How many L046 we have in Singapore? or at least in AQ...

[zpleco]

Hi everyone, looking at my username & signature i suppose you will know i'm fan of the lovely L046. Recently just started a species tank for them & bought 2 from C328 (big hole in my pocket now). I will get more once $$$ starts falling from the sky

Below is a short report i read from practicalfishkeeping.co.uk which saddens me & made me want to ensure that this lovely creature does not extinct in our time.

"The Xingu and the species in it are, by and large, scheduled for destruction. A gigantic hydropower plant is right now under construction in the Xingu at Altamira, and more will follow. The dams will drown a vast area upstream, and the river downstream will periodically dry out. As Xingu is a well-known biodiversity hotspot with a comparable number of fish species to the entire continent of Europe, it is likely that a number of fish species will be extinguished. No one knows how many, or which species, as Brazil has elected not to investigate the issue in their environmental impact study.

Among the species most at risk are the iconic catfishes Hypancistrus zebra and Baryancistrus sp. "Gold Nugget L-018". Bleher's Xingu biotope is disappearing even as you read this.

As enormous as the impact of these dams will be, it is only a minor part of a gigantic plan to clear and develop about 1/3rd of the Amazon.

Basically this is likely to be the greatest single extinction event, and arguably the greatest single environmental disaster, in human history.

Amazingly this scheme has received almost no attention outside Brazil."

I will one day try to breed these little fellows & hope that they will still be around for many years to come. In the meanwhile, i understand that there are many fellow aquarist here that are keeping/breeding L046. I was wondering if we can tabulate how many L046 we have here in Singapore. I know it's impossible to get an accurate figure but at least we can have a rough answer

Fellow aquarist in other countries, do feel free to join in this survey. Just list down where you are from & how many L046 you have.

[zpleco]

I will start the ball rolling

zpleco (SG) - 2

[johannes]

i can safely say and be very certain that this species will not go extinct for as long as aquarium hobby is around.

in fact, it is the existence of other L-numbers that we should also be concerned of; be it the beautiful or hideous ones.

[zpleco]

With all due respect, one of the lessons i have learnt in life is to remember that nothing is ever certain. I know there are other L-species that are facing danger (no offence to the "hideous ones", let's just take one step at a time

[johannes]

i think many steps to conserve H. zebra has been taken long ago.
moreover, due to its popularity and value, it is farm bred now and there are many home breeders all around the world.
anyway, my point is to highlight that other L-numbers are also as important and not to be missed

[genes]

Yes, i remember speaking to some indonesians during aquarama09 and they showed me pictures of their L46 farms. One of them is also breeding L173 in his farm. Not forgetting the Malaysian farms are also breeding the L46 now. Maybe some singapore farms too. Plus many home breeders as mentioned by johannes. I too have just started on them because i got tired of plecos that turned black as they grow, while other species like L173 are just too expensive and rare for me. So will the hobby see L46 take a drastic decline in pricing and a drastic increase in quantity? Much in the path of many corydoras species and the common pleco? I'm not sure since it was mentioned that L46 fries are rather sensitive so survival rate is lower then other species. There are definitely many other plecos that are indeed more endangered then the L46 currently for a good reason that they are big/hideous monsters that are difficult to breed and ship. Look at the statistics below, no large size plecos, to name afew like panaque, pseudacanthicus and parancistrus. All are small sized plecos. To breed the large size plecos will require alot more space. Even ponds perhaps hence the absence of them in the breeding/conservation scene. Maybe when the monetary rewards for these other plecos become similar to L46, then would we see a higher public interest in them and farms start breeding them one day.

Here are some conservation efforts from other countries.
Top 10 bred catfish during the last 12 months :
Loricariidae
1 : L 134 - Peckoltia sp. - 758 Youngsters (damn, they breed like rabbits over there! None here in Singapore!!!)
2 : L 066 - Hypancistrus sp - 747 Youngsters
3 : Ancistrus sp. "Gold" / "Albino" - 601 Youngsters
4 : L 144 - Ancistrus sp. - 546 Youngsters
5 : L 168 - Zonancistrus brachyurus - 431 Youngsters
6 : L 181 - Ancistrus sp. - 260 Youngsters
7 : L 370 - Ancistrus sp. - 250 Youngsters
8 : Parotocinclus sp. Recife / Recife Pleco - 240 Youngsters
9 : L 183 - Ancistrus dolichopterus - 225 Youngsters
10 : L 046 - Hypancistrus zebra - 204 Youngsters

Statistic for : L 046 - Hypancistrus zebra / Rio Xingu
Number of entries registered in the database :
177 Male
151 Female
432 Unknown
760 Total

Breed total overview (Number of youngsters) :
Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1063 115 84 99 67 93 55 83 64 86 61 131 125

[CHOO]

To me , I believe in personal perference of likes, I like the contrast of colour of L46 ,eg: more white on it and it would not grow more than in very big size. As for others pleco, I just cannot grow my interest on them cause of their hairy and colour no matter is junior or adult. So different hobbists do their own part. If you like them keep them and breed . As for breeding , I believe I would not be happy to breed fishes that I don't like, so I would continue to breed L46 & L134.
20 adult L46 and 30fries , I have.

[johannes]

I agree with bro CHOO in breeding what you like, that's why i have been breeding various hypancistrus species only at the moment.

I have seen many hobbyists using conservation to justify what they breed but some abuse the term and yet some do it in the wrong way.








*heard from some importer, an Indon farm that supplies Japan has 1500 adults L46, excluding fries...

[genes]

The indons are really good! First the hammered the aro market, now the pleco. I hope they start breeding more L173 and more colorful pseudas too! Sorry, i'm still a sucker for colorful fishes

CHOO, have you had any success in breeding the L134?

[zpleco]

Yes, i remember speaking to some indonesians during aquarama09 and they showed me pictures of their L46 farms. One of them is also breeding L173 in his farm. Not forgetting the Malaysian farms are also breeding the L46 now. Maybe some singapore farms too. Plus many home breeders as mentioned by johannes. I too have just started on them because i got tired of plecos that turned black as they grow, while other species like L173 are just too expensive and rare for me. So will the hobby see L46 take a drastic decline in pricing and a drastic increase in quantity? Much in the path of many corydoras species and the common pleco? I'm not sure since it was mentioned that L46 fries are rather sensitive so survival rate is lower then other species. There are definitely many other plecos that are indeed more endangered then the L46 currently for a good reason that they are big/hideous monsters that are difficult to breed and ship. Look at the statistics below, no large size plecos, to name afew like panaque, pseudacanthicus and parancistrus. All are small sized plecos. To breed the large size plecos will require alot more space. Even ponds perhaps hence the absence of them in the breeding/conservation scene. Maybe when the monetary rewards for these other plecos become similar to L46, then would we see a higher public interest in them and farms start breeding them one day.

Here are some conservation efforts from other countries.
Top 10 bred catfish during the last 12 months :
Loricariidae
1 : L 134 - Peckoltia sp. - 758 Youngsters (damn, they breed like rabbits over there! None here in Singapore!!!)
2 : L 066 - Hypancistrus sp - 747 Youngsters
3 : Ancistrus sp. "Gold" / "Albino" - 601 Youngsters
4 : L 144 - Ancistrus sp. - 546 Youngsters
5 : L 168 - Zonancistrus brachyurus - 431 Youngsters
6 : L 181 - Ancistrus sp. - 260 Youngsters
7 : L 370 - Ancistrus sp. - 250 Youngsters
8 : Parotocinclus sp. Recife / Recife Pleco - 240 Youngsters
9 : L 183 - Ancistrus dolichopterus - 225 Youngsters
10 : L 046 - Hypancistrus zebra - 204 Youngsters

Statistic for : L 046 - Hypancistrus zebra / Rio Xingu
Number of entries registered in the database :
177 Male
151 Female
432 Unknown
760 Total

Breed total overview (Number of youngsters) :
Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1063 115 84 99 67 93 55 83 64 86 61 131 125

Hi Gene, thanks for the wonderful data you have there

[zpleco]

To me , I believe in personal perference of likes, I like the contrast of colour of L46 ,eg: more white on it and it would not grow more than in very big size. As for others pleco, I just cannot grow my interest on them cause of their hairy and colour no matter is junior or adult. So different hobbists do their own part. If you like them keep them and breed . As for breeding , I believe I would not be happy to breed fishes that I don't like, so I would continue to breed L46 & L134.
20 adult L46 and 30fries , I have.

Wow Choo, ever thought of selling some of your L46?

[zpleco]

I agree with bro CHOO in breeding what you like, that's why i have been breeding various hypancistrus species only at the moment.

I have seen many hobbyists using conservation to justify what they breed but some abuse the term and yet some do it in the wrong way.








*heard from some importer, an Indon farm that supplies Japan has 1500 adults L46, excluding fries...

Hi Johannes, care to share how some hobbyist abuse & do it the wrong way? I certainly do not want to be one of them

[johannes]

just within few of my pleco kakis alone there are at least tens of L46 in their tanks... i think if you include the whole of singapore alone itself the number is quite shocking let alone other countries..

which is why i think other dwindling L-numbers actually deserve more of species maintenance program through captive breeding

[drakeho]

Simply put .

The L46 in captive will never disappear . Not much of worry for L046 . I think the rest of the L numbers have more risk of being in danger . Everyone around is breeding them like rabbit . You think they got a chance of disappearing ?


There again ....
Conservation by keeping them in our tank ?

[genes]

Haaa...drake, we hobbyist probably added to their decline in the wild. Oops...
But with the hydro dam thingy they are building over there, perhaps L46 could really be extinct in the next 50 / 100 years? So can hobbyist keep L46 breeding till then? I know i can't, my interest in breeding changes from time to time.

[drakeho]

Hi Genes . Haha Have you added up to the decline numbers last week ??

I feel L46 will never disappear in captive tanks for sure .
'The young will take over the old' I guess .

[zpleco]

just within few of my pleco kakis alone there are at least tens of L46 in their tanks... i think if you include the whole of singapore alone itself the number is quite shocking let alone other countries..

which is why i think other dwindling L-numbers actually deserve more of species maintenance program through captive breeding

Oh wow...you're still at this issue...

Moderators, would you be able to change the title of the thread to "Which L-number are facing extinction?"

[genes]

Hi Genes . Haha Have you added up to the decline numbers last week ??

Heee... Just a little! I can't find another small pleco "show fish" better then L46 for my tank in the living room mah. Have seen so many "white" hypans that eventually lose the whiteness when they grow larger... in the end, L46 became my choice since they retain their white as they age and are more affordable now compared to years ago.

[Gecko]

Add a spanner to this, certain species actually strive after a dam is built...

[CHOO]

The indons are really good! First the hammered the aro market, now the pleco. I hope they start breeding more L173 and more colorful pseudas too! Sorry, i'm still a sucker for colorful fishes

CHOO, have you had any success in breeding the L134?

Yes , I have already successfully breed L46 & L134. Between them , L134 usually got bigger brood than L46, maybe they are bigger size. In fact pleco are easy to breed than aro. they don need space at all.I believe the farm cannot hammered th market yet as they need alot of female to lay egg that why market alot of males flooded, unless you buy junior as I believe even farmer cannot sex them when they are less than certain size.