Breeding pair in small tank

[AussieSam]

Hey guys,

Ive recently scored myself a nice little 65L tank that is going in a very nice spot in my house.

Now I've got a bunch of L's in my shed that I'm trying to breed, and was wondering if the tank would be big enough for just a pair?

Tank size is 40x40x40cm (16x16x16 inches)with a great filtration system.

Tank mates will probably just be a few small Espi Rasboras. Maybe a handfull of cherry shrimp.

Plecos that I could move in:
L134 (8cm), L201 (8cm), L333 (9cm) or Longfin Bristlenose (10cm). I also have 5x L046 babies however I like them in the shed as the water parameters are more stable in their current setup. I'd also prefer not to move the L201s as they've just spawned for the first time for me.

So is a 65L tank too small for say, 2x Male 1x Female LF Bristlenose? or even just 2x L134 (being a smaller fish)? Or maybe a pair of L333s?

Any advice here would be great. I'm currently leaning towards the L333 as I have 8 of them so I could leave 6 in the shed and just bring a pair inside.

[bekateen]

Hi AussieSam,

That is an interesting shape tank (cuboidal). Unfortunately, it doesn't provide a lot of floor space for growth of plecos. That said, it may be adequate for the fish you have. Myself, I would have moved the L201, but I understand your point that they just spawned - don't mess with them, because they'll probably spawn again soon if you leave them alone. I suppose I'd go with the L333. I don't say that from personal experience, but my P. compta (L134) can get a little obnoxious with each other and I think they need their space. I don't know about L333. As for the Ancistrus, they spawn almost anywhere, but they're also your biggest fish so I wouldn't try them.

Interesting challenge. Not an ideal tank, but we all make due with what we have. I've certainly tried smaller tanks before for lack of more room or bigger tanks; even now, I've got some Ancistrus in a 24" x 12.5" x 12.5" and they've spawned already.

Good luck,
Eric

[TwoTankAmin]

The smallest tank I have used with small plecos was a 15 gal. 24x12x12 inches. It held a pair of lf bn and was well planted and I made the mistake of putting amano shrimp in the tank. They do seem to love eating small fry because they kept the population down. They did not keep it at 0, but they sure tried.

If you want to try in your small space I would offer two thoughts. Do only a pair and no more. Do not put other fish into the tank, just the two plecos. You will need a separate tank for grow-out if you are successful.

[YSR50]

Like Eric mentioned, L134s can be aggressive so I would avoid putting them in a small area. I have more L333s in their breeding set up than I should and they are very easy going, aside from some tail flicking I've never seen any fighting. L201s would probably be a good choice. Once mine started breeding they haven't stopped, but I understand your hesitation. I had a BN trio that would constantly breed in an Eclipse System 6 Aquarium (15"x8" footprint, 22L?). It was a tank I set up for my daughter at the time. Tossed some BN fry in at set up and before I knew it they were breeding every 3-4 weeks. But just to be clear, a 6 gallon tank is obviously not an ideal breeding setup.

[AussieSam]

Thanks for the pointers,

I ended up putting a pair of 333s in the tank. I did have a few Espi Rasboras, but quickly found out they jump and put them back.. so Its just the 333's and 7 or 8 cherry shrimp.