L183 Ideal Conditions

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 14 Aug 2007, 04:13

What are the ideal conditions for L183s

TDS: ?
GH: ?
KH: ?
pH: ? 6.0-7.0
Temp: ?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 14 Aug 2007, 14:08

See

The water should be REALLY SOFT - as in nearly no measurable GH/KH. pH in the natural environment is much lower than 6, probably about pH 4, but that's difficult to keep in a tank without crashing it, so I would recommend keeping it arount pH 6.

I'd also recommend the higher range of the temperature, at least to begin with.

Note that A. dolichopterus is quite rare in the trade, but other "lookalikes" are often sold under this name, when they are not this species. Check the number of rays in the dorsal fin - 12 for A. dolichopterus, 8 for other Ancistrus species - but the keeping conditions are pretty much the same for any of the Ancistrus with "black body and white spots".

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Mats

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 14 Aug 2007, 23:22

The conditions in the tank that I want to keep them in are as follows:

TDS: 143 ppm
pH: 6.02
GH: 2-3 dH
KH: 0-1 dH
Temp 78F

Should I try to change any of these?

Post by **Barbie** » 15 Aug 2007, 17:11

I would personally warm them up to 82 degrees or so. I had good luck spawning them there, although they seemed to condition well at higher temps still. Under 78 degrees they were more sluggish and spawned far less often. If you have pictures of your fish, we might be able to help determine if they are really L183.

Barbie

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 15 Aug 2007, 17:14

I will be getting these guys next week so I don't have any pictures. They are coming from a reputable breeder and they have well defined white seams (i think L183s are the only ones with that)

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 27 Aug 2007, 02:17

I just thought I would post an update for anyone who is curious and for future reference.

I've had my L183s for just about a week now and they are all doing great. Still a little shy. They are very active at night.

My water conditions are:
TDS: 138-170 ppm
pH: 5.82-6.06
GH: 3-4 dH
KH: 1 dH
Temp: 82 F

I talked with the guy who I bought them from and he said that he raises his in tap water with a pH of 7-7.2 and a TDS of 350 ppm. According to him they will turn brown in soft water... so far I haven't had that problem.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 27 Aug 2007, 22:49

The most definite way to determine if they are is by counting the dorsal rays - it is definite - no other Ancistrus species has 12 rays. It is rather easy too, if you take a photo of the fish with it's dorsal fin erect.

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Mats