Queen Arabesque

i am on the hunt for one of these for my tank and i was just wanting as much info as i can get, i know sizes etc, but stuff like food preferances etc, also any nice pics to keep me entertained lol,

Also how much you paid

Rich

richchappy said:

i am on the hunt for one of these for my tank and i was just wanting as much info as i can get, i know sizes etc, but stuff like food preferances etc, also any nice pics to keep me entertained lol,

Also how much you paid

Rich

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Fact File: Queen Arabesque L260

Scientific name: Hypancistrus sp. L260
Origin: Found in the Rio Tapajos basin in Para state, Brazil.

Size: Generally reaches a size of around 8-10cm/3-4" in captivity.

Diet Probably omnivorous. Seems to do well on a mixed diet of tablets and pellets, bloodworms and most other foods. Juveniles eat mostly vegetable matter.

Aquarium: Does well in the average community aquarium and mixes peacefully with most other species. As with many L-numbers, you may see a little territoriality between species, but they generally mix together OK.
Breeding: Practical Fishkeeping contributor Janne Ekstrom has successfully bred this species. Janne bought a large group of L260s to grow them on together and managed to get them to spawn by conducting a very large water change. You can read Janne's full spawning report on the Planet Catfish website.

Sexing: Males have longer odontodes on their pectoral fins than females, giving them a slightly more bristly appearance. The ventral surface of females is also said to be a little paler.

Availability: This species is available sporadically from specialist shops who import wild fishes from Brazil. Aquarium bred fish are rarely available.

Price: Expect to pay around £20-30 for a small one

hope this helps mate

thanks fot that, the price too me is very scary as i have been buying live bearers tetras etc for about £3 each, and then i thought i was spending a lot on corys that were like £5 each lol now £30 is quite scary,.... but its a geougeous fish,

I WANT ONE

Rich

Hi Rich

I have two of these beauties and they are incredible, gorgeous plecs. A brilliant addition to any peaceful tank.

Mine love eating frozen shrimp (but only ever week or two), bloodworm's, blanched courgette, cucumber and my female even eats blanched potato. They are nocturnal, but mine do come out during the day, especially during feeding times.

I paid £35-00 for my male and £25-00 for my female. Got them at separate LFS's. My male was wild caught (so I was told) and the female was tank bred. They tolerate each other, although she does try get his attention, usually with him swimming away screaming.

They get on with my cories, BN, red whiptails. Like I said, peaceful tank. To start off with, they don't like to have to fight for food, but eventually, they come out with everyone else and just eat.

Here are my two sitting together on the cave


My female viewed from above


My male with some of the other plecs


I know they're a little pricey, and if you are considering getting one, shop around and make sure you get a very healthy specimen. They are worth it, a lovely addition to any tank.

Beautiful alex and carmen.

Mine eats very similar things to what has already been stated, although her favorite is definately blood worm, although she has recently taken a liking to algae wafers, possibly liking the spirulina in them. She has to fight my rams for them though, the rams scare the tetras away from them.

thanks for that, i will be shopping round this weekend and hopefully find one, some great pics and they get better every time i see them, i always wanted a plec since i started fish keeping but my tank was always too small, but now i can get one yay
they sometimes have them at maidenhead and they said they were £30 but they dont know when they will get them in,

cant wait

Rich

That is one fat mama! Great plecos!

i got a queen arabesque 3" for £3 from my LFS bargin huh? i cant get qa good picture as he has not long been introduced so he doesnt come out very much but heres a bit of a pic of him

http/www.tri-mar.co.uk/

You will get one here, this is where I got mine...



Anita

This is ours which my son bought.He was £25 and was about 3-4 inches in length.We've had him a month or two now and he was shy at first but has settled in.He likes bloodworms,prawn,plec tablets and banana

LOL @ banana! Cant say I've ever tried that for my plecs (no doubt my common, BN and rusty would eat it though as they're dustbins) just never thought I'd hear of a QA eating it!

they ok on there own in a tank with no other plecs but some corries?

gsta13 said:

they ok on there own in a tank with no other plecs but some corries?

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As long as they're kept with non aggressive fish, they are fine. I have a BN, 3 Red Whiptails, 8 panda cories, 5 Sterbai cories and 4 Trilineatus cories with my 2 L260's. As long as the tank is big enough and has sufficient hiding places for them, they're fine.