Hitchhiker a year on. L001

[Stan]

Some of you may remember a thread over a year ago i did on PF about "Hitch" my L001 I got for free in a bunch of java fern. here's a pic from that time about 2"

And here he is today about 10"TL<3 He's become more nocturnal as he grows but he's still eating and growing.

 

[Doodles]

lol I remember that. Looking good:clap::clap: I like goldspots, they have loads of character.

 

[Irene0100]

super fish, even better when they are for free!
lucky you.

 

[Stripe]

Beautiful fish

 

[Terry Got Hip kissed]

Aww and i just gave mine away
Thats a quality find though all i ever get with plants is snails :wb:

 

[Stan]

I was shocked as well, but happy I kept him. Now that my big common has been moved to the hatchery tub with my GG, Hitch runs the show in the house anyway. I'm really amazed how much his color can change, some days he's almost black, others he is brown with very strong gold markings, and other times he gets very light colored and the gold spots look almost coppery.

 

[macvsog23]

Hi do hope your going to keep this fish in a big tank?
This fish will get to around 10" to 12" so a tank that is about 5 ft x 2ft in foot print would be the smallest I would think about and that is quite small for a fish of this size

The changes in color are maily due to stress and shock related to the need to "Blend" in to the substrate.

Your substrate being light is producing a problem for the fishso he/she is trying several Blends"

Regards

 

[Stan]

I keep him in my 120 with some polys and other predators the footprint is 120cm x 60cm which in my experience will be more than enough space for a 10-12 inch plec. I agree on the substrate though, I cant decide on black sand or slate substrate..

 

[macvsog23]

Sadly I do not know what 120 cm x 60 cms is in english.

When considering the tank size it is not just the size of the fish and its tank mates you have to considerer

Many factors are part of the overall matter.
Let me explain hopefully you will forgive me for hijacking this thread and the wonderful Mods may move it.

When housing a fish many factors must be considered to arrive at a tank size

One point is not part of the question
I can’t have a big tank it cost a lot or I can’t have it in the house. Should this be a factor then don’t think about sizing the tank to the fish get a smaller fish or one that will not need a large tank.

The first mistake we all make myself included is to look at the final size of the fish and think along the lines of it is “X” inches long so I will get a tank two of three times the size of the fish.

This is not how nature works.

Some fish will predate and spawn in a very small area some require many factors to aid predation and spawning and need to travel to a area that is totally different to the area were they predate.
Naturally your saying “I don’t want to spawn this fish” sorry but your not the one that is running the show nature is and nature will have hard wired this fish to reproduce once it becomes sexually mature.

A example is fish from the family Pimelodidae some of these fish have the longest migratory spawning route of all freshwater fish travelling 10000 of miles to reach an area were they have to spawn. Thus keeping these fish amounts to cruel and also in my opinion is breaking the UK law regards the 2007 animal welfare act.

Please note I say has to spawn the fish has no choice it is driven by the need to have sex, to reproduce, it has no control over this.

Many male fish of the family Loricariidae live and reproduce in a area that is no bigger than the “line of Sight” of the fish this means that they once reaching sexual maturity will find a area were they are happy and have all the sex aids they need i.e. a good cave food and females passing. They will make visual identifications and stay with in the area. This is why when adding new fish to a tank it always pays to move things around.
I myself place a white stone by one cave and a black stone by the next cave and so on with different stones this allows each fish to identify his or her cave.

So choosing a tank is not dictated by the fish size but by the fish behaviour.

Having studied the fish and researched the fish you can then make a plan for the fish tank and how it is furnished.

The other issue is water quality / stability some fish produce waste on a scale that will cause problems. The usual reply to this is “I got a big filter” well woppie do and you are sure that that will deal with the problem?

However large a filter is it will only turn crap to nitrite at a certain rate. If the crap is entering the filter at a rate it can’t convert it will just become a bacterial soup machine and send out polluted water.

Therefore the bigger a tank the better chance you have of marinating good water.

A rule of thumb is that the rule of thumb don’t work each fish is going to need a very different set of rules.

The solution to most of the problems of keeping fish that require a very large amount of space is DON’T.

Of the several thousand of species of fish imported to the UK every year only a very small amount can be housed in captivity with out subjecting the fish to unnecessary suffering.
I would estimate that under .01% live a life that would be any were natural.

When we feel that your keeping fish in a natural environment we have no one to challenge that belief , sadly only the can tell us.

But then they do don’t they?

They die

 

[Stan]

Well mate that's quite a valid point you make. However for us as fishkeepers to perfectly provide an ideal habitat for most fish would be virtually impossible. Most people, (myself included) get worked up when they see bettas in tiny plastic cups or a pacu stuffed into a 75 gallon tank with reason, and I don't know what the numbers are for fish killed yearly by Irresponsible pet owners or even worse set free but I feel someone who's researched the conditions required to keep their pets alive and healthy, and does everything in their immediate power to provide for them (including future planning) is ahead of the curve. Now, since you were too busy educating to do the calculation 120 x 60 x 60cm = 48"x24"x24" so 432litres or roughly 120 USG. Which in my opinion may not be "Ideal" but is sufficient for a long and happy life, and better than most aquarium fish ever see. Again your points are well taken but realistically you're not going to find many 1000 gallon set-ups with tetras and cories.

 

[macvsog23]

It is not that I cant turn metric to imp, it is just as a fine upstanding english man singing hearts of Oak I do not wish to become metric LOL
Not one word of my post was aimed at any one, just a point that I feel people over look.

My main point is that people buy the fish and dont think of the way the fish will be housed.

I am sure your tank is right for the fish, I do not think my opinion will change the fate of one fish so sadly it is a case of what is the point?

But as I said in the UK if some one was to use the 2007 animal welfare act.
we would see a few LFS closed, but all we do see is some RSPCA girle crying over a Dog that has been kicked a few times. but then fish cant sell TV Space can they?

So my main point is if I cant house it I dont buy it .

I do not think this is a LAW every one must follow but for me it is

 

[Doodles]

Its good to give this type of advice, i was bought a common plec when I started fishkeeping, quickly did some research and he has been upgraded 3 times now(before outgrowing each tank) and is in a 262 Litre tank, ideally he needs to be in one even bigger so have plans for a much bigger tank in the future.

Anyway I not going to move the post but im going to copy it as an article. Its a very good post and thanks.

Stan, have you got any more pics of the L001? especially when he was younger, that i could use for the L001 profile.

 

[Stan]

I fully agree Macvsog23 has great advice and seems to genuinely care for the welfare of all pets, and I think his posts, not only on this thread but on several others would make valuable articles and be a real asset to this site.
Sadly I don't have many good pics of the L001 I lost my mobile harddrive somewhere. :wb: but you're welcome to what I have here or in my pf gallery. If I remember correctly, Mattabula has some wicked L001 shots.

 

[Doodles]

Ok thanks Stan

 

[matubula]

If I remember correctly, Mattabula has some wicked L001 shots.

Is that me? I think you're being too kind.

 

[Stan]

Hey dude, sorry for the miss-spelling, and your shots are generally top shelf!