Leporacanthicus galaxias – L029 – Galaxy Pleco
Leporacanthicus galaxias was described in 1989 by Isbrücker Nijssen. Before that time it was designated L029. The genus Leporacanthicus can be recognized by the backward-pointing spiny plate on top of their heads.
Description
The Galaxy Pleco can grow to about 25 to 30 centimeters in length. The ground color is dark brown to black with dots. These vary from white to somewhat yellowish. Compared to the L007 Leporacanthicus cf. galaxias, the L029 has smaller spots, a lower dorsal fin and a longer nose. As the fish gets older, they get more spots and the spots also become smaller.Like many armored catfish, Leporacanthicus galaxias is territorial. They are mainly aggressive towards conspecifics and similar fish. Bottom dwellers with a different coloring and/or pattern are generally left alone, although emotions can certainly become heated during feeding time.
Origin
South America: Rio Guamá near Ourém, Brazil.
Diet
This Plecostomus species is a carnivore: a brief look at the teeth says enough: the sharp teeth have given species in this genus, Leporacanthicus, the nickname Vampire Plecos (German: Rüsselzahnwels). This species accepts a wide range of meat foods, including things like mosquito larvae, bloodworms, krill, shrimp, mussels and even fish meat.
Once acclimatized, this species becomes less fussy. In many cases he will also eat vegetable food: consider items such as algae, algae tablets, and washed (and possibly blanched) vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce, peas, spinach, eggplant and zucchini.
In addition to accepting offered food, this species also seems to actively look for food in the aquarium: I can regularly observe my specimen during this activity. It seems that the Galaxias Pleco, in addition to being a very picky carnivore, is also a kind of ‘filter feeder’: the animal then scours through the substrate in a rapid forward movement, and then slowly moves backwards through the newly created channel. The enormous suction mouth is used as a net to suck up swirled material: food is swallowed, inedible material such as pieces of wood or gravel are repelled through the gill openings.
The Aquarium
This medium-sized catfish prefers a dim aquarium with plenty of hiding places, in the form of plants, driftwood, rocks and/or artificial caves. To keep several specimens of this species, or to keep this species together with other bottom dwellers, an aquarium of 120×50 centimeters is required, as the species can be quite territorial. If there is a lack of suitable hiding places or insufficient space, the Galaxias Pleco can behave particularly aggressively towards other bottom dwellers.
If it is the only bottom dweller in the aquarium, an aquarium of 100x40cm is more than sufficient. Juveniles can be kept temporarily in smaller aquariums without any problems, as long as there are sufficient hiding places. The Galaxy Pleco does best in soft, slightly acidic to neutral water, richly oxygenated and with plenty of current. A strong filter is important, as this fish produces a lot of waste products given its protein-rich diet.
Comments
The Galaxias Pleco is difficult to distinguish from a number of other species in the genus Leporacanthicus, including L007 (Leporacanthicus cf. galaxias), L240 and L241.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt0MDnvZ-C8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCkkdCO3VaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz123kDka9o Auteurs Jonas Hansel – Piranha-info.com John de Lange Copyright foto’s Jonas Hansel – Piranha-info.com John de Lange – Met dank aan Maui’s Viskwekerij
