Multiple Questions On Golden Nugget Plec

[Delloy12]

1) How can I tell which golden nugget I've got? (its only 4cm)

2) what treats do they like?

3) what current flow do they like?

 

[Blubble37]

i know plecos like algae wafers and thhings like cucumber as well

 

[fluttermoth]

Cucumber is a bit of a waste of time, as there is so little nutritional value in it.

Best things are; peas (lightly cooked and deshelled), blanched lettuce (a good green one, like cos, not iceberg!), tomato (my plecs love tomato best; an end slice with no seeds), mango, sweet potato and courgette (zuccini).

It will also need some protein food; high protein granules or shrimp pellets go down well plus prawns and whitefish (cod or haddock; always sea fish though, never freshwater as you don't want to risk introducing any pathogens), and you need some bogwood in your tank as well, for it to rasp on for the lignin.

 

[Blubble37]

Cucumber is a bit of a waste of time, as there is so little nutritional value in it.

Best things are; peas (lightly cooked and deshelled), blanched lettuce (a good green one, like cos, not iceberg!), tomato (my plecs love tomato best; an end slice with no seeds), mango, sweet potato and courgette (zuccini).

It will also need some protein food; high protein granules or shrimp pellets go down well plus prawns and whitefish (cod or haddock; always sea fish though, never freshwater as you don't want to risk introducing any pathogens), and you need some bogwood in your tank as well, for it to rasp on for the lignin.

i know... but they seem to like it so

Anyway when i put cucumber in my tank the dwarf cories are all over it!

 

[fluttermoth]

Junk food for fishies, eh?!

Doh, i forgot the OP's other questions

We'd need a pic to have a go at identifying your plec; you could have a look on PlanetCatfish's cat-e-log, which is a great site for catfish IDs.

Plecs do like a fairly strong flow, but it's not essential for their health. If you can arrange the output from your filter along the back wall, so your tank has areas of high flow, and relatively still areas as wel, that's best for the fish

 

[Blubble37]

no nutritional value and almost tasteless? YEP!!!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I know very little about Golden Nuggets, but I think they need a strong current setup (more about lots of water surface ripple than anything else) to go with a >25C temperature, so that the oxygen levels are maximised... Something in the x10 turnover ballpark of actual flow.

 

[moochy13]

i tried some prawn in my tank and not a single fish was interested to be honest i never see any of my plecs eating meaty food, only the algae discs. and occasionally cucumber.

 

[Delloy12]

Junk food for fishies, eh?!

Doh, i forgot the OP's other questions

We'd need a pic to have a go at identifying your plec; you could have a look on PlanetCatfish's cat-e-log, which is a great site for catfish IDs.

Plecs do like a fairly strong flow, but it's not essential for their health. If you can arrange the output from your filter along the back wall, so your tank has areas of high flow, and relatively still areas as wel, that's best for the fish

I will try to get a pic of him but he is so small and hard to find

 

[xingumike]

1) How can I tell which golden nugget I've got? (its only 4cm)

2) what treats do they like?

3) what current flow do they like?

1) A picture would be a good start but as you say, tough to get. Nugs are bracketed into 2 sp these days

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/_species.php?species_id=153

and

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/_species.php?species_id=153

At 4cm if you can keep it alive for the next 3-4 weeks you are through the worst, I have always found Baryancistrus to the the hardest to acclimate of the different genus I have kept. Assume it's new to you?

2) Omnivorous, both meat and veg although at that size it will probably be surviving on aufwuchs in the tank.

3) High current, clearwater fish.

never freshwater as you don't want to risk introducing any pathogens), and you need some bogwood in your tank as well, for it to rasp on for the lignin.

Cooked prawn is 100% fine in my experience, never left in tank longer than 4 hours though.

I know very little about Golden Nuggets, but I think they need a strong current setup (more about lots of water surface ripple than anything else) to go with a >25C temperature, so that the oxygen levels are maximised... Something in the x10 turnover ballpark of actual flow.

The hotter water is the less oxygen it holds, assume you got > mixed with <? Current is preferable to them, 'surface ripple' aids with oxygen exchange which they like also, you need both I think.

i tried some prawn in my tank and not a single fish was interested to be honest i never see any of my plecs eating meaty food, only the algae discs. and occasionally cucumber.

Assume you keep herbivorous sp?

OP, the fist few weeks are the hardest with Barys, they hard to acclimate, if you can get through that then you should be fine. If it;s anything like mine expect to never see it, very very shy fish, slow growers as ideal conditions are very hard to replicate in a glass box. Beautiful fish though, what kind of set up are you housing it in?

 

[Delloy12]

I currently have 2 and there is 4 caves, gonna be 6 soon and I've only got 6 zebra loaches. My filter gives of quite a bit bubbles and I've only got 4 plants (will get more when I get some money.

 

[xingumike]

what size tank, what filtration was more the thing i was looking for.

Any wood?

Plants not essential at all, do you have a picture of the tank?

 

[Jamie24]

How big do these plecs actually grow ??

I've recently seen one in a Maidenhead Aquatics store and the label on the tank said it grew to be 25cm, I didn't think they got as big as that.

 

[xingumike]

How big do these plecs actually grow ??

I've recently seen one in a Maidenhead Aquatics store and the label on the tank said it grew to be 25cm, I didn't think they got as big as that.

And the rest

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?species=baryancistrus+xanthellus&image_id=9464

Although it will take a long long time to get one that size in captivity.