My butterfly pleco's are acting funny

[jordonsmum]

Since I don't know that much about them. I was hoping someone could shed some light on this for me. My butterfly plecos have been changing colour. The larger once specifically. It's been turning into a very pale colour. Then i'll look later and they're both dark again. Both of them have been acting a little strange. One is always staying inside the cave (the smaller darker one) and the other is always posting outside on top of the cave chasing away anything that comes near. They've never paid any attention to any other fish in the tank before this and until now they've always lived in individual caves at opposite ends of the tank.. usually never hang out around the same tank. Tonight I was watching a fish that just showed up in my tank, and noticed a clear pouch or sack stuck on the roof of the inside of the cave with little dots inside. I can't see much because it's so dark.. The pouch is about 1/2 the size of a green pea. I have a few snails in the tank.. apple snails.. I think. Sound like snail or pleco eggs?? or something just growing on the slate?? Appreciate any info as I know nothing of spawning snails or plecos... THanks!!!

[Melody]

They change colour according to their environment quite often. There are no reports of them breeding in captivity to my knowledge.

[jordonsmum]

Can I breed them?

http://www.loaches.com/articles/resolveuid/05d7857e3640cf1f2615937dca3526ed


When this article was first written, the answer was possibly. At that time few people had bred any species of Hillstream Loach. Thanks to my tank design, a whole lot more people have bred them, plus the design has been used successfully by others to breed various types of non-loach rheophilc fish species.
http://www.loaches.com/articles/resolveuid/20a80a76330f8b6c61ef9f957b6155a7/image_previewOne of the easiest species to breed is Pseudogastromyzon cheni. They produce
smallish broods of babies and once they start breeding, they will spawn every couple

of weeks. The male digs a spawning pit, usually doing so by sliding backwards off of a pebble and digging out under it with rapid flicks of his tail. (See above).
Details of P. cheni breeding here (http://www.loaches.com/articles/resolveuid/b60d42b2b2489181f0f08afe8d2d4f4f).
Other species that have bred are Liniparhomaloptera disparis by Jim Powers and myself, plus Sewellia lineolata, first bred byEmma Turner .

(From article (http://www.loaches.com/articles/hillstream-loaches-the-specialists-at-life-in-the-fast-lane) at Loaches Online (http://www.loaches.com/))


Apparently they can be bred, I just can't seem to find any photos of eggs. They must be snail eggs under my slate. I'll see if I can get a pic tomorrow when it's light.

[Melody]

Is he trying to sell his tank design or something?:laugh: Sounds like a car salesman.

Didn't you say you had Beaufortia kweichowensis? According to Loaches online (http://www.loaches.com/species-index/beaufortia-kweichowensis), they have not been bred in Aquaria. If you go by what this guy says, they aren't cave breeders anyway.

What kind of snails do you have in there? Can you describe them?

[jordonsmum]

Actually I copied and pasted it off of a info website about them. That was from one of the breeders that designed a specific type of river tank with powerheads and filter sponges. I'll try to find the site again and paste the link.

As for the snails... they came in from a shipment of pat's plants. They're round shells and brown. Barb saw them when she picked up her plants. She may know what they are.

Barb , do you remember???

[traco1]

Ramshorn?

[Melody]

Actually I copied and pasted it off of a info website about them. That was from one of the breeders that designed a specific type of river tank with powerheads and filter sponges. I'll try to find the site again and paste the link.

As for the snails... they came in from a shipment of pat's plants. They're round shells and brown. Barb saw them when she picked up her plants. She may know what they are.

Barb , do you remember???

Its an article from Loaches online contributed by an outsider, but it doesn't include your species. Speaking of which, we need that stuff credited, if you could keep that in mind for next time please. Copyrights & all that.

One thing you have to be careful of online is that it isn't all true, just because its in an article. "Lots of people" and him saying its all due to his genius tank design, makes me a tad suspicious. Regardless, he's talking about other Hillstream Loach species - there's lots of them. Its like saying that just because Guppy breeds in Aquaria, a Molly will too - they're related but two different species so one has nothing to do with the captive breeding potential of another. They aren't cave breeders anyway by the sounds of the article.

Having no reports of captive breeding doesn't mean it can't be done, its just highly unlikely unless you accidentally happen upon the perfect conditions, which is equally unlikely if they're that difficult to breed.

Ramshorns lay in small flat discs. The other pest snails, Physid, have the little gel egg sacs attached to objects.

[Boohoo]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=983
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=706

[Melody]

That's an actual Pleco - these are Loaches. Gotta love common names....lol.

[Boohoo]

My mistake. I didn't wait for the pic to load.:rolleyes:

[Melody]

No worries - help is always appreciated and the more opinions / info sources the better :yes: .

[jordonsmum]

Its an article from Loaches online contributed by an outsider, but it doesn't include your species. Speaking of which, we need that stuff credited, if you could keep that in mind for next time please. Copyrights & all that.

One thing you have to be careful of online is that it isn't all true, just because its in an article. "Lots of people" and him saying its all due to his genius tank design, makes me a tad suspicious. Regardless, he's talking about other Hillstream Loach species - there's lots of them. Its like saying that just because Guppy breeds in Aquaria, a Molly will too - they're related but two different species so one has nothing to do with the captive breeding potential of another. They aren't cave breeders anyway by the sounds of the article.

Having no reports of captive breeding doesn't mean it can't be done, its just highly unlikely unless you accidentally happen upon the perfect conditions, which is equally unlikely if they're that difficult to breed.

Ramshorns lay in small flat discs. The other pest snails, Physid, have the little gel egg sacs attached to objects.


I haven't seen any pest snails in that tank yet.. although most of my others are INFESTED!!!! I've been trying to get rid of them in other tanks and have given up. grrrrr...lol it'll be interesting to see what comes out of it... is that the type of snail I have??? ramshorn???

[jordonsmum]

See, that's why I ask you guys/gals.... Thanks for all of the helpful tips!!!! I'm am totally in the dark when I comes to snails and plecos. I'm learning something new everyday and it's GRRRREEEAAT!!!!:laugh: :;):