ok, i have a wrestling match tonight, that im expecting to win, and my mom said if i do, she'll buy me a royal they have for sale at our lfs. i've only kelpt commons before, but 2 weeks ago, i became interested in keeping rarer mild to hardy plecos. so im going to start off with a royal. Right now i have a 55 gal with 3 jd juvies in it. probably 1 inch apiece. What should i know about royals? anything important i need to take into consider ation?
Getting A Royal Need Help
- Thread starter Hobbit
- Start date
LisaLQ
Fish Gatherer
The main part of their diet is bogwood, so you must have some of that. Not mopani stuff - the decent stuff, your fish shop will be able to help if you dont have any.
Secondly - only get a royal plec that's been in the shop for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer. Always get the LFS keeper to show you their tummy, if it's slim or concave, tell them to put it back in the tank and try another - same goes for sunken eyes. Dont be tempted to rescue one that has either - because chances are they're too far gone.
The reason I say that is because when plecs are shipped in from the wild, they can be in transit for weeks without food, and in that time the bacteria in their gut can die off. When they start eating again, it takes time for that bacteria to replenish, and start processing the nutrients in their food - so they can still effectively starve to death even though they're eating. If you make sure your royal's been in the shop for a few weeks or more, then you can be sure their bacteria has grown back, and they'll be processing their food properly
Also, royals *apparently* (dont know much about this myself so cant go into detail) cant cope with much meat protein in their diet, so you cant feed them prawns and things like that, that you might with your common. As I said, the bogwood is the main part of their diet, apart from that - regular fresh veggies and a decent brand of plec wafers are the next most important things. All my plecs have fresh veg though, so you might be doing that already - if so, carry on as you do lol
Secondly - only get a royal plec that's been in the shop for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer. Always get the LFS keeper to show you their tummy, if it's slim or concave, tell them to put it back in the tank and try another - same goes for sunken eyes. Dont be tempted to rescue one that has either - because chances are they're too far gone.
The reason I say that is because when plecs are shipped in from the wild, they can be in transit for weeks without food, and in that time the bacteria in their gut can die off. When they start eating again, it takes time for that bacteria to replenish, and start processing the nutrients in their food - so they can still effectively starve to death even though they're eating. If you make sure your royal's been in the shop for a few weeks or more, then you can be sure their bacteria has grown back, and they'll be processing their food properly
Also, royals *apparently* (dont know much about this myself so cant go into detail) cant cope with much meat protein in their diet, so you cant feed them prawns and things like that, that you might with your common. As I said, the bogwood is the main part of their diet, apart from that - regular fresh veggies and a decent brand of plec wafers are the next most important things. All my plecs have fresh veg though, so you might be doing that already - if so, carry on as you do lol
Lisa pretty much has all bases covered there. Make sure the brand of algae wafer you are using doesn't contain animal protein matter, i would recommend Wardleys myself.
Enjoy the poop it produces... welcome to the world of daily gravel vacs possibly.
Awesome fish though, great choice, what royal is it do you know?
Enjoy the poop it produces... welcome to the world of daily gravel vacs possibly.
Awesome fish though, great choice, what royal is it do you know?
KathyM
Fish Herder
Did you win then?
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Yes, they are basically hardy, once settled in. Mine has survived an oxygen crash in a tank where the pH dropped below 6, and she's lived in tanks that have been both soft/acid and hard/alkaline. She's lived with fish as diverse as puffers and mbuna over the years. So provided you give a royal plec what it needs, as outlined by the others earlier, you can expect a healthy specimen to settle into your aquarium quickly and live for many, many years.
The issue with the animal protein thing is complex. Essentially, the observation made by a scientist studying Panaque spp. was as follows: All the specimens he had been sent by aquarists that had died prematurely had fatty deposits around the internal organs. No wild fish ever had these. His hypothesis was that these fish had been overfed animal foods, and this had somehow resulted in the fat accumulation, and that this fat was harmful to the fish over time. Conversely, the stomach of these fishes was empty, whereas the stomach of wild Panaque spp. is filled with wood. Interestingly, he made the further comment that it was the Brazilian populations that were most at risk (Rio Xingu, Tapajos, and Tocantins) whereas the Columbian/Venezuelan fish seem to be altogether hardier and less sensitive to dietary problems. In short, there is no need to give these catfish any animal protein at all, with Spirulina, Chlorella, soy protein, etc being perfectly adequate and safe to use.
Some recent research has shown that Panaque spp. are true xylophages -- that is, they can digest wood and grow on a diet of nothing but wood. No other fishes can do this, and very few animals generally.
In the lab, the greatest growth rate was obtained with frequent (2-3 times a week) but relatively small (1/10 to 1/4th volume) water changes.
Cheers, Neale
The issue with the animal protein thing is complex. Essentially, the observation made by a scientist studying Panaque spp. was as follows: All the specimens he had been sent by aquarists that had died prematurely had fatty deposits around the internal organs. No wild fish ever had these. His hypothesis was that these fish had been overfed animal foods, and this had somehow resulted in the fat accumulation, and that this fat was harmful to the fish over time. Conversely, the stomach of these fishes was empty, whereas the stomach of wild Panaque spp. is filled with wood. Interestingly, he made the further comment that it was the Brazilian populations that were most at risk (Rio Xingu, Tapajos, and Tocantins) whereas the Columbian/Venezuelan fish seem to be altogether hardier and less sensitive to dietary problems. In short, there is no need to give these catfish any animal protein at all, with Spirulina, Chlorella, soy protein, etc being perfectly adequate and safe to use.
Some recent research has shown that Panaque spp. are true xylophages -- that is, they can digest wood and grow on a diet of nothing but wood. No other fishes can do this, and very few animals generally.
In the lab, the greatest growth rate was obtained with frequent (2-3 times a week) but relatively small (1/10 to 1/4th volume) water changes.
Cheers, Neale
Alright. Thanks a lot. By the way, can you tell me any websites where i can get some plecos for decent prices? I had one website, but i lost it. Looking for semi to rare plecs at ok prices. I live in Idaho, USA, so uk websites wont be of much use. 
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