Leopard Frog Pleco (L134): Complete Care Guide
- Dec 02, 2020
- Anshika Mishra
- 3965 0 0
Since the Leopard Frog Pleco (L134) is a bit costly fish so you definitely don't want to make too many mistakes therefore in this article, you will be knowing everything you need to know before getting it in your tank.
The Leopard Frog Pleco (L134) is a very rewarding fish to keep in the long term, there are a lot of things that are really cool about it:
Appearance
These fishes speak for themselves but there is something even more interesting about them and that is obviously the colorations, it makes them look a bit like a leopard and a frog combined. There are a few types of patterns in these fishes like the spotty patterns, the stripy pattern.
The interesting thing is when they are juveniles and when they are young they have a banded kind of striping across the body and as they start to get older, about a year and a half, they start to become more like an adult version with spotty marks instead.
A really healthy L134 will have very bright colors, you don't want to get the one with completely washed colors because then it means that they are unhealthy and stressed.
These guys are actually catfish, Peckolia Compta to be specific. It basically just signifies where they come from in the wild which is Brazil. The comes from fast-flowing rivers with low streams, highly oxygenated water. These streams are really warm.
Since they are catfish they can live for a pretty long time in an aquarium especially with some good care. In some aquariums, these fishes have thrived for more than 10 years. So, with good care, you will be having a pet that will last for ages.
This fish is a small fish, they get about 11 centimeter which is about four and a half inches. They are not going to get any bigger than that, so they are not huge. This means that you can keep them in quite a small aquarium which means.
Tank Size
It is recommended normally a 20-gallon to 30-gallon, even more, if possible, but when you get the juveniles you want to keep them in a relatively smaller aquarium maybe with a couple of other fishes.
You can put five to six of them in a little colony. Once they get to that 11cm mark, you have still got all six or five maybe you can upgrade them to a big 55-gallon.
Water Parameter
They come from the fast-flowing rivers in Brazil and in those rivers the water is really soft. So you want to keep the water the same in your aquarium, keep the TDS of the water down quite a bit.
You want to keep the temperature up which is one of the things that a lot of people forget about. You should keep it between 80-86 degrees Fahrenheit.
You want to keep the pH on the lower side, you don't want to go over 7.5 but 7.5-6 is pretty good for these guys. They like that little bit of acidy in the water.
Territorial fish
These fishes love caves, like any other Pleco. So, it is normally recommended to keep as many caves as many of these fish you have. When you put them in this tank, they will start to pick off areas and try to get territorial over their chosen cave. Therefore you need to provide a lot of hiding space for these guys. For substrate, a fine sand substrate will do perfectly for these fishes because they do can eat some sand while scavenging into the substrate.
Breeding
It can take a while if you are intending to breed these fish, these guys will start to breed at that two and a half to the three-year mark. For breeding the pair will pick up a cave, at the time the aquarium can become really aggressive, the male will try to trap the pairing female into the cave until she lays eggs, if she doesn't the male might end up killing her. Otherwise, when the female lays eggs, she can get out of the cave and the male will look after the eggs until they hatch.
That is the only aggression you will ever notice from these guys, they will never be aggressive to the other fishes in the tank. They are very peaceful fish.
Tank Mates
Dither fish is another good way to make these fishes feel more comfortable in the tank. It will make them feel safe and they will come out of their caves more often. Get the fishes like Neon Tetra or other peaceful fish who live in the same water condition as these guys.
Diet
These fishes are omnivores. In their diet, they like to have a 50-50 balance of veg and protein. So, lots of green and they also don't mind having some Mysis, blood worms, Rapashi, and stuff like that.
If you get them as juveniles, then it is highly suggested to feed them small foods because otherwise, they can trap the food inside their mouth. A thing that people don't know about Plecos is that they have hooks inside their throat so if they swallow something they can't actually spit back because of which a lot of people lose their Plecos early.
To the juvenile feed them lots of Zucchini, some green beans, some Rapashi super green, and grub pie. Attentively more on the vegetable side because at the start you don't want them to bloat. As they start to get a bit bigger you can start introducing those Mysis, shrimp, and blood worms into their diet and they are gonna absolutely love it.
Go on have fun with your tiny Leopard cum Frog-looking fish and with the above information try to provide them the best life possible.
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