Help guess the sex of my L46 plecos 2.4-3 inches

[zebra10]

I have 7 L46 plecos 2.4-3 inches they always sleep and rest between the slate, only one will sleep in a cave sometimes. Would really like to hear what you think.

[Jobro]

I'm just guessing and I hope more people will make their guesses so you can get more opinions.

First picture: female, male, female
Second picture: three females and the one that is sucking on the side of the box is maybe a male.

Nice fish

[zebra10]

The one sucking the side of the box, is the only one that will rest in a cave.

[Jobro]

The rest looks pretty much like females. But the one in the middle (first picture) looks like a male to me as well.

maybe there are not enough caves or the positioning of the caves is bad, so that there is only enough space for 1 male territory with caves?
if you can, add a better picture (meaning a picture with more light, camera closer) of the fish in the middle and maybe a picture of your tank/cave layout as well.

[Theshepherd]

I am curious, can you explain what you mean by "only enough space for 1 male territory with caves?"

[Jobro]

If the caves are all in the same territory, the alpha male might force any other male away from the caves in his territory, so the other males have to hide somewhere else. Even if he only uses one cave, he might still claim more than one cave for his own.

This is not a set rule. It strongly depends on the individuals.
Plecos do have some character/temper (sorry, no native english speaker) and one might not act like the other. So maybe some males will sit in caves next to each other without trouble whereas others will keep fighting until one of them dies.

So sometimes you will need to create some territories inside the tank for weaker individuals to find some rest and claim a cave for their own.

[zebra10]

A photo of my 40 gal breeder tank.

[Jobro]

I can only see 1-2 caves with a closed back, is that right? They also look rather huge for a zebra. You should add some more breeding caves. The opening should be only about big enough for your females to get in. Males won't be able to defend their caves, if the entrance is too big. There is various information about right breeding cave sizes for H. Zebra. Just google it up.

[TwoTankAmin]

For what it is worth, my experience has been that lines of sight matter. This is true of most territorial fish. If they cannot see each other, they will not be fighting. My solution to keeping groups of plecos was to insure there were many caves of somewhat different sizes and shapes. I shoot for at least 1 cave per fish. The goal is to create a variety of caves so one is sure satisfy those few males that will use them for spawning. Most will not be claimed but many will be used on a temporary basis as a hiding place. In addition there is a lot of rock and wood in my tanks. The unclaimed caves and the decor/scape stuff provides many hiding places and breaks up sight lines as much as possible.

I will say I have only worked with the smaller species, a few brislenose, P. compta and then 5 of the B&W Hypans. In groups of 12-15 fish I find 2 males may be the dads and maybe 3 or 4 females the moms. Only once did I have a triple spawn over the years in such sized groups.

I agree that the caves in your pics are not ideal. I also think there is too much open space and too little cover. I would offer this quote from zebrapleco.com which influenced how I set up my tanks

The floor of the xingu is primerily made up of rounded rocks, crevises and a sandy substrate, allowing Hypancistrus zebra to travel throughout it's territory under cover from preditors.

I tried to create tanks in which the fish could move around and not break cover and which broke up site lines. The two males in the picture below spawned regullrly for about 4 years (with three 4 month breaks along the way) in the two caves in the picture below. They are homemade slate caves which were separated by about 6 inches. There were 13 adults in the tank and 4 fry when I got the group. The tank was a 30 gal. breeder (36x18x13 tall in inches).


This is what worked for me. I would not suggest it is the only or even the best way to do things. What I know is it worked for me. My tap water, what and how I fed as well as my maintenance routine surely played significant roles here as well. For all I know my layout may have worked against more spawning rather than helping it.

[b.reder]

Is anyone in California selling Zebras any more?