L333 Catfishes

[Mick John]

G'day all, I'm just starting to set up a tank for my L333's. Long term I'm hoping to get a few pairs out of them and essentially breed them. I've puchased a 4ft tank which holds about 180Lt and am going to use a canister filter and an Aquaclear 300 for proper circulation etc.. I was thinking of using a fine sandy substrate. And obviously timber. These are primarily cave dwellers and essentially carnivorous. Does anyone have any tips that may improve the success of my goal? Or know much about these beautiful creatures? Much appreciated. Mick John.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[cichlidboy]

i don't think they are known to pair up?
just kick into the breeding mood.
do their stuff then go their seperate ways.
but i've never really looked into it much.
I've been wanting to breeding L number catfish myself for a while.
just never had enough money to kick start the plan.

good luck!
TJ

[Mick John]

Thanks for that Mate. Yeah I have my finger's crossed that all goes well. Cheers.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[bluey]

you'll need plenty of caves and they dont breed that easy. Also tend to have less fry and they can be hard to raise. give it ago.
BTW I make custom size slate caves, msg me if your interested

[wombat1100]

now i think we all would like to see some pics of those Bluey;)

[bluey]

http://www.thefishtank.com.au/gallery/files/1/9/7/cave3.jpg

[bluey]

the caves above were for someone with L046 (true!) the one below was for a sailfin plec
8cmx8cmx28 L:eek:
http://www.thefishtank.com.au/gallery/files/1/9/7/largecave_edited.jpg

[wombat1100]

well they aren't what i thought they would look like!
amazing the different places fish will breed, I'm glad u showed us pics , i have my lesson for the day!

[bluey]

There are specfic sizes for different types and sizes of catfish. It has been well researched by breeders and does make a difference. Even non breedingfish will appreciate a cave to hide in.

[Mick John]

Thanks Bluey. I'll keep that in mind but at the moment they are all still quite young and have plenty of hollow logs to hide in. I've been doing some research and some of these Ancistrus Species can be hard to ID as they have very similar features. I now believe that the Catfish I have are possibly the L401's! Apparently the L401 are being called sometimes the L333 "Alanquer" type. All very confusing and even harder to properly ID as there are a few of these Ancistrus L number's that are quite similar. Apart from the L46's of coarse. But I don't have the multiple thousands for them. But the L401's are still very nice and around here they are considered very uncommon. I'll see how I go anyways. Keep you posted as they age. Cheers Mate.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Mick John]

Me again. Just wanted to correct the name I gave these fish as said above. It's the Hypancistrus Family. I haven't been able to find much on the L401's breeding habits but considering that they have the same diets, PH I'm guessing much the same as the others. Although if they are in fact the L401's they apparently like the water temperature between 22 and 27 degrees Cel. as apposed to the L333 which are around 27-32! Apparently.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[tomm]

Hi Mate,

Do you have anypics? Will help to sort out iD?

L333 or L401 are lovely L's

[Mick John]

G'day Tomm. Thanks for the offer mate. I don't have any photo's at this stage but just bought another 5x L333 from another Breeder (Should be diff. Bloodline) and they look exactly the same so at this stage I'm leaning towards the L333. I'll wait until they mature a bit more and put them under scrutiny to see if there are any differences amongst them. They are mostly around the 3-5cm mark at the moment. Thanks Mate.http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[kfenk]

wow they must have set you a fair price. theres a L333 for sale at a LFS near me and they want $280 for it. as much as i love my catfish, thats a little much for my liking