Royal Pleco - February 13, 1996


Roger says: Welcome everyone to tonight's catfish room meeting
Roger says: I want to make this a very informal type of meeting,
with lots of Q/A and with some discussion
Roger says: therefore, I don't intend to use the microphones
Roger says: but I may have to later
Roger says: Tonight's meeting is about panaque nigrolineatus, the
royal pleco
Roger says: the royal pleco is perhaps the oddest looking of all
the loricariids
Roger says: to view pictures of two common colorations, view my
fish page at
http://www.cs.msstate.edu/~roger/aquaria/myfish/myfish.html
Roger says: p. nigrolineatus is indigenous to the Amazon area of
Southern Colombia, but a second form has been found in Rio Xingu
Juanmi says: Nice fish Roger, (and fast server)
Roger says: the scientific name panaque nigrolineatus is now
under some question (but aren't they all?), because of the
differences in some specimins
Roger says: thanks Juan, those are my fish, and the machine that
I admin :-)
Roger says: there are two main variations of this species...
Roger says: the "chocolate xingu royal pleco", and the clear tail
royal pleco
Roger says: I have one of each (evidently)
Roger says: the clear tail version has a clear vertical stripe at
the base of the caudle fin, just past the caudal penducle
Apistogramma asks: which one is the regular old green and black
striped monster with teh white marked caudal and red eyes?
Roger says: both types are striking in their appearance,
Roger says: your's is the oddball, Ted :-)
Roger says: in general, they are black and gray pinstriped, with
reddish or red/orange eyes
Roger says: the thin stripes run down the length of the body from
the nose to the beginning of the tail, and is even evident in all
fins other than the tail fin
Roger asks: would you like to describe your's Ted?
Apistogramma says: I do not have one anymore, but the last one I
had was the one without the marking in teh tail, but it was not
striped either...it was spotted...green spots surrounded by dark
brown to black...depending upon its mood.
Juanmi says: I have three of the clear tail variant
Roger says: I have two (as I mentioned earlier), the larger is
approx. 10", and named Dozer because of his affection for pushing
over my plants
Roger says: my smaller is the clear tail and is around 5"
Roger says: my larger specimin has developed enormous
interopercular spines, around 1" long
Roger says: and fairly impressive spikes on the ends of his
pectoral fins
Apistogramma asks: is it high domed in profile or low
domed...compared to others you have seen?
Roger says: he is very fond of "waving" his interopercular spines
on accasion, it is a very impressive display
Roger says: my large one is fairly high domed, the smaller one is
lower domed
Roger says: these guys can grow to be quite large, 9.75"
according to Baensch (which I think is VERY conservative) to 38cm
(about 15") according to Axelrod, which is probably closer
Arcas says: wow ...huge
Roger says: pricing on these fish varies greatly, I have seen
small specimins for as little as $12

(NOTE: I have been told that this species, when it can be found
in Australia, is priced at $500-1000 US)

Apistogramma says: I have seen some HUGE specimens at importers
places before...easily 12 -15 inches....but UGLY....
Roger says: around $30 is about average for a 5-7" specimin, I
think
Arcas says: ugly is good....as far as catfish go...:)
Roger says: yes, I have seen pictures in books of very large
ones, but they are usually much more dull
Apistogramma says: The large ones I saw..though it could be due
to wholesale water conditions...were very muddy in
color....almost no line deliniation.
Roger says: the fish is not very picky about water conditions
Roger says: that is similar to what I have seen, Ted
Roger says: the water conditions listed in my books are as
follows
Roger says: pH 6.5-7.5
Roger says: 72-79F (22-26C)
Roger says: hardness of 2-15dGH
Roger says: this is a little warmer and more alkiline than would
be necessary for a blue-eyed panaque
Roger says: although I keep my royals with a blue-eye
Roger says: this fish is a VERY poor algae eater, mine really
prefer shrimp pellets, fresh shrimp chunks, and pleco-min tablets
Roger says: they have quite large, cupping teeth
Roger says: mine makes rasping noises at night on the glass, they
should therefore NEVER be kept in acrylic tanks
Roger says: you can hear my large one rasping on the intake tube
on my Whisper 3 throughout the entire apartment at night
Roger says: it does not require as many dark hiding places as
most other cats, but will use them if available
Roger says: my books mention lots of conspecific aggression, but
I have not really noticed much of that in my tank
Roger says: although there is some chasing, it has never been a
problem
Roger says: although the large one has always been "king of the
tank"
Roger says: I've kept him with stingrays, mbuna (including
melanochromis auratus), severums, and clown knifes
Roger says: and no one has ever been able to bully him
Roger says: in short, these are very interesting fish with
striking appearance.  They have interesting behaviors, few
requirements (other than a large tank), and are not good algae
eaters
Roger says: a fish that I would recommend for any tank large
enough to house one, with little exception based on tankmates
Roger says: let me make one more point about aggression.  These
fish do not start fights (at least mine don't), but they don't
lose them if others pick them
Juanmi says: What do you feed the Roger
Roger says: I feed mine mostly shrimp pellets
Roger says: although they appreciate fresh shrimp chunks
Roger says: and algae pellets
Juanmi nods his head in understanding.
Roger says: and feeder guppies that die and fall to the bottom
Roger says: and just about anything else that falls into their
mouths
Juanmi says: Yep they really can eat
Roger says: mine are basically pigs :-)
Juanmi says: Mine either, but in my experince grow slowly
Roger says: another point about transporting them
Roger says: don't use a net, use some sort of bowl or collander,
their spines will cause them to stick to nets
Roger says: yes, they appear to grow quite slowly, Juan
Roger says: they can also make a loud hissing noise when removed
from the water
Juanmi says: One I have has just grow 3 inches in three years
Horus has had to cut many nets up to allow netted synodontis
adults which were caught in them to once again be free.
Roger says: yes, these are as bad as synos, Horus
Roger says: I have experienced about 1 inch per year growth as
well
Juanmi says: Any breeding info you know about them
Roger says: according to Baensch, it is unknown in the aquarium
Boxhedd asks: need wood in the tank?
Roger exclaims: definitely!
Juanmi says: Mine eat wood all the time
Roger says: these guys rasp a LOT
Roger says: I've heard of them rasping wood to a polished like
sheen
Juanmi says: The trunks are always nice and clean
Roger says: I have a very large piece of driftwood in that tank,
and it is always freshly chewed
Roger asks: do you have any other experiences with them you'd
like to share Ted?
Roger asks: or Juan?
Roger asks: or anyone else?
Juanmi says: Well, I agree with all you said, has been my
experience with them
Apistogramma says: new imports can be fragile....never buy one
that has sunken eyes....sunken bellies are a risk..but they can
usually bounce back....sunken eyes are usually goners.
Juanmi says: Would like to know if there a possiblity to breed
those fish
Roger exclaims: excellent point!
Roger says: I'd stay away from any specimin that hasn't been in
the shop for several days, and is obviously eating well
Horus asks: payara(?) was sayuing that the fish he collected in
the wild were very "clean". how do you figure?
Apistogramma says: as far as I know it has not been
accomplished...maybe someday in ponds...in nature they are siad
to be burrow nesters.  THey lays their eggs in tunnels in teh
river banks.
Roger says: I assume you are talking about "clean" as in free of
parasites...
Apistogramma says: frsh caught anything is rather clean...give
them a few weeks in shipping and jobber tanks without food and
they tend to get less clean:)
Roger nods his head in agreement.
Apistogramma says: I think one of the problems with importing
plecos is that they are rather hardy compared to say...neons. 
Thus they often get left in storage vats longer because they are
tough.
Horus asks: is it a pair former or polygamous?
Apistogramma says: no idea.
Roger says: nor do I
Apistogramma says: I have not heard of a pleco species bred in
captivity that is a true pair former.