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hi folks,

I've been keeping two LDa25 in my 200litrs tank.
Everything is okey within the tank and so the two lda25 were, they were a bit shy but never hide... now one of the lda25 passes most of his time hidding.. I wonder why? Could he be sick? how can I know that he's sick? I don't see nothing wrong with him (no white spot or fungus).

the ph of the tank is 7 and there are allways algae on the glasses because I have a nearby window and a lot of sun coming in... So I only feed them a sinking pallet (allways by night) from time to time...

Just ran this through Planet Catfish.

Apparently your LDA25 now has a scientific name - Parotocinclus jumbo. And since you are one of the few people I've encountered either in real life or on the net who has a Paroocinclus species in their collection, allow me to offer my congratulations!

How is your aquarium furnished? Do you have lots of caves and other features? Do you provide shade with floating plants?

It's possible that this individual might be more assiduously shade-loving than normal, especially if your aquarium lighting is bright. I find with the related Otocinclus species that if you give them shaded areas and lots of caves and similar furnishings to explore, they soon start to feel secure and become quite bold during the daytime. It's possible that if you pop in a couple of floating plants, your Parotocinclus could become bolder too. How long have you had these fishes? If you've only had them a week or so, then they'll still be settling in.

Try the "Otocinclus Pet Rock" method of cultivating lots of algae, and see if a few "nibble toys" coated in green fur helps bring them out into the open.

Also, if you have the space for them, try adding a couple more individuals. Planet Catfish says it should be kept in groups. Since it only reaches 2 inches in length maximum, this shouldn't be a problem in a 200 litre aquarium. It's entirely possible that they will become a LOT bolder if you have 6 or more. In any case, if I was acquiring that species, I'd try and snap up a big group so that I could try and spawn them!

You've got something rather special there. I'd start planning the aquarium around it - intricate pieces of bogwood will be appreciated by this fish, as will clusters of plants, none of which will be eaten.

If you have other fishes in there, it's possible they're competing for the sinking pellets too. Do what I do with my Otocinclus - break a Hikari wafer or similar into small pieces and scatter them about so that everyone has a chance to eat.

By the way, this page gives some hints and tips on spawning this fish and raising fry. Apparently it's not difficult to encourage it to spawn.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thank you! I really like that fish also, he likes to get smi-buried in the sand and passes a lot of time in the annubias leaves. Other nice thing about the lda25 is that they change colors from gray to light brown depending on the surface they stand on, they are really great!

The principal point of my concern about my fish is that he's used to be less shy and my other lda25 is less shy than his "brother" - why did he start to hide during most of the day?

Mine aren't very secretive. I guess it depends on the indivdual fish.