# Leopard Cactus Pleco



## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

Got stuck in some roots tonight so i was able to grab some
quick shots before it freed itself









I'm in the middle of changing the substrate thats why the roots are showing.


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

Very nice pleco


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## jan (Apr 24, 2004)

bmpower007 said:


> Very nice pleco


I second that









How big is he? and what other fish do you keep with him?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Wow, that's one beautiful Leopard









How is his temper? Shy? Mine never comes out of his hiding place: luckily I have a good view on where he hangs out, but if I see him move around the tank once a month I consider myself lucky.


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

I bought it just over a month ago and it was 3in max, its now about 5-6in









Its in the discus tank, its not too shy, as soon as the night lights are on its out.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

DiscusMel said:


> I bought it just over a month ago and it was 3in max, its now about 5-6in
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Damn







My little Leopard has grown 1,5" at most in the last 6 or so months








I have no idea what he's up to at night, but during the day the little guy never ventures out in the open... I still like him a lot, though - they're great fish!


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

Maybe its the heat the discus tank is kept at (30c) along with
all the good leftovers from the discus food thats helped the
growth.The tank also has alot of filtration along with at least
3-4 25% waterchanges a week.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

DiscusMel said:


> Maybe its the heat the discus tank is kept at (30c) along with
> all the good leftovers from the discus food thats helped the
> growth.The tank also has alot of filtration along with at least
> 3-4 25% waterchanges a week.


Mmm... doesn't sound that different from my situation: I keep his tank stable at 29 degrees, I change at least 50-60% of the water weekly (in 2-3 goes), the tank has enough filtration to keep a tank 3-4x the size clean, and he lives with lots of community fish which are fed daily (Discus granules included).
Maybe it's the competition he faces: he shares his tank with 5 other pleco's, as well as a number of Otocinclus cats and a small army of (Neo)caridina shrimps. Is your Leopard the only bottomdweller in that tank?


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## DiscusMel (Jul 21, 2004)

Other bottom dwellers are two full grown spotted talking cats, 5
amano shrimp, a 5-6in L191 and a LDA31.

Hows about food?, mine get fed 3-4 times daily with one
of those feeds being meat like beefheart or earthworms etc


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

looking good, thats a nice sized pleco too


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

nice pleco


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

DiscusMel said:


> Hows about food?, mine get fed 3-4 times daily with one of those feeds being meat like beefheart or earthworms etc


I feed the diurnal feed once a day (usually around 8 pm), and then feed the bottom dwellers after I switched off the tank lights (if I feed veggies, I usually drop it in around 9-10 pm, so I can see if they eat it, and which ones are on the scene first).
The Pleco's diet includes 5 different types of pellets (algae/spirulina/carnivore), Cichlid granules, fresh veggies (cucumber, egg plant, zucchini, lettuce, carrot), and occasionally some fresh sea fruits (shrimp or mussels).

I don't really mind his slow growth, though: I was just wondering what could cause such a remarkable difference in growth. My little L114 seems to be perfectly healthy and well-fed, but just shy and slow-growing.

Here's an older piccy (it's just about impossible to snap new pics of him) - he's grown about an inch since, became a bit bulkier and more spikey:


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