I'm not much of a pleco guy; had a couple of large gibbiceps in the past, and currently have a few Bristlenose who seem to breeding without any special attention on my past. My local dealer currently has some Hypostomus laplatae, apparently originating in Uruguay. What little I have found on this species is fairly vague in terms of required conditions, but I am assuming that they would be a cool-tolerant species?
My Bristlenose seem to become fairly sluggish if temps drop much below 68F, and I would love to find a pleco that would be comfortable with a winter cooldown to somewhere in the region of 60F, with summer temps in the 70 - 75F range.
I'm not looking for a fish to perform slave labour as a cleaner or algae-consumer, and am not overly concerned with the high bioload of these fish as I keep my tanks quite uncrowded and do a lot of water changing. I am just hoping for a pleco-type monster for one or two of my tanks, and ideally one which can be placed outdoors in a stock tank for 5 months yearly, give or take. The fish that are available are only a couple inches in length, and I would likely get 4 or 5 and hope to get at least one pair out of that for possible breeding.
Any thoughts or comments on this species, or suggestions for another possible choice?
My Bristlenose seem to become fairly sluggish if temps drop much below 68F, and I would love to find a pleco that would be comfortable with a winter cooldown to somewhere in the region of 60F, with summer temps in the 70 - 75F range.
I'm not looking for a fish to perform slave labour as a cleaner or algae-consumer, and am not overly concerned with the high bioload of these fish as I keep my tanks quite uncrowded and do a lot of water changing. I am just hoping for a pleco-type monster for one or two of my tanks, and ideally one which can be placed outdoors in a stock tank for 5 months yearly, give or take. The fish that are available are only a couple inches in length, and I would likely get 4 or 5 and hope to get at least one pair out of that for possible breeding.
Any thoughts or comments on this species, or suggestions for another possible choice?