Any one into "Fancy" Plecos here?

[goby_dude]

Just curious if there are any pleco collectors around here? By that I mean not your average algae eating plecos but the rarer (nicer) plecos like scarlets, zebras, and the ones without names but refer only to by L numbers. I personally think that some of those plecos can easily be the most beautiful freshwater fish there is with their striking patterns.

[goby_dude]

Still no one eh? I can't be the only person in this forums that has interest in these fish, am I? :confused:

[StirCrazy]

I have a "Clown" pleco and a a bristle nose. Although I am not fanatical about Pleco's liek others I do like to have them in my tanks.

Steve

[rottn]

I've got 2 clown plecos in my tank. I'm not a HUGE fan of plecos (they're great little workers), but as you say, some of the fancier ones ARE beautiful. They are also tons of $$$! I've looked at them (the gold nugget in particular), but just couldn't justify spending that kind of money!

[goby_dude]

Cool guys,

Glad to hear there are people interested in them here. I'm getting kind of addicted to them now. :D Yeah, some of the nicer plecos can be a little expensive. And they do hide most of the time. I guess that's why not that many people's into them. Mary, how much do you lfs sell the gold nuggets for? My lfs can get them for a relatively cheap price compare to other stores. They don't have any at the moment, but I'm sure they can get some by the end of the month if there are enough people interested in them. I'm also getting some really rare plecos at the end of the month with them too. Here is a picture of it.
http://www.aquajapan.com/encyc/catfish/loricariidae/pseudacanthicus/sp0002_07.jpg

-Ken

[felix]

That looks pretty cool! :eek1: pray what is the name of it?

I have no idea what a 'relatively cheap' price for one of these is. I recently saw a zebra pleco at my lfs selling for $150... it's very nice, but 150 bucks? seems like a bit of a rip-off to me..

[goby_dude]

Yeah, those looked pretty nice. Those one's don't really have a name though. They are simply refer to as L-273 in the trade I think. Those are really really pricey because they are really rare. Zebra plecos are getting harder to come by these days too, I remeber they used to be around like $50......but that was like 10 years ago. :rolleyes:
But yeah, $150 for a zebra is really expensive, I saw them at big-als for around $120 I think. The LFS I went to had a couple in for $70 a while back. As for the gold nugget that I said was "relatively cheap", I think they were selling them for $30, I don't know if they have any left though.

[felix]

that's in fact where i saw it. i thought it would be a lot cheaper than that, since zebra plecos can be bred in the aquarium nowadays.

they also had some queen arabesques for $70 and gold nuggets for $50. ouch. I don't think petsmart or walmart sell them though.

[afss]

I have one pleco. I really like them, but just don't have room for more. This one i have had for 3 years now. Really like it as it almost looks ghost like as it cruises around the tank when the lights are out. Bought it in FLorida when i lived there, it moved with me to TO, then to St catharines. Im not sure of the species. It was about 2 inches long when i got it, and now is about 3-4 inches. It is black and white striped with the stripes runing the length of the body.
One question.. is it normal for them to make noise.. kinda like burping, when you take them out of the water?

Scott

[goby_dude]

$150 eh....guess they raised the price again. I know, I don't know why they are so expensive, I guess it's just demand and supply, but I personally don't really know anyone that would pay $150 for a zebra pleco, especially when you can't display them since they hide all the time, not to mention that they stay relatively small. The LFS I was talking about is in Markham, called Blue Ocean I believe, I dropped by on Sunday and they still have 3 gold nuggets for sale. I think they are selling them for 30 something, just wanna let you know in case you are interested.

Hey afss, I believe it's quite normal for plecos to make some kind of noise when they are out of water. Kinda sound like it's sucking water or air in right? I've heard that with my plecos also. As for the pleco you have, it might just be the zebra pleco we've been talking about, does it look like this?
http://www.trilbytropicals.com/L-46ZEBRA.jpg

[afss]

Kinda like that, but not. Mine is more black than white. I will see if i can't get a picture of it sometime and post it

Scott

[felix]

Originally posted by goby_dude
Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out when I get a chance. :cheers:



$150 eh....guess they raised the price again. I know, I don't know why they are so expensive, I guess it's just demand and supply, but I personally don't really know anyone that would pay $150 for a zebra pleco, especially when you can't display them since they hide all the time, not to mention that they stay relatively small. The LFS I was talking about is in Markham, called Blue Ocean I believe, I dropped by on Sunday and they still have 3 gold nuggets for sale. I think they are selling them for 30 something, just wanna let you know in case you are interested.