Picked up some new rubberlips - possibly L457

[bekateen]

Hi All,

Today I received eight red-tailed rubberlips from Pleco Paradise LLC, https://www.facebook.com/PlecoParadiseLLC. According to the exporter, they were collected near Huánuco, in a tributary of the Huallaga. In color pattern (and close to locality, about 60 miles away), they appear to be

Chaetostoma sp(l457)

.

They're going into a 40 gal breeder half filled with water, covered with large cobble stones and a strong side-blasting pond pump (creating a toilet bowl flush effect) at 70-75F. Bright light to grow algae on stones. They look healthy and their stomachs are not hollow, so they've already been eating in captivity.

I see in the original DATZ article (here) the first specimens were exported under the trade name "Chaetostoma Tingo Red." I like that. The article states that Tingo could refer to the Rio Tingo or to Tingo Maria, which sits along the Huallaga. (I don't read German, so it took me a few hours working with the original scan and with Google Translate to read the whole story).

These are my first new plecos since last April, so I hope they do well.

Cheers, Eric

P.S., As many of you know, I have not had the best luck in the past with rubberlips. So hopefully I'm not reporting next week that they've all died.

[MarcW]

Good luck Eric, as they've been eating hopefully you're a step ahead of where you've been before with Chaetostoma.

I'm interested to see how they get on in your tank with so much flow.

[bekateen]

Thanks Marc. I'll keep you updated and make a video of the tank.

Cheers, Eric

[Tony4143]

Good Luck Eric

[Shane]

Eric,
Worth noting that the real key with regard to spawning the genus is really clean water with a good level of DO. They need these things much more than a strong current. I have bred two spp in a 33 long that simply had two smaller HOB filters and a single 350 gph power head for water movement. However, they received lots of food and 75% water changes every 5-6 days.
They need to excavate their own caves, so lay down a first layer of flattish stones, then a second layer of flat stones to make caves. Lastly add sand leaving the caves created by the second level only about 1\2 inch exposed. This way they do not try to burrow under the lower level of rocks (as there is no sand under them) and kill themselves by causing cave ins.

-Shane

[bekateen]

Thank you Shane. One thing I am aware of already is that there is relatively little sand in the tank, in a quiet 1/3 of the tank. But there are few stones in the sand. Oxygenation is high now but certainly the water current can be ramped down some without losing the oxygenation. That would allow more sandy area.

Also, for the water cleanliness, I've situated the tank in a place where water changes are easier rather than more difficult, so I hope to be able to keep water quality high. Plus I have potted aerial plants with submerged roots to help with water quality.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Here's my tank setup. I've added more rocks, added more sand (but I want to add more still), and decreased water flow.

So far so good - Fish are eating... well, they're pooping anyway, and that's a good sign.

Cheers, Eric

Direct link to YouTube video: New Riverine Tank for Chaetostoma sp. Huánuco (L457?)

[N0body Of The Goat]

To my novice eye, they don't look too dissimilar to

Chaetostoma dorsale

... Good luck, great looking setup!

[bekateen]

To my novice eye, they don't look too dissimilar to

Chaetostoma dorsale

... Good luck, great looking setup!

Thanks! Yes, definitely similar to dorsale, but some differences too. I've had dorsale before and my dorsale never had a red caudal fin. Also, my dorsale had a distinct iridescence, and the spots on the body sides formed stripes (like on a tiger) but these fish do not have these features.

My guess is that, like so many other plecos, there are related species, perhaps large species complexes, spread out over wide areas, and my fish belong in one related to dorsale, L455, L456, etc.

Cheers, Eric

[MarcW]

The tank looks great Eric, I like the large stones creating crevices and caves underneath them.

Once I can find some large stones I might setup a tank in a similar way, probably with a power head and venturi rather than a pond pump, the splashing noises would probably get me in trouble!

I guess its quite loud?

Did you buy the stones or find them locally? I'm always wary of buying decorative stones as the type of rock is never mentioned around here unless it's slate!

[bekateen]

I guess its quite loud?

Did you buy the stones or find them locally? I'm always wary of buying decorative stones as the type of rock is never mentioned around here unless it's slate!

Yes it is very loud - I consider it audiotherapy.

The stones were from a local garden center/stone yard. It's a kind of place where you normally buy stones by the truckload, but the store offers an option where they give you a large sack, about the size of a pillow case, and you can fill it with as many stones as you can fit in it for $16 USD. Best deal in town.

Cheers, Eric

[OneKiwi]

Hi, great tank and something I am looking at doing as well.
Are you worried about uneaten food geting stuck in the stones? Or are you confident that with the flow it will get dislodged at somepoint?
Simon

[bekateen]

Hi Simon,

I can't guarantee that all the uneaten food will be flushed out, but I try not to overfeed the tank and I try to place the food in areas that lack hiding places for food. Also, I make sure I do weekly large water changes. So far everyone seems healthy.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Sad news. I came in to work this morning and found two of my Chaetostoma sp. Rio Huánuco dead. Nothing obviously wrong with the tank, but I know I missed a water change last week, so I presume it's a combination of delayed water change and the fact that I've been adding more food to the tank since it now houses, in addition to the 11 rubberlips and 11

L052

, 5

Corydoras robineae

, some

Corydoras pauciradiatus

, and one

Pseudolithoxus anthrax

. I need to set up at least two more of these tanks to split these fish up, but don't have the space or facilities to do so. Will need to make a way.

[bekateen]

Although I'm still crying over losing two, at least the remaining fish look really healthy.

[MarcW]

Hi Eric, sorry to hear about you losing two of them. I know you have thought a lot about the requirements for rubberlips and have a great setup for them.

I think you are right about needing to split the fish up, weekly water changes probably kept everything OK, but as you only have half the water volume in the tank, maybe the bioload is too high to skip any water changes.

Hopefully you can find/make room for another washing machine tank .