Golden Nugget Plecs

[Minstrel]

I have heard a golden nugget plec is a difficult plec to keep as for the first wee while of its life, now the one my OH so kindly bought me has been in the tank for a few months as they are not cheap and they only get a delivery about every 6months so they are there for a while and then not if that makes sense, he appears to have been eating something that was growing inside a hidey hole (I swear I had forgotten it was white when we bought it, is that really bad?!) so is this a good thing or should I still be watching him like a hawk?! Has he acclimatised by being in the shop for so long?

 

[fishprotector]

Yes, as a baryancistrus they are harder than some other Plecos to acclimatise. This is because they are all wild caught (unless someone is very lucky enough to get them breeding, which is unlikely). I have two now (a Gold Nugget & a Snowball). On both occasions, I let them sit in the shop for at least 6 weeks before I bought them. I went in several times and asked to see them eating aswell. As long as they are eating and do not have sunken eyes or sunken bellies then they should be ok. If they loose their gut (fat reserves) then it is very hard to keep them alive. Once you get them home, it is very hard to replicate their natural environment. They live in fast flowing warm rivers and have a constant supply of food from rotting vegetable and animal matter that falls to the floor. I have found that the best bet is to try him on cockles, bloodworm and algae wafers. These have been the three things that mine has liked the most. Oh and try feeding him at night first to give him a chance against the other fishes.

Edit: I have found that mine is sometimes very shy and will not come out for a few days, then he will spend a few days hoping around the back of the tank.

 

[Minstrel]

Yes, as a baryancistrus they are harder than some other Plecos to acclimatise. This is because they are all wild caught (unless someone is very lucky enough to get them breeding, which is unlikely). I have two now (a Gold Nugget & a Snowball). On both occasions, I let them sit in the shop for at least 6 weeks before I bought them. I went in several times and asked to see them eating aswell. As long as they are eating and do not have sunken eyes or sunken bellies then they should be ok. If they loose their gut (fat reserves) then it is very hard to keep them alive. Once you get them home, it is very hard to replicate their natural environment. They live in fast flowing warm rivers and have a constant supply of food from rotting vegetable and animal matter that falls to the floor. I have found that the best bet is to try him on cockles, bloodworm and algae wafers. These have been the three things that mine has liked the most. Oh and try feeding him at night first to give him a chance against the other fishes.

Edit: I have found that mine is sometimes very shy and will not come out for a few days, then he will spend a few days hoping around the back of the tank.

Thanks for the reply. So the fact he has found some sort of something in the tank is a good thing then?! I have some cooked frozen prawns that we defrosted in water and will pop in his current hidey hole along with an algae wafer later. We also have courgette and cucumber... So hopefully along with the yummy goodness he has found in our tank this will sustain him. He currently does not appear to have sunken eyes or belly so I am hoping that he will survive as he is truly quite a lovely chap. I keep looking over at my tank though and WOW I cannot believe that the inside of the hidey hole was and now is white!!! but clever fish and glad he has found something he clearly likes... He is rather big already about 3inches and I know that he has been in the shop for sure since mid December, I was thinking that I will struggle with a stronger current but I could turn one of the parts of the spray bar pointing down the back of the tank so that the back wall would have a stronger current? But he is sharing his tank with Angel fish. So if you have any ideas, let me know

 

[fishprotector]

Wonder what the white stuff is???

Prawns should work well. I have had mine for 12 months now though and he never touches any fresh veg lol.

From speaking around, they do not really grow much in home aquariums (due to the bit I said earlier about not being able to replicate their natural environments). Apparantly they do the best in Discus tanks due to the higher temps.

Oh one final thing is that they do not appreciate sudden ph changes. I have heard a few people say that their Gold Nuggets have died after a large water change which they carried out every month. I do water changes every week, so the ph does not drop that much, but if you do them less frequently, then it might be an idea to change your patterns.

Enjoy him, they are little diamonds

 

[fishprotector]

Oh and get some pics up so we can decide what L number he is (there are three different types of Gold Nugget - small spot, medium spot and large spot).

 

[Minstrel]

Wonder what the white stuff is???

Prawns should work well. I have had mine for 12 months now though and he never touches any fresh veg lol.

From speaking around, they do not really grow much in home aquariums (due to the bit I said earlier about not being able to replicate their natural environments). Apparantly they do the best in Discus tanks due to the higher temps.

Oh one final thing is that they do not appreciate sudden ph changes. I have heard a few people say that their Gold Nuggets have died after a large water change which they carried out every month. I do water changes every week, so the ph does not drop that much, but if you do them less frequently, then it might be an idea to change your patterns.

Enjoy him, they are little diamonds

I do a weekly 10% water change, I go for less more often. I also have bought declorinator that will neutralise the tap water to a nice round ph of 7 made by API. Oh no he hate dark stuff off the white stuff, I would love to have known what it was but I don't think there is much less since he has been in there all day. I intend to keep him with a couple of smaller plecs. HE is keps in my tank which is about 24-25 degrees. Oh goodness he is out looking for something more now! Please tell me he has not exhausted that food supply

 

[fishprotector]

What size tank have you got?

 

[Minstrel]

21" high, 39" long and 16" deep.

 

[fishprotector]

So around 220l. You should be fine with another couple of small species if you pick carefully. I would not get anything much bigger then him though in case he is out competed for food. Oh and be careful getting another Baryancistrus, as they sometimes do not not like their own kind. Luckily mine both get on.

Oh and one more thing, the best website for gaining info on any L number Pleco is plantcatfish.

 

[Minstrel]

So around 220l. You should be fine with another couple of small species if you pick carefully. I would not get anything much bigger then him though in case he is out competed for food. Oh and be careful getting another Baryancistrus, as they sometimes do not not like their own kind. Luckily mine both get on.

I really would love a BN, and a small school of pit bulls and corys (I hear they school together quite well). Do you have any other recommendations?

And here is he/she

Pics aren't the greatest but my camera is out of charge and I cannot find charger I will get better!! Really appreciate your help!

 

[fishprotector]

Looks like an L018 and a very nice speciman too

If you like the BN, then another nice one is the spotted Medusa L255.

Corydoras would work well, but they may not get on with your gravel as it can damage their barbels.

 

[Minstrel]

Looks like an L018 and a very nice speciman too

If you like the BN, then another nice one is the spotted Medusa L255.

Corydoras would work well, but they may not get on with your gravel as it can damage their barbels.

Thanks he is a stunning little chap. Oh the Medusa is interesting, how are they for keeping?

The gravel is very smooth I must say so I was hoping they might be alright as I had heard you had to be careful with sharper gravel, but if it became a problem I would be more then willing to change things about if I could sope with the strain! Oh GN has suddenly got very active. I love seeing his gold tail swishing about!

 

[fishprotector]

I have never had a medusa, the gf will not allow it as apparantly they are ugly. I used to keep corydoras on gravel, but I would say change to sand first. It is easy to do and they will love it. it is entertaining watching them dig for food.

 

[juggernuts]

Golden nuggets only tend to be difficult to keep as they are more of a brazing L number, The so called key to keeping them happy is to make a mixture of food such as ground up prawns, courgette and maybe some flakes to bind it together a bit usually a small amount of egg white holds this fine.

Smear this mixture onto a piece of wood or alike and leave to dry onto the said ornament. then place this into the tank and wallah the Golden nugget should be happy as larry. This way you can make sure the mixture has a nice varied content also keeping him happy.

I mean dont get me wrong they are wonderfull specimens and if you can get them to just eat placed in food then thats great, but rule of thumb with these is like I mentioned.

Also cories do not tend to loose barbels in large gravel or sharp gravel due to the size, it tends to be if they get a bacterial infection that they loose them. This being said, larger gravel is easier to harber this bacteria and therefore not really the best for them.

If you like your plec, try an L134 a personal favourtie of mine, I have 9! they are beautiful fish, quite active for an L number and wont grow more than 4"



Paul

 

[Minstrel]

Golden nuggets only tend to be difficult to keep as they are more of a brazing L number, The so called key to keeping them happy is to make a mixture of food such as ground up prawns, courgette and maybe some flakes to bind it together a bit usually a small amount of egg white holds this fine.

Smear this mixture onto a piece of wood or alike and leave to dry onto the said ornament. then place this into the tank and wallah the Golden nugget should be happy as larry. This way you can make sure the mixture has a nice varied content also keeping him happy.

I mean dont get me wrong they are wonderfull specimens and if you can get them to just eat placed in food then thats great, but rule of thumb with these is like I mentioned.

Also cories do not tend to loose barbels in large gravel or sharp gravel due to the size, it tends to be if they get a bacterial infection that they loose them. This being said, larger gravel is easier to harber this bacteria and therefore not really the best for them.

If you like your plec, try an L134 a personal favourtie of mine, I have 9! they are beautiful fish, quite active for an L number and wont grow more than 4"



Paul

One word, STUNNING!! I really like them. I wonder if they are also known as any different names as shops sometimes have different names though they always know the L number so will ask about those next time I am in. Will give him a fortnight to settle in. I have read the things about changing the substrate but it sounds long and lengthy and complicated... How do my fish survive out of the tank? And my plants? And how long is my filter off for?!