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Hey y'all, I just got a Queen Arabesque pleco and boy, is she pretty. I'm curious what to feed her for sure. She hides in the back of my 55 by day by the plants, and she comes out at night and sucks on the glass. Since she's a Hypancistrus like my L-316 I figure she's a carnivore and tossed in some sinking carnivore wafers (Hikari) last night. What else would be ideal the feed my beautiful Queen? We've named her Squiggles because of the pattern of her body. Please advise.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

No one has any advice to offer on feeding my beautiful Queen?

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Paging Cup_of_Lifenoodles ... this one is your department I think!

I tried tracking this fish down on Planet Catfish, but the server appears to be down temporarily for maintenance.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Well, I have one of these in my 72 gal tank and haven't noticed it feed on much. I bought it about a year ago when it was about an inch long and it is now 2-3 inches so apparently it is finding what it needs. I assume it does most of the forraging at night and during the day I offer flakes, shrimp pellets, algea chips, and bloodworms towards nightime(although most if not all are consumed by the discus). So I'm not sure what help I have offered, if any.. but hopefully it helps in some way.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

Thanks for your replies Cal and agent. I have noticed her coming out at night and grazing on the glass. My 55 has lots of various kinds of algae (nutrient problem. I have read that they are omnivorous but lean toward the carnivorous side of omnivorous. I'll just offer a variety and hope she's getting what she needs. Sounds like yours is agent orange. Okay, that's encouraging!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Planet Catfish is back up and running.

Here is the page for L260, the Queen Arabesque.

The page says that the fish likes strong currents, will choose a cave that is sited close to the strongest current in the aquarium that it can find (so to persuade it to choose a given cave, direct water flow past that cave), and that it isn't a picky eater.

This page describes the breeding of the Queen Arabesque. However, given that this IS a sky high desirable species, buying enough to form a breeding colony will probably be a VERY expensive piece of capital outlay, though the rewards if you CAN afford the initial outlay are likely to be immense ...

The first page mentions that the Queen Arabesque will take live Gammarus - these freshwater amphipods are likewise inhabitants of clear, fast-running, pollution-free water. A good tip for keeping nitrates low in a 5 gallon culture aquarium housing Gammarus amphipods is to use Hornwort as a 'nitrate hoover' plant.

Since it will eat Gammarus, it will probably also eat those other freshwater amphipods, Crangonyx pseudogracilis, which are smaller than Gammarus, and native to the North American continent. These too should be easy to find in any clear, fast flowing and unpolluted stream. Culturing these is easy, because they eat algae - I'm told by a reliable authority on aquatic invertebrates from my Entomology Society that Crangonyx will eat blanket weed, so if you cultivate some of that (another piece of apparent madness that will have some eyes on stalks here, but it has a purpose!) then the Crangonyx will feed upon that. Gut loaded from a diet of blanket weed and small amounts of flake food, Crangonyx will be nice, nutritious food for your Queen Arabesque, and will have the advantage of being able to hide among the plants away from your Discus if introduced carefully at 'lights out'. The Queen Arabesque will find its share, don't worry!

This page from Practical fishkeeping magazine in the UK gives a nice summary, and also mentions that here in the UK, a small juvenile will cost up to £30 ... yeep. The Practical Fishkeeping page also references the Planet Catfish page on the breeding of this species, incidentally.

Apparently this is one of those Loricariid catfishes that begins its life as being primarily herbivorous from the fry stage, and gradually migrates to a more omnivoroous diet as it grows. Feeding should take this into account. Spirulina tablets will be welcomed by a small specimen, while a full grown adult will probably prefer more meaty foods.

A good trick for feeding bottom feeders like this, one that I use to ensure my Otocinclus stand a chance of getting their spirulina rations while 14 hungry Panda Corys are scooting about the gravel hunting for edible munchies, is to break up the tablets into pieces, and to use a spare piece of undergravel filter uplift tube to position them. Do this after the Discus have been fed with something to distract them (live Bloodworm will doubtless distract your Discus quite nicely!) and the Queen Arabesque will get its share.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Terrific information as always Cal!! Thanks for your hardwork and research. That uplift tube idea sounds like a winner! I'll give it shot tonight.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

As with most hypancistrus, feeding is not a problem. They will take anything and everything remotely meaty that they find. However, they start off wuite shy and may need a bit of a weaning period before they begin to feed seriously. Live foods are always great, and provided you have a breeding colony, a sure fire way of getting a first spawn.

Thanks for the reassurance Cup, I knew you would come through for me. She starting eating after a day or two. I guess she needed time to adjust to the transport and to the new tank. She hangs out 'in plain sight' at the back of the 55 under a plant, but I think she thinks she's hiding. I see her feed at night with my trusty flashlight. LOL This is a good looking plec. I still can't figure out why Zebras are so darn high when there are plenty of reasonably priced Hypancistrus that are just as attractive IMO.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

One of the reasons Hypancistrus zebra is so expensive is because it's a real live fish that looks like something out of a Pixar cartoon. It looks as if it's been spray painted with acrylics! Consequently, it sticks out like a sore thumb in just about any aquarium it occupies, and even non-fishkeepers paying you a visit look at it and point ... Gah, wassat fish?

Plus, Brazil has placed strict limits on export numbers, so the prices have shot up because the wild caught stock is in short supply, and captive bred stock is in short supply also because I gather the species doen't produce too many fry with each spawning. They take a bit of time raising to saleable size too. Mind you, if you DO have the capital to buy a good sized group of juveniles, and start breeding them, you can recoup your costs several times over.

Another fish that falls into the same category as far as I can gather is Lamontichthys filamentosus. Here is a picture of the species in question. Apparently requires very specialised conditions for its well-being.

Your Queen Arabesque will probably be a LOT easier to maintain, and if you can fork out the loot for some companions, then breed them, you'll still make quite a pile from the offspring.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I had an l. filamentosus which died on me some time ago , yet the pterosturistoma microps I purchased alongside it is still kicking. Odd, seeing as how the former is supposedly far hardier than the latter. Whatever .

What, the Lamontichthys is supposed to be the hardier of those two fishes? Given what I've studied in the Planet Catfish entry on Lamontichthys, it makes me wonder what the requirements for the other one are ...

Apparently, the big issues with Lamontichthys are oxygenations levels and current. Provide top-quality oxygenation and strong currents, and much of the acclimatisation battle is won.

Back to the Queen Arabesque - it too is cited as a strong current lover. Plus, there's a "Shane's World" breeding article for the species on the site. At just 3.5 inches, it's small enough for me to have a stab at keeping it - if I can find the initial purchase cost.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Indeed---an interesting fact: current, while a ruthless ally in getting certain loricariidae to spawn, may in turn be detrimental to your chances of getting any wigglers, depending on the position oft he current to the cave entrance. A young pair on your side of the world should be just around the 40-50 dollar (US) range (panda fry trade-in for store credit, anyone?). It shouldn't be too pricey, and I'm sure you could manage a spawn out of them . This board needs more hypancistrus keepers.