Description
The Golden Nugget is described on some sites as an algae eater, but this is not entirely correct. With its suction mouth, which is studded with small teeth, it scrapes through the aufwuchs. This aufwuchs not only consists of a layer of algae, but also contains crustaceans, small insects, insect eggs, insect larvae, plankton and freshwater sponges. At the same time as the aufwuchs, the Golden Nugget also gets some wood scrapings inside. In the aquarium it must therefore be fed with a variety of food, mainly vegetable food with occasionally frozen food. Driftwood should also not be missing. The wood fibers keep its digestion going.
Golden Nuggets usually leave other species completely alone and are therefore suitable for a community aquarium. However, keep in mind that they are nocturnal. It is therefore best to feed them a little extra when the lights are off. As long as it is light, they hardly or never come out of their hiding place. They usually choose the dark side of a piece of wood as their habitat. To be able to see this fish, I turned the wood in my aquarium around as soon as it had chosen a permanent spot.
These Baryancistrus can be very aggressive with each other. In an aquarium that is too small, even to death. Only in a large aquarium with an abundance of hiding places can several specimens be kept together.
Origin
South America: Rio Xingú near Altamira, Pará, Brazil.
The Aquarium
This quite large catfish prefers a dimly lit 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.
In the absence of suitable hiding places or insufficient space, the Gold Nugget Pleco can behave particularly aggressively towards other bottom dwellers. If it is the only bottom dweller in the aquarium, an aquarium of 100×40 centimeters is more than sufficient. Juveniles can be kept temporarily in smaller aquariums without any problems, as long as there are sufficient hiding places. A strong filter is important, as this fish produces a lot of waste due to its almost insatiable hunger.
Although this species is an adaptable and strong fish once acclimatized, it, like most other Baryancistrus species, often does not grow or grows only very slowly. This can be explained by the fact that in most cases the behavior in captivity does not occur under natural conditions. In the wild they can reach a length of more than 30 centimeters.
The Gold Nugget Pleco naturally occurs in shallow water, often strongly heated by direct sunlight, with a lot of current and a high oxygen content. Under these conditions, the stones and pebbles between which this species is found are more or less permanently overgrown with an organic layer consisting of plant and animal components (“Aufwuchs”). The high water temperature ensures a fast metabolism, with the result that these animals spend a very large part of the day looking for food. It is therefore not surprising that this kind of (not easy to reproduce!) conditions are required to achieve a natural attitude (and growth), and that this fish is especially suitable for a special aquarium.