A Heavy Flow Aquarium Design for Breeding Gold Nugget Plecos

[ndfi78]

Late to the party on this, but could a 50-gallon lowboy work for something like this? Set it up with a large rock formation in the middle and have the flow going in a circle, much like the video above? Idk, just something that popped into my head. 

[Tihshho]

Can't for certain say it will or won't, but for a species that isn't regularly bred in captivity a shallow tank is going to be stressful for them. Remember, pleco's are basically bottom dwellers,so when there is surface movement they will want to hide. A lowboy (mind you great tanks for many species!) would limit the amount of midlevel swimmers that you would need to establish as 'security' for the plecos. Bold schooling fish who are food motivated are great for this, because when you get to the tank they don't hide. When midwater fish hide, it's a sign for bottom dwellers to seek shelter as there is a predator near. 

[gardenman]

If the fish you're trying to breed come from fast moving streams, they're not going to be bothered by shallow water. That's what they're used to. Three to six inches of depth is more or less their norm. You can go up to a foot or so, but more than that is overkill and complicates getting the flow rate you're seeking. If you've seen Cory's videos collecting plecos in the wild they're often in very shallow water turning over rocks to find them. 

[Tihshho]

On 4/26/2022 at 10:06 AM, gardenman said:

If the fish you're trying to breed come from fast moving streams, they're not going to be bothered by shallow water. That's what they're used to. Three to six inches of depth is more or less their norm. You can go up to a foot or so, but more than that is overkill and complicates getting the flow rate you're seeking. If you've seen Cory's videos collecting plecos in the wild they're often in very shallow water turning over rocks to find them. 

You are correct, but replicating this in the aquaria is different than the slice of nature they came from. A shallow tank, before the low boys came out, generally meant small tank. That is not as limiting now, but still not as prevalent as other tanks sizes that are available. Replicating the substrate, flow, food sources, temp, light cycle, and oxygenation generally are more suitable to create a spawning environment. Going shallow is more of a captive limitation as you're now talking custom tanks or large sump systems. We like to replicate nature as hobbyists, but at the same time we are working with a finite space to do so. Shallow tank by volume is drastically different than a 200'x50' slice of a 1' deep water way.

[Dancing Matt]

I'm just going to say this is making me want to retry a setup for my Hillstream loach in my 20L

[gardenman]

On 4/28/2022 at 7:23 PM, Dancing Matt said:

I'm just going to say this is making me want to retry a setup for my Hillstream loach in my 20L

They're pretty neat tanks to see in action. You don't see it as much in the States as in Europe and Asia, but if you poke around a bit on YouTube you can find quite a few videos of this type of tank in action. Most fish don't want/need this kind of flow, but for that that do want it, these tanks are ideal.

[nabokovfan87]

I found this.... Probably the perfect canvas.  Totally slipped my mind, but maybe an old aquarium/zoo might have a tank you can find.

This is from long beach aquarium and used for jellyfish.

[Mac Jank]

Just reviving this thread…I’m going to attempt to build a 20 long mini river habitat with clear pipe laying on the bottom long ways and a piece of Lexan on top that fits super tight and see if I can duplicate a false bottom without glass or silicone…(ok maybe a little). I have purple finned hillstreams coming soon and want to try this. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

I just came across this thread, and it made me think bout this tank that I have seen in a couple videos. It is in a store over in Australia. 

its been a week or two since I watched these, but IIRC in the second video, they add several gold nuggets to the river tank. They showed and talked about how much they cost there is Australia, and it is crazy!

[Odd Duck]

On 6/27/2023 at 12:48 PM, Andy's Fish Den said:

several gold nuggets

Looks like it was blue phantoms instead of gold nuggets.  Still very cool plecos.

[Andy's Fish Den]

On 6/28/2023 at 9:21 PM, Odd Duck said:

Looks like it was blue phantoms instead of gold nuggets.  Still very cool plecos.

oops! It had been a while since I watched it. 

[Odd Duck]

It does look like really good habitat for a gold nugget - similar effect as the Panta Rhei tank in Germany, not quite as extreme.