I recently bought a gold nugget pleco at the local fish store, and I must admit, like a number of my other fish, it was an impulse buy. I don't know much about these types of fish, and would like some basic info on them. He is currently in a 29g with a female con, and some baby creations of mine. There is driftwood in the tank, and he seems to have made a home there. What types of food should I feed him? How big will he get? I've heard that there are more than one type of pleco is reffered to as the gold nugget?
I bought a gold nugget pleco?
- Thread starter xEchOx
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I think a Gold Nugget was my first "Fancy" pleco too. There are three types L-18, L-81, and my fav., L-177. They eat just about anything. Mine get sinking shrimp and carnivore pellets, assorted veggies (squash, zucchini, potatoes, yams, lima beans, etc..etc..) and raw seafood. According to the Aqualog L Book, they all get about 30cm, though I've never seen one bigger than 6".
jconley;658913; said:
Well heres a picture of a good sized one (below). There is a lot of information on the site on the Baryancistrus sp. 'gold nugget', and if you use the search there are a lot of threads about them. Firstly, cause common names dont mean anything in the pleco world, check that what you have is one of these - explains the 4 L numbers given to each pleco (small, mediumx2, and big spot): http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22382&highlight=gold+nugget
In the wild they sift and chew at the film of organic matter on hard surfaces in search of higher protein foods such as insect larvae, eggs and small crustaceans, along with eating any dieing vegetation and decaying animals. These are omnivorous, but leaning very much to the protien based foods, and you can try many of the foods suggested in the pleco dietry needs thread sticky. I feed mine mysis, prawn, but they love worms like bloodworms. They love the insect larvae. They need shelter, like a cave or some holey bogwood etc. Many GN's need fattening up a lot and have sunken stomach, they seem quite prone to internal parasites. Offer lots of protein foods, which should make up a large proportion of diet. Do best in well oxygenated water, with some flow, and a pH around 6.5-7, but can adapt, so long as it isn't fluctuating.
WyldFya;660348; said:
Lol, sure. I'll post when I get home. How fast do they grow? I also just read chile relleno's article on feeding plecos (excellent info) and I've tried feeding algae wafers, and sinking pellets, and even veggies, but pretty much anything that hits the water is eaten by the oscars. The leftover stuff is usually eaten by the cats or SD's. How should I get food to my guy?
You could try feeding him after the lights are off. Also, I just started using Somethingfishys' idea of spearing all the food on a stainless steel BBQ skewer. The skewer acts as a weight. So far it's working well.