Gold Nugget Pleco

[caseynewton]

Have a 90 gallon tank and gold nugget pleco has caught my eye. Any fellow GNP owners? Recommendations before I purchase one? And recommendations on where to purchase on, it seems like everywhere is sold out. Are they seasonal?

 

[phatpaul]

I dont know much about them, but I do think there meat eaters not algae or vegetable so make sure if you get one that you get sutible food for him/her

 

[reefdiver]

Try liveaqueria. The shipping maybe expensive though.

 

[Patterson333]

Don't know where you're located (iPhone app doesn't show that), but I've seen three different stores in South Florida with them in stock. Gorgeous looking pleco, and I asked one of the employees and they said that they're diligent algae eaters, but that their diets need to be supplemented by having some driftwood in the aquarium that they could kind of suck on (I had never heard that before, but this girl seemed really knowledgeable)

 

[severum mama]

Gold nuggets are not great algae eaters and need a lot of protein in their diet. They have a pretty dismal survival rate in captivity and I really think they are best left in the wild. If you can find an orange seam pleco, they look almost identical, but are easier to keep and stay smaller than the GN. I don't remember the L numbers offhand or I'd share.

 

[Fishguy2727]

I wouldn't buy them online if you can avoid it. They can be seasonal since most are wild caught. Let your LFS know you want one and see how long it will take for them to get them in. Ideally you see it eat and it doesn't have a sunken belly. If you are stuck getting one online I would only get one from a very high quality source with great reviews, ideally with pictures of the individual you will be receiving.

They love driftwood and lots of flow. This doesn't mean the whole tank has to be like a mbuna or reef tank, but a lot of flow in an area it can hide and catch it is ideal. Mine gets New Life Spectrum exclusively.

 

[Patterson333]

Gold nuggets are not great algae eaters and need a lot of protein in their diet. They have a pretty dismal survival rate in captivity and I really think they are best left in the wild. If you can find an orange seam pleco, they look almost identical, but are easier to keep and stay smaller than the GN. I don't remember the L numbers offhand or I'd share.

Good to know, my lfs told me they were good algae eaters (maybe they just wanted to make the sale) and I was actually really close to buying one bcz of that, but luckily I ended up going with a bristlenose instead and he's got quite the appetite =)

 

[caseynewton]

Thanks everyone.

 

[phatpaul]

Good choice iv got bns I find them alot easier to have as the eat vegetables and algae wafers and they stay a nice manageable size for Aquarians. And also they are fairly easy to breed so later on you could get another and try and pair them up : )

 

[caseynewton]

Update: Ended up with a peppermint pleco. :Update