TwoTankAmin
Fish Connoisseur
At the very end of 2009/early 2010 I had a chance to purchase some rare plecos. These plecos had a whole bunch of issues surrounding them and their identification. It created a bit of a row in a thread I started about them on Planetcatfish in April 2011.
The fish were sold as L173b. A letter designation after an L number is not something "official". In theory L173 and L236 (and if these are actual species is still up in the air) supposedly have a high degree of variability in their appearance. What hobbyists want are the ones with the really striking patterning. However, these F1 fish are said to throw fry which often do not look like the parents. They have less desirable patterning.
The L173b are sold by aquarium Glaser in Germany, which is where mine originated. They are sold for less than the most perfect specimens but they are supposed to produce fry that will include some of the most coveted patterning.
When I bought the fish I was pretty much aware of all this and went into it eyes wide open. And then came the controversial thread on PlanetCat. In one of my posts I said if ever the fish spawned, I would report it and from there it would be interesting to see how the fry looked. But for the next few years all the 7 fish I had did was to outgrow the 20 gal long tank they were in.
About 2 months ago, as part of an ongoing upgrade, they were moved into a 33 gal long. I went to do the regular maintenance on that tank late yesterday afternoon. I had barely begun when out from under a rock swam a very tiny fry. if I were not quite so old and with a mum knew I would have leapt straight off the stool I was so giddy with joy. Further inspection showed it still had the smallest bit of yolk sac left and dad was still in the cave fanning the others and would not let me see them.
I have no idea how many fry there might be. It could be just the one as its a new dad who may have messed up or it could be more. Hopefully this is the start of a number of spawns and I will get enough fry to raise to see how they turn out.
I have one group of Hypans left I am waiting on to spawn. These are the even more controversial L236s. And these fish have a real story behind them. I think they still have another 6 12 months of maturing to do before they are ready.
The fish were sold as L173b. A letter designation after an L number is not something "official". In theory L173 and L236 (and if these are actual species is still up in the air) supposedly have a high degree of variability in their appearance. What hobbyists want are the ones with the really striking patterning. However, these F1 fish are said to throw fry which often do not look like the parents. They have less desirable patterning.
The L173b are sold by aquarium Glaser in Germany, which is where mine originated. They are sold for less than the most perfect specimens but they are supposed to produce fry that will include some of the most coveted patterning.
When I bought the fish I was pretty much aware of all this and went into it eyes wide open. And then came the controversial thread on PlanetCat. In one of my posts I said if ever the fish spawned, I would report it and from there it would be interesting to see how the fry looked. But for the next few years all the 7 fish I had did was to outgrow the 20 gal long tank they were in.
About 2 months ago, as part of an ongoing upgrade, they were moved into a 33 gal long. I went to do the regular maintenance on that tank late yesterday afternoon. I had barely begun when out from under a rock swam a very tiny fry. if I were not quite so old and with a mum knew I would have leapt straight off the stool I was so giddy with joy. Further inspection showed it still had the smallest bit of yolk sac left and dad was still in the cave fanning the others and would not let me see them.
I have no idea how many fry there might be. It could be just the one as its a new dad who may have messed up or it could be more. Hopefully this is the start of a number of spawns and I will get enough fry to raise to see how they turn out.
I have one group of Hypans left I am waiting on to spawn. These are the even more controversial L236s. And these fish have a real story behind them. I think they still have another 6 12 months of maturing to do before they are ready.
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