the tank
size: 20 gallon tall
substrate: fine pea gravel with a fine layer of sand underneath
decor: driftwood, lotta rocks, echinodorus, and at some point, anubias barteri.
caves: standard slate and some polished clay caves. Not ideal, but they work. I suspect a flattened breeder cone or something of the sort would suit them much better, but I have neither the time nor the funds to go find someone willing to do these.
filtration: two flval x2s. Also a powerhead with a prefilter
heating: ebo jager 150
maintenance: filters and water simultaneously cleansed twice a week
tankmates: lamontichthys stibaros, betta pugnax. L-309 is a shy species, imo, though quite interspecically pugnacious. Males scuffle a bit more than I would have expected. Tankmates were chosen so as not to be too competitive over food. However, once they get in the groove of things, they tend to be voracious eaters. New specimens can be difficult to acclimate. I'll be the first to admit this is an overcrowded tank, but maintenance is regular and I've got limited aquarium space. Bite me.
the fish
Two males and two females were housed together, although only one male currently fathers the spawns. They are pretty mean to each other, but no more so than some of the more territorial dwarf plecs (nothing like a pseuda or a full sized panaque). Food provided consists mostly of boiled canned peas mixed with flake food and carnivore pellets. I also toss in spirulina flake/wafers from time to time. The betta are incredibly ambitious eaters, so food has to be provided which does not suit their tastes. I tried zucchini, but no one touched the stuff, which is surprising to me. Fava beans are also greedily accepted. I lost a pair recently, and just received replacements.
male
female
spawning
Three spawnings occurred over a period of approximately six months. Females were very reluctant to be trapped, but the male was very gentle. Spawning was first induced by an unexpectedly cold late summer, followed by my fervent changing of the tankwater with warmer tap to keep the fish from freezing (the tank dipped to 70 F). The later spawns were not triggered. The tank currently sits at an even 80F, which is about as high as the pugnax prefer it, and it suits the ancistrus just as well. I separate broods from the male, as betta are notorious fry eaters (large, 5”+ wild pugnax all the more). Clutch size was small at about 20-25 eggs, by my best guess. About half survived my first attempt. I later kept the fry with the male until egg sacs were absorbed. Spawns remained small. I don’t usually like to disturb the rearing process, but the choice of tankmates leaves me with little other option. The fry proved for me at least to be incredibly challenging to raise. In the end, tossing them in with a bunch of similarly aged hypans and throwing them fistfuls of high quality flake has yielded the best results.
Fry darken considerably after release from the male's cave.
size: 20 gallon tall
substrate: fine pea gravel with a fine layer of sand underneath
decor: driftwood, lotta rocks, echinodorus, and at some point, anubias barteri.
caves: standard slate and some polished clay caves. Not ideal, but they work. I suspect a flattened breeder cone or something of the sort would suit them much better, but I have neither the time nor the funds to go find someone willing to do these.
filtration: two flval x2s. Also a powerhead with a prefilter
heating: ebo jager 150
maintenance: filters and water simultaneously cleansed twice a week
tankmates: lamontichthys stibaros, betta pugnax. L-309 is a shy species, imo, though quite interspecically pugnacious. Males scuffle a bit more than I would have expected. Tankmates were chosen so as not to be too competitive over food. However, once they get in the groove of things, they tend to be voracious eaters. New specimens can be difficult to acclimate. I'll be the first to admit this is an overcrowded tank, but maintenance is regular and I've got limited aquarium space. Bite me.
the fish
Two males and two females were housed together, although only one male currently fathers the spawns. They are pretty mean to each other, but no more so than some of the more territorial dwarf plecs (nothing like a pseuda or a full sized panaque). Food provided consists mostly of boiled canned peas mixed with flake food and carnivore pellets. I also toss in spirulina flake/wafers from time to time. The betta are incredibly ambitious eaters, so food has to be provided which does not suit their tastes. I tried zucchini, but no one touched the stuff, which is surprising to me. Fava beans are also greedily accepted. I lost a pair recently, and just received replacements.
male
female
spawning
Three spawnings occurred over a period of approximately six months. Females were very reluctant to be trapped, but the male was very gentle. Spawning was first induced by an unexpectedly cold late summer, followed by my fervent changing of the tankwater with warmer tap to keep the fish from freezing (the tank dipped to 70 F). The later spawns were not triggered. The tank currently sits at an even 80F, which is about as high as the pugnax prefer it, and it suits the ancistrus just as well. I separate broods from the male, as betta are notorious fry eaters (large, 5”+ wild pugnax all the more). Clutch size was small at about 20-25 eggs, by my best guess. About half survived my first attempt. I later kept the fry with the male until egg sacs were absorbed. Spawns remained small. I don’t usually like to disturb the rearing process, but the choice of tankmates leaves me with little other option. The fry proved for me at least to be incredibly challenging to raise. In the end, tossing them in with a bunch of similarly aged hypans and throwing them fistfuls of high quality flake has yielded the best results.
Fry darken considerably after release from the male's cave.
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