L279 Pleco Fry!

I was sitting and enjoying my 75G aquarium this week, when I noticed a tiny little pleco sitting on one of my Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia leaves. Back when I converted my 54G aquarium to a native-themed aquarium, I moved all of the Ancistrus sp. ‘L279’ plecos from there into my 75G, where I already had a few. I had been hoping that they would breed for a couple years, but I guess the new mix of fish finally produced what I was after.

After spotting the one, I looked extra closely throughout the tank, and found at least 3 seperate individuals. They must have been in there for a little while because they’re all about the size of an Otocinclus right now, and actually look quite similar to one since their bristles haven’t yet started to grow on their faces. I hope all of these fry will grow up and start a little colony, as the L279 plecos are fairly hard to come by.

It’s really these little discoveries that make the aquarium hobby worthwhile for me. I spend so much time planted, trimming, feeding the fish, cleaning the tank, etc, that every once in awhile it is nice to find something come about that I wasn’t expecting.