L018 Golden Nugget Pleco

[JubileeHrbour]

Hi

ive got a golden nugget pleco lined up for £30. 2 inch in length, good specimen.

Is this a good price?

Also I have a spiny eel, 1 high fin plec and a common plec in the chiclid tank where i was going to put the golden nugget.

Jub

 

[LisaLQ]

It's a bit on the pricey side, but not way overpriced Mine cost £18 I think, but that was a bargain.

Bear in mind they're very hard to acclimatise, they have a reputation for fading quickly soon after buying them, as they dont travel well. Best to buy from somewhere that's had them in for a few weeks and fed them up after shipping.

They also love fast flowing water with plenty of aeration - mine sits in the flow of the bubbles from my internal filter most of the day

They're apparently quite territorial as far as plecs go - but mine's only 2" too so cant really comment on that - he certainly doesn't seem grumpy but there are a few other plecs in there, all of them bigger.

One thing to remember with them is that they're not algae eaters - they are omnivores - and although they will eat some algae, apparently (although mine doesn't!), they also need some protein added in their diet too - shrimp/squid/mussell pellets go down well here (but there are loads of other alternatives others will mention I'm sure), as well as the main staple (good quality plec wafers/tablets and veggies).

I'm sure there'll be more knowledgeable folks who will answer with more info - I'm new to nugget keeping having only had mine a couple of weeks.

Edited to add - might help if you post tank size - as sail fins (gibby?) and commons can get very big (commons 12-18" and gibbies up to 2ft!), and nuggets - depending on which type they are - can reach anywhere between 7 and 16" You'll need a hefty tank for all three.

 

[JubileeHrbour]

answer with more info - I'm new to nugget keeping having only had mine a couple of weeks.

Edited to add - might help if you post tank size - as sail fins (gibby?) and commons can get very big (commons 12-18" and gibbies up to 2ft!), and nuggets - depending on which type they are - can reach anywhere between 7 and 16" You'll need a hefty tank for all three.
[/quote]

I agree LOL

My Chiclid tank is 36"x 15x 15" High

Here

Col

Have added a half urn by the filter to put the bloodworm infor the eel etc.

 

[R1ch13]

answer with more info - I'm new to nugget keeping having only had mine a couple of weeks.

Edited to add - might help if you post tank size - as sail fins (gibby?) and commons can get very big (commons 12-18" and gibbies up to 2ft!), and nuggets - depending on which type they are - can reach anywhere between 7 and 16" You'll need a hefty tank for all three.

I agree LOL

My Chiclid tank is 36"x 15x 15" High

Here

Col

Have added a half urn by the filter to put the bloodworm infor the eel etc.
[/quote]


Wow !

Erm I'm no expert on plecs !

But you say you have a common ,sailfin and soon to be a golden nugget wow !

Well that tank is to small for the common and sailfin already IMO !

And to me it looks just a tad bare !

Could maybe do with a few more hiding spots !

And yeah they will all grow out of that tank very rapidly !

I hope you have another larger one lined up already !

But i dont know what you have planned for them when they get to this size so dont take anything i have said personally lol I'm only 16 so you probs know more than me lol !

Thanks

Richie

 

[LisaLQ]

Nope, I agree with Richie. Commons can grow to 12-18" plus, sailfins/gibbies to 18-24", and gold nuggets to 16". When I said a hefty tank, I was thinking 5-6ft long by at least 18" wide, by 2ft would be better. A 3ft tank is far from large and isn't big enough for those fish, even if you chose one and just kept that. You're probably already overstocked if you have cichlids in there too. Good excuse for a tank upgrade?

What cichlids do you have?

 

[djcrazycol]

i brought my golden nugget about a month 1/2 ago
and it has since vanished from the tank i can`t find it hiding anywhere

 

[indigoj]

If the Gold Nugget is an L018 it can reach at least 12" in captivity. As already mentioned the Common and Sailfin are huge fish too.

I bought my Gibby (sailfin) as an 1.5" baby about 6 months ago, he is now 6.5" and growing fast. He is going to need an absolute minimum of a 6x2x2 (thats feet not inches lol) tank when he nears full size. He is currently in a 5x18"x18" which is going to be too small probably within a year.

A Common Plec would be ok in a 5x18"x18" as would a Gold Nugget (mine is going in there when he is bigger) even together with plenty of hiding places and good filtration and I do know people who have kept Commons in 4ft long but 2ft wide tanks happily.

Your 3ft will be ok very temporarily.(for the fish you already have) What Cichlids are in there? A lot of Cichlids will also outgrow a 3ft tank pretty rapidly. What type of Eel is your Spiney? There are many and they range from about 7" to 3ft...

I certainly would not add any more fish to that tank, you need to be thinking about a bigger tank before more fish.

Oh, and the price for the Gold Nugget? A little high but not too much, mine was £25 at 2.5". A lot depends on where you are. At the moment I know where there are some 4" ones for £32 so it is a matter of availability near you.