celticfish's Pseudacanthicus sp. L025 breeding project (aka scarlet cactus pleco)

[celticfish]

My decision to start this journey started sometime last May.
Boy was it tough to find any specimens let alone adult ones...
Forward the timeline to September 2009, I managed to get some fish but all in the 6" or less range.
I thought it will take FOREVER to get anything started and was at the brink of throwing in the towel.

Providence and serendipity met sometime March 2010.
And on April Fools' Day the adults specimens arrived! (I'm thinking divine comedy here...)
They were advertised for sale with the location Freiburg, Germany.
You wouldn't believe it if I told you but they actually originated some where in France close to Freiburg.
So the fish actually come from France!
Much thanks giving to the seller.
First, to part with the fish and second for making the land travel to meet my contact halfway.
The sale consisted of four fish of which one was female.

There was initial concern as some of the fish had torn/burns on their fins.
The received condition was understandable as they had travelled quite a distance by land and air.
Thankfully they all made it through the initial acclimatization.


Here is the nicest and largest male fish.




More pictures to follow.

Note: I do have other fish but these are the ones with a tale to tell!

[Champ-BKK]

Thank for sharing.
Keep update. Good luck.

[blue33]

they are indeed very stunning looking fish. i just love those rugged body. thanks for sharing these beautiful fish. are they difficult to find in singapore?

[johannes]

Hi Adrian, the big/mature ones are difficult to find. For the small ones, they have been out of stock ever since december 2008 and only until this year's season that they are available again at our lfs.

[CHOO]

Hope you have a great succeed in your breeding. Anyway, can share what actually is the size to see whether is mature for breeding?

[blue33]

Thanks for the info bro. If i were to keep fish only, this will be definitely be one of my wish list.

Hi Adrian, the big/mature ones are difficult to find. For the small ones, they have been out of stock ever since december 2008 and only until this year's season that they are available again at our lfs.

[celticfish]

@ choo,

I must say I havent really measured these guys.
They are a lot bigger than I'm used to.
The quoted size when I got them was 25 to 40 cm.
Visually they look a lot less though the 25 cm ones were quite right.
I think the 40 cm ones were 30 to 35 cm.

@ blue33,
Don't waste time!
C328 has some left and they are 7-pointers.



Sometime in May I removed the alpha male and replaced it with another male.
The tables soon turned with the female bullying the new male.
Though he was longer and hence should be larger than her he wasn't conditioned as well.
But I didn't really notice the bullying.
In fact i thought it was quite novel that he perched himself on the diftwood.
Thankfully I realize the bullying before it was too late.

Here's what he was doing...













I like this picture because its really dynamic!
Unfortunately its the wrong end of the fish!






Foolishly I was thinking "hey isn't that cute!"...
The torn fins and the mark on his head in the last photo got me off my butt.
He was promptly switched with the original alpha.
This wasn't done without apprehension too.
And it wasn't unfounded...


The tables turned on the female and she was battered like Luka (remeber the song?).
Obvious torn fins and most fearfull was a big gash below her belly...
Unfortunately I don't have picture documentation for this portion as the real world beckoned and I didn't want to disturb the tank too much.

[tobalman]

WOW Great looking L25, how big is the tank that you have them in bro ?

Good luck with your project.

[Leanneay]

How do you sex these catfish as I've been wanting to breed for a while but online today I found out that my catfish is a different species from what I was told...

Thanks

[900801]

If you google search you can find how to sex them.