Hi guys... I saw a beautiful L030 peppermint pleco at a LFS a few days ago. I thought it was pretty. I'm wanting to get a pleco for my mbuna tank, but I'm wondering if I can put this species in there. The pH is about 8.2; will the L030 survive in that? Any general suggestions? I did a search online for the L030 but came up empty on care tips. I know the members here will come through! Thanks!
Care of the L030 Peppermint Pleco
- Thread starter girl920
- Start date
I'm leery about fancy plecos with cichlids, but that might just be me. Also, the different black and white spotted species tend to prefer soft and acidic water more than some other fancies. It might be able to acclimate, but then it will have to deal with the additional stress of dodging mbuna. Maybe someone has a more optimistic view?
My gold nugget is doing great in my 55 african tank. In the 9 months I've had him I havnt seen them nip at him once. The only thing I would say you MUST have would be plenty of wood in the tank.
Unfortunately before discovering this site and doing research I tried twice with a Peppermint Pleco for my 29 gallon community tank. They loved to eat cucumber and hide in the cave but they never lived past a month. I found a HUGE peice of wood for my african tank(see tank pics) and purchased a gold nugget from the same store as the peppermints. He spends a majority of his time on the wood, sometimes on rocks or the glass but mostly the wood. I give him a big cucumber slice every week and a half. His colors are great and he seems happy!
Unfortunately before discovering this site and doing research I tried twice with a Peppermint Pleco for my 29 gallon community tank. They loved to eat cucumber and hide in the cave but they never lived past a month. I found a HUGE peice of wood for my african tank(see tank pics) and purchased a gold nugget from the same store as the peppermints. He spends a majority of his time on the wood, sometimes on rocks or the glass but mostly the wood. I give him a big cucumber slice every week and a half. His colors are great and he seems happy!
cucumber doesn't have near the nutritional value of zuccini or other squash that you can slice up. Also, I feed my plecs every-other day with a slice of zuccini or algae wafer. A slice of cucumber every 1.5 weeks isn't going to make him grow to his potential at all. Plecs need lots of food, not algae with the occational "treat"
I put in half a cucumber/zuccini/squash in(whichever is in the fridge) and leave it for 2/3 days. Sometimes I push a lot of NLS pellets into the veggie to 'gutload' it. I was giving it twice a week but he would never eat most of it, so I gradually moved it back to every week and a half. As he gets bigger I'll try to feed more often. Algae wafers arent an option because they disappear before he gets to them.
