've only got flake at the mo so am going to make a trip to the store and get some other food this weekend!

 

[Rokuzachi]

Very nice! I haven't seen one of those in ages at a LFS. Just the H. littorale (probably because these are coming out of Florida now too) and even they have been hard to find in my area.

Any chance of some pictures?

 

[henry1245]

I'll try and get some tonight (if he keeps his head out of the plants long enough!), how do I post pics on here?

 

[Rokuzachi]

You can just upload the files with the "Manage Attachments" button down below the advanced post box, in the "additional options" area.

 

[henry1245]

Cheers, will upload a pic this evening...

 

[henry1245]

Sorry, the pics aren't very clear - rubbish iPhone camera! will get some proper pics of my tank & fish this weekend...

 

[Rokuzachi]

What a cute little guy!

I'd loooove to get one of them if I could find them. I think Hoplos are one of the most underrated (or possibly least known of) but great bottom feeders that can populate a wide range of tank sizes dependent upon which member of the genus it is. It's a pity that, at least in the three cities I've lived in over the past 10 years, that their appearance in LFS' seems to have declined from what it was in the 90's.

 

[henry1245]

can you not buy them online?

 

[Rokuzachi]

Probably, but I generally don't order fish online. Nothing against it, I just like to pick out my fish in person and give the LFS' some business.

 

[henry1245]

Yeah, it does kind of take the fun out of going and buying a new fish!

I wasn't even aware you could order fish online until earlier this week!

My LFS is pretty standard, Mollys, Platys & Guppies, with nothing too fancy, however it's my first tank so good to start with (moving house this year so will have room for a massive tank soon!)