# Gold Nugget Pleco



## WaterWorld (May 7, 2006)

I just bought a beautiful 2" Gold Nugget Pleco from PJ's two days ago. I've been eyeing them for a while now and decided that day to go and pick one out no matter what it cost. They ususally go for about $40-$45 but it was meant to be because they were on sale for $24. I was really happy. I've been trying to take a picture of it but it usually hides in the driftwood and rocks. I chose to put it in my 50 Gallon since I already have a sailfin in my 110 Gallon. For anyone with some knowledge with plecos, would a gold nugget and a sailfin pleco get along in a 110 Gallon. I was thinking of putting them together. As soon as I sneak up on it and get some good shots I'll post some pics up.


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## nightowl1350 (Mar 19, 2006)

They are cute! Check out planet catfish for info, but I think they are meat and veggie eaters.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I dunno about you but my sailfin is super agressive.. He chases his common buddy away and all other fish from his food. ....

Congrats on the purchase!!!


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## WaterWorld (May 7, 2006)

Thanks Ciddian,
how big is your sailfin and what size tank do you keep him in? My sailfin is peaceful and spend the majority of the day on his piece of drifwood. What do you feed your sailfin?


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## moon (Mar 11, 2006)

If your sailfin is a Gibbiseps with spots all over the body, It will get to be about 18in and will not telerate conspecifics in it's domain. Most likely yous gold spot is a Hypancistrus and will not grow larger than about 5in. Keep an eye on the sailfin.
hth
Joe


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## WaterWorld (May 7, 2006)

My sailfin is about 7" now and it does have brown spots all over it's body. I don't expect the Nugget to grow more than 6". As of now they're in separate tanks. I've attached a couple of pictures of them.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Oohh mine is about 5-6...He's in way too small of a tank atm. Maybe a 35 tall? I want to move the common but i dont have a correct tank...I am currently working on the situation.

He'll sit in the middle of the tank and show off most of the time..  I feed him greens, skining shrimp pellets, bloodworms...wafers and somtimes krill 

Those are just some of the things i've seen him munching on.. Hth


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

A gold nugget is a 1/2 meat, 1/2 vegie eater. So you much make sure you give it enough of both. As for territorial issues, it depends on the pleco as their personally can varry individually. But think about how you're going to catch it before you put it in the tank.
A gold nugget can grow bigger than 6". If fact some people report them being 12" in the wild. However, it is marked 6" because most captive gold nugget never have a chance to live till they are 12" long.

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## moon (Mar 11, 2006)

Gold nugget is a common name used for various type of Plecos. If it is a Hypancistrus type the max length is about 5in. Some of the others will grow larger. Check out Planet Catfish and determine the L number of your fish. Then you will have a better idea of husbandry methods.
Joe


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## WaterWorld (May 7, 2006)

Thanks Joe, I checked out planetcatfish.com and it appears I have an L081. Thanks again


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

As far as I know, all gold nugget belong to the Baryancistrus family. I have never seen a Hypancistrus that looks like a gold nugget. It would be interesting if there is one as that may mean planet catfish will need to update their catalog again.
I would trust what planetcatfish.com state as the norm. But by no means is it a fact. Their size changes constantly because the info is based on the the size of the pleco that are propertly documented in captivity. It the wild, they can be bigger than the ones indicated in the chart. But because those aren't caught or documented, it's data are thrown out.
The size topic have come up before because some people are reporting that their pleco are bigger than what was specified under the catalog.
And as we get better at understanding the food and behaviour of each sp of pleco. We will start seeing them live longer and grow bigger in captivity. So don't be supprise if you see planet catfish changing their catalog to reflect a bigger size.
The reason I am saying this is because I don't want you to think that it reached it's max size when it hit 6" and leave it in a small tank. You may be stunting it's growth.

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## nightowl1350 (Mar 19, 2006)

I think that plecos overall are a "newer" species and as more of us keep them (and breed them) we will all gain more knowledge about them. Till a year and a half ago I just had a common one....went after my angels and it was gone 

By that time I had some brown (sp 3) BN plecos breeding so I didn't didn't need the big guy. He went to a lfs I deal with and I hope to a much lareger tank. I've learned alot about BN from forums, but by no means am I an expert on them. The more we share what we know the better. Trial and error is not a fun way to find out your pleco needs meat in it's diet. Even the common (sp 3) BN will eat meat, I found that out when feeding beefheart etc to my angels. My mixture has veggies in it and I thought that was why they went for it...the small veggie bits were left and the BN didn't seem interested once the meat was gone.

Sharing first hand information is the best way I know to get accurate information, but sites like planet catfish etc are a great start. Size of BN etc will change as more people put them in bigger tanks and find out just how big they grow. The standards will likely take years to change. I've never taken my big guy out of the tank to measure him, but would have to say he is about 6" now (big for a BN) Things like how long they live will change as well I'm sure. I don't know the age of mine when I got them but would have to say 4+ months due to their size, so that only makes mine just less than 2 years old. 

With new species becoming popular like vampires, gold nuggets, and too many to list we will know much more in a few years about them all 

If anyone has some of the less common species, feel free to share any info you can. We all learn that way.


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## ranmasatome (Mar 14, 2006)

I'm trying desperately to take a good pic of mine.. its yet unidentified..but hes making it so hard... dam him!!!..heehee..


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## IMCL85 (Sep 4, 2007)

u r lucky I have been on look out for this fish for a while now along with the emerald pleco. But right now they r out of stock at pj. Well thats just too bad .


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Lucky Aquarium at Market village (2nd floor) on Steels and Kennedy have quite a few 2 weeks ago. I think they go for ~ $25 or $29 each.
Colour aren't as nice and the yellow on the fin and tail arent' very prominent. As it you might have guess by now. There are a few varieties to gold nugget.

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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

I currently have 3 jeuvenile Albino Ancistrus, 1 Male adult Starlight Bristlenose Pleco, 2 jeuvenile King Tiger Plecos and 1 jeuvenile Peppermint Pleco.

One they are sexed I will be looking for opposite sex plecs for them. I do want to add some Queen Arabesque Plecos and some Zebra Plecos to the collection as well.


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