L129

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 20 Sep 2007, 14:53

Hi all,

I am thinking of buying a group of about 5-6 L129 I was wondering what you guys thought would be best for them would they be ok in a 2ft tank or would they need bigger????

What substrate is best Sand or Gravel or none????

How many caves for them 1 each or more????

Air pump in with them, or not???

Any thing else that would help would be greatly appreciated

I am hoping to eventually have a go at breeding these little guys as well

regards

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 20 Sep 2007, 15:11

A 2ft tank should be sufficient, as long as there is sufficient hiding spaces. Bigger is obviously better, as always!

I personally think sand is better than gravel which is better than bare-bottom. But I'm not entirely sure the fish finds much difference, except I have read posts by Janne who says that barebottom has detrimental effect on fry.

I would have several caves per fish, as you never really can predict which fish will like which cave. [I can't count the number of times I've added a cave thinkint "this will be perfect for ...", and the last fish to even look at the cave is the fish I intended it for]. I expect them to prefer stone/ceramic caves from wood, but I could be wrong [see previous statement].

Decent circulation is probably a good idea. Airpumps aren't necessary, but do help circulating water (particularly, they lift water from the bottom to the top, which helps gettting the oxygenated water from the top down to the bottom as a consequence - other methods of circulating water don't always achieve that).

Good luck on breeding.

--
Mats

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 20 Sep 2007, 15:24

Cheers Matsp

i think i will go for the sand then and possibly have a power head instead of an air pump.

7 caves per fish lol i was thinking maybe about 10 caves all together but suppose if there is a lot of caves they can choose which everone they want... you can garuntee that they will all want the same cave though

do you know of anyone that has bred these???
i know 2 people but the males kicked the eggs out the cave they have so far had 2 spawns

regards

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 20 Sep 2007, 17:12

I always include an airstone on all my tanks.

As the tank is usually a closed system with very small openings, an air pump supplies fresh, oxygenated air into the box.

I believe it really helps in keeping good water quality, which is important for Loricariids, especially if you want to breed them

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 20 Sep 2007, 17:13

Would you suggest an air stone and a power head then???

or just an air stone????

cheers

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 20 Sep 2007, 17:21

What filtration do you have planned?

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 20 Sep 2007, 17:33

i was just going to use a jewel rekon 70 with the internal filter and add a power head of some sort

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 20 Sep 2007, 18:17

Never used a Jewel filter, but I would add a powerhead too.

Get an adjustable one like one of the Eheim compact pumps, so you can crank it right up when you want to simulate the rainy season.

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalo ... -pumps.asp

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 20 Sep 2007, 19:51

I often pump air to a power head venturi when I use them in deep water( which is often). I use a power head driven sponge filter in most of my tanks and another sponge filter using the airlift.
This results in what I call a "bubbling brook" effect.

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:29

Thanks guys

i think i will get on of them pumps racoll they look good. do you have one of these your self???? are they good

i will defentaly have a power head in there then and an air stone in there then

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:49

I have two of those pumps, and I know racoll has at least one (because I saw pictures of it in one of his posts).

As you can see, there's not much difference in price between the least and most expensive model, and they are adjustable, so you may as well go for one of the bigger ones.

--
Mats

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:51

execellent what is your personal opinion of these????

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:57

I wouldn't buy a second one if I didn't think they were any good, would I.

Essentially, I think they do what the label says: pump water, and they don't take much space for the volume of water they move (Eheim Compact).

The only drawback is that they can suck in small fish and I have to clean the intake quite often, becasue bits of plants and stuff gets stuck there and the flow goes down. Racoll has been putting a bit of filter foam over the intake, which at least helps on the "sucking in small fish".

--
Mats

816johnv · Post by **816johnv** » 21 Sep 2007, 11:12

lol yeah it was a bit of a silly question.. think i will be ordering one of them then

thanks for all the help

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 21 Sep 2007, 19:56

Racoll has been putting a bit of filter foam over the intake, which at least helps on the "sucking in small fish".

This is correct.

They are good pumps, and as Mats said, cheap, powerful, compact and adjustable.

They do have a habit of falling off the glass sometimes when the suckers fail, but you will find that with any item of aquarium equipment with suckers.

Surely it not beyond the ingenuity of mankind to invent a sucker that stays stuck to the glass, perhaps like how you attach a satnav to a windscreen.