Bulldog/rubbernose

[Tizer]

I just introduced 3 young bulldogs to my tank and 3 Golden Apple snails, was wondering what people consider the best treats for them, cucumber is all i've ever really bothered with, and the odd decapped pea. Ta

(i never thought i would say it, but both the bulldogs and snails are quite cute, for plecs...and er...snails :> )

 

[lilfishie]

Glad you gave them a go Tizer there great plecs mine is partial to carrot also

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

Glad you gave them a go Tizer there great plecs mine is partial to carrot also

Cooked or raw?

 

[lilfishie]

i used cooked

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Have you correctly identified which species of Rubbernose Plecos you have? The Chaetostoma family has 25+ species known so far and even planetcatfish has many "holes" its its database for these fish...

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=308 is a more common type, C. milesi
Would love to see some photos!

Not all Chaetostoma are vegitarians, some are omnivores (meat and veg) and others are mainly meat eaters. Some keepers have found that "rock painting" helps to get their Rubbernose settled and eating well (see bottom of article)...
http/www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=294

What sort of setup have you got your three specimens in, in terms of temp; current; aeration etc.?

 

[Tizer]

Its a 4 foot tank, a Rio 240 Litre, with a 305 External filter and powerhead for additional flow. Sand substrate with a good mix of plants benefiting from compressed CO2. I've a few lumps of bogwood in there also. With the amount of corys i have in there i have been a little concerned about feeding, so i've been placing algae wafers in there late at night plus there is also a lump of cucumber on a fork which the snails have been attacking. I also have some liquid food which i can smear on the glass with my finger , which i've not done yet but no 100% sure if they would eat it.

I live in a hard water area and the tank is set to 25 degrees. Stocking mostly corys, bolivian rams, breeding kribs and a school of rummy nose. Its been going 6 months with no ill effects thus far.

There are a few pics in the link in my sig, i kinda mixed both my tanks in the the same thread. Although the large tank looks quite different now since i chucked a load of vallis in there and ditched the Amazon swords.

Thanks for the rock painting tip, i've got a perfect bit of wood that i cut from a piece of bogwood last week that will sit on the bottom with food on. I'll have a go at that later tonight!

PS, an educated guess would be that they are "Chaetostoma Milesi - L187a" There was a little bit of of colour difference of the 20 or so that were in the fish shop tank, so i requested the darker spotted versions, although in all honesty, i think they were all the same. They are also no longer than 2 inches, pretty young from all accounts.

 

[Tizer]

Fishy pic! NOt a great one

 

[FishFreak95]

Fishy pic! NOt a great one

Nice rubbernose. Mine were gray with black outlining the plates. But then my cichlids murdered them.

 

[lilfishie]

ooo you have the spotties, i love those, but i love mine too.

How do they seem with eachother? i'd like another 1-2 but unsure of how mine will react to them

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Honeydew melon and courgette.

Potato is messy . You can try any veg type stuff with them

 

[Tizer]

So far, in all truth, i've not really seen much interaction, all 3 were stuck to the glass next to one another at the weekend and they chased eachother around a little, while this morning one was stuck to a bit of bog wood down the opposite end of the tank while the other two were buried in the vallis. I'm a little concerned about them eating and i've put another lump of cucumber in there for them and some night time algae wafers. But its hard to tell if they actually get to them or not. Just have to see how it goes. If i get concerned with them,i'll put them in my Tiger tank upstairs for a few weeks where i can monitor them move closely.

 

[Tizer]

Having a bit of an experiment tonight with the "rock painting" idea using some tetra bloodworm mix, no idea if this is something thats in these guys diet but this is what i've done:

Small piece of bogwood i chopped off the other week weighted down with a couple of lead plant strips and the bloodworm mix smeared over it. Im going to lets some algae wafers get mushy in some water over night and then mix it up with an egg white tomorrow let it dry off and try that out friday night. Be interesting to see if it gets eaten!

If it works i'll get the drill out and make a propper fixing for it so i can just slide it into the bogwood.

 

[Tizer]

Well i've had these guys in for about two weeks now, i have to say, they are honestly a little dull Forever glued to the glass or a lump of bogwood and usually attempt to hide when approaching the tank. Thats not to say i object to them being in the tank, they are quite cute to admire but seems to require being done from distance.

I wonder, whats the attraction of them to other peeps? Sure, they are still cute, but...whats the point in keeping a fish that mostly hides in a home aquarium

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Have you got your three eating?

Perhaps C. milesi are shy and take time to gain confidence, but my L444 came to greet me without fail everyday. There was a male L444 at my local MA last week that I so nearly came home with (until I saw white dots on his underbelly and fins) that was so friendly, like my Golden Wonder Killifishes and Leopard Bushfish.

Some fish look wonderful but are very shy by nature, like my Synodontis decora; Syndontis brichardi; African Butterfly Fish. I guess it makes those rare moments of boldness by them that more special!

 

[Tizer]

I've not noticed them eating, but they are not dead yet so one can only hope they search around at night time.