Pseudolithoxus Tigris Ideal Fish ??

[dan1801a]

I am now a very proude owner of 2 (Poss a pair) of L257 Pseudolithoxus Tigris .

I think a ideal little plec as they are 7-8 cm fully grown. I know paramiters have to be right for them but ideal for smaller tanks. I have wanted a couple for a while now and Jo and Nick at Rare Aquatics had some come in the other week, so i had some plus 6 great looking Black Corys.

I love my plecs, and it does annoy me when i go in grenral pet shops and they have common plecs, gibby's and sell them to people who dont know how big they will get.

In a retailer near me they have 6 Acanthicus L155 at £55 or 2 for £80. While i was there someone asked for one as it looked nice. As the assistent went away i started talking to them and explaind they have the pertential to grow to large proportions !!

Lets just say they been round to my tanks, seen my fish last night, and they did buy a great little bulldog off the assistent insted of the L155 for there 2foot tank.

I see red tailed cats and shovel noses for sale as they have got to big bought as little things bought as 5-6" fish that grew and decimated tanks and got very big.

Do retailes explain how big some fish get ?
What peramiters you have ?
What fish you alredy have that could be food for your new fish ?

Sorry rant over.

I do know some realy good retailers and thank god for them.

Anyway these little Flyers if you look them up L257 look great squiggley patten like a tiger and hairy, very hairy. And so pritty they do look so good.

 

[FF MkII]

Nice pick up. Alot of retailers are in it for profit sadly

 

[dan1801a]

Am sorry for the rant, But wih places like this we all learn somthing new all the time.

Just think i have it on me today, used to bread and sell our dogs untill last year and vet all new owners.

I admit the majority of my fish even the plecs except a couple of tanks have been compulsive percheses but informed ones. Any other pet dog, cat snake etc tend to have more thought and resurch involved.

 

[Jo Crane]

On average we get asked to re home 2 - 5 common plecs, gibby's a month we have too decline and suggest that the buyer returns them too source these are just the local fish that have now become a big problem destroying the owners nicely planted 100L tank it pains me that these fish are readily for sale as 2 - 3" plecos what shocks me more is the misguided advice that almost all have been given upon purchasing that the fish will NOT get big and will grow very slowly?? how many are rammed in a small tank still suffering?
We run a simple shop policy at Rare Aquatics if we cant re home it in our own tanks we wont sell it.
As an importer I have a responsibility to think about what we are actually importing and have often declined to source some very easily obtained species based purely on the fact that they get too big for the average aquarium, I am no judge to what people want to keep or indeed do keep thats not me as some people do have some massive massive aquariums and can house monster fish well but I do feel that if the fish is not imported in the first place there is no chance it can end up having a life of suffering because of its size and because of me. On another note we were sent 2 x L155 adonis instead of a box of L18 by an exporter once (I turned the air blue)

 

[PlecoLad-UK]

Hi Dan, to answer your question I think it's a little hit and miss. The place i work trys their best but sometimes it just doesn't sink in. I started there at 16, and frequently I would be laughed at etc after telling middle ages men who kept fish when they were 'my age' and want a common plec for their goldfish tank because 'that's the way it used to be'. I've even had one customer attempt to assault me as i said I wouldn't sell them an Oscar and 3 guppies for his biorb! Unfortunately, when it gets to that stage i tend to think why bother! On a brighter note. You do get exceptional people come through the door who are polite, listen and care for their fish! That's why I enjoy the job while im at uni.

 

[Jimmy]

Congratulations on your new purchases and hope you have got a pair.


Jozebs and Rare Aquatics:clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[Hypanaddict]

Nice pick up mate and good luck with your new L257 :thumbup:

 

[macvsog23]

"I see red tailed cats and shovel noses for sale as they have got to big bought as little things bought as 5-6" fish that grew and decimated tanks and got very big.

Do retailes explain how big some fish get ?
What peramiters you have ?
What fish you alredy have that could be food for your new fish ?"

Answer
Do people who buy fish take any time to find out the answer to these questions?

may be
But 90% dont, they just buy the fish then they blame every one apart from them self.
With the internet and the advances in people being able to read this should not happen.
I work in an LFS I offer books to people who wish to keep fish I find the book dumped by the till. Now I always ask "You can read cant you"

 

[dan1801a]

"They just buy the fish then they blame every one apart from them self.
With the internet and the advances in people being able to read this should not happen.
I work in an LFS I offer books to people who wish to keep fish I find the book dumped by the till. Now I always ask "You can read cant you"

I know what you are saying, bu if you were selling a horse, dog or cat etc and the home was unsuitable like a back garden for a horse you would refuse to sell it them.

I am not having a dig at retailers in genral but some customers and some retailers make you mad.

There is a small retailer that i know of wont let you buy fish untill you bring in a water sample to check sutabliity !!

 

[macvsog23]

I know what you are saying, bu if you were selling a horse, dog or cat etc and the home was unsuitable like a back garden for a horse you would refuse to sell it them.

I am not having a dig at retailers in genral but some customers and some retailers make you mad.

There is a small retailer that i know of wont let you buy fish untill you bring in a water sample to check sutabliity !!

I once refused to sell a cray fish to a numpty and he started kicking off
The main issue is that fish are cheap and that we as a hobby should be trying to get people to see that they need care. Sadly with out getting in to Eugenics 75% of the people who buy fish should not be allowed to own an ant.
In the UK we have Animal Welfare Act 2006 if sellers were to follow this it would stop any selling or in fact owning of large fish, sadly money is the god.

When this act was used to prosecute a seller for selling a goldfish to a child with out showing duty of care the press rubbished the prosecution with “Grandmother fined £2000 for selling gold fishâ€
Sadly this selfish moron had sold a few days before a Hamster to a educationally challenged child who was transporting it in a jam jar with the lid closed.
Sadly as we see this sort of all to oftener today children and adults with little or no understanding of nature getting a “pet†from a greedy seller

In fact the law now gives the seller few rights and places quite rightly the duty of care on them. But what protection has the animal from stupid and mind numbingly moronic buyers who lie or say well my tank is so big and my filter so big I can keep 20 Oscars in it?

A “pet†shop selling all and sundry will have little understanding and just sell.

These establishments must be stopped from selling with out showing a duty of care but sadly they are part of the fabric of life. My youth was spent collecting and studying wild life now a child can’t do this for the amount of cotton wool they are wrapped in.

 

[macvsog23]

On average we get asked to re home 2 - 5 common plecs, gibby's a month we have too decline and suggest that the buyer returns them too source these are just the local fish that have now become a big problem destroying the owners nicely planted 100L tank it pains me that these fish are readily for sale as 2 - 3" plecos what shocks me more is the misguided advice that almost all have been given upon purchasing that the fish will NOT get big and will grow very slowly?? how many are rammed in a small tank still suffering?
We run a simple shop policy at Rare Aquatics if we cant re home it in our own tanks we wont sell it.
As an importer I have a responsibility to think about what we are actually importing and have often declined to source some very easily obtained species based purely on the fact that they get too big for the average aquarium, I am no judge to what people want to keep or indeed do keep thats not me as some people do have some massive massive aquariums and can house monster fish well but I do feel that if the fish is not imported in the first place there is no chance it can end up having a life of suffering because of its size and because of me. On another note we were sent 2 x L155 adonis instead of a box of L18 by an exporter once (I turned the air blue)

Spot on Joe
I advise they eat the fish.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I'd agreed with what has been written about big fish etc, and I've never kept P. tigris, but I would have some reservations about recommending it as an ideal fish. They are both small and pretty, but "Planet Catfish" doesn't record any captive breeding for any Pseudolithoxus spp. and the "Back to Nature guide to ...." describes them as "difficult to acclimatise" and the most "difficult to keep of a difficult genus".

Swiss Pleco legend Yann Fulliquet wrote (on PC)

"Pseudolithoxus tigris seems to be quite rare and fragile..... They do not grow over 5 inches. They will eat the Aufwuchs, vegetarian matters, tablets, pellets, insect larvae. They come from soft and acid water. They are very sensitive to water pollution. A specific tank for them would be the best idea.
They have yet to be bred in captivity!"

So I would say probably a fish that is a challenge for even the more experienced L number keeper.

Cheers Darrel

 

[thegeeman]

I have 5 of these and have not had any problems with them. some of mine are approaching 12cm so don't believe everything you read Dan.

I fooled a few people on this link but I won't grass on who it was as I promised doodles I wouldn't http://plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3919

Cheers

thegeeman

 

[dan1801a]

I have 5 of these and have not had any problems with them. some of mine are approaching 12cm so don't believe everything you read Dan.

I fooled a few people on this link but I won't grass on who it was as I promised doodles I wouldn't http://plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3919

Cheers

thegeeman

I mist your post Geeman, very funny :clap: :clap:

I do think keeping your paramiters stable is more inpotant than getting them exactly right. Getting them close and stable in my experance as resulted in happy healthy fish, and with some unexpected breading sucsess.

I have had more losses / problems from guppy's and swordtais than any other fish i keep ! :dk: :dk:

I dont expect them to breed, but was saying there are some butifull little Pleco's out there compared to the Commons, Gibbys etc that are out there for sale which would be more sutable to keep for the genral hobbyist.