L264 Sultan Pleco Question

[CeeReeOoo]

I have recently taken an interest in L264's and am tempting to purchase 6 of them to start a breeding colony. I located a source that sells wild caught at 5" to 6", and another source with 4" to 4.5" for quite a bit less money. Obviously the 5" to 6" would be more mature, but as them being wild caught, I sense a certain risk of them being slightly older and potentially not as prolific. What do you guys recommend? Should I go with the 4" to 4.5", or the 5" to 6"?

 

[DHarris]

Purely speculative but I would assume all are wild caught. There are a lot of factors that go into growth so I'm not sure how much older the 1" larger fish would actually be. As long as all have been quarantined properly you should get the same experience regardless which group you go with.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

I have recently taken an interest in L264's and am tempting to purchase 6 of them to start a breeding colony. I located a source that sells wild caught at 5" to 6", and another source with 4" to 4.5" for quite a bit less money. Obviously the 5" to 6" would be more mature, but as them being wild caught, I sense a certain risk of them being slightly older and potentially not as prolific. What do you guys recommend? Should I go with the 4" to 4.5", or the 5" to 6"?

With the 4-4.5" fish, the question isn't whether they'd put forth a lot of fry or not, but rather whether they're sexually mature or even able to be sexed in the first place. IMO 5" TL is barely large enough for them to be sexed with any degree of certainty; and so it'd probably be better to go with a more mature group if you want a better shot at both sexes and fry more quickly. Then again, getting a group of 6 has a rather decent chance of containing both sexes (if one assumes it's a randomly selected group) and growing some smaller ones out would take more time, but would allow them to pair off after growing for a while.

 

[CeeReeOoo]

Purely speculative but I would assume all are wild caught. There are a lot of factors that go into growth so I'm not sure how much older the 1" larger fish would actually be. As long as all have been quarantined properly you should get the same experience regardless which group you go with.

Thank you for your input. Yep, both size plecos are being sold as wild caught.

With the 4-4.5" fish, the question isn't whether they'd put forth a lot of fry or not, but rather whether they're sexually mature or even able to be sexed in the first place. IMO 5" TL is barely large enough for them to be sexed with any degree of certainty; and so it'd probably be better to go with a more mature group if you want a better shot at both sexes and fry more quickly. Then again, getting a group of 6 has a rather decent chance of containing both sexes (if one assumes it's a randomly selected group) and growing some smaller ones out would take more time, but would allow them to pair off after growing for a while.

Thank you for your input. I think you are right, I was told that they tend to slow down significantly in terms of growth once they reach the 4 inch mark. I already have so many groups of plecos that are still growing, it'd certainly be nice to get some that are ready to breed.

 

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

I have 2 Sultans left

Plecos - "Loricariidae" (jasonsplecoscichlids.com)

 

[phreeflow]

Just get the big ones if you’re gonna breed. They grow too slow and takes years to mature. Unless it’s a ton more money, go bigger.

I’m still waiting on my L46 fry to get to breeding size. Drives me crazy how slow plecos grow. I’ll be an old man before that ever happens

 

[CeeReeOoo]

Just get the big ones if you’re gonna breed. They grow too slow and takes years to mature. Unless it’s a ton more money, go bigger.

I’m still waiting on my L46 fry to get to breeding size. Drives me crazy how slow plecos grow. I’ll be an old man before that ever happens

I am in the same boat with mine, it's like watching grass grow .