ID pleco

[soltarii007]

Hi all,

Just wondering what is this pleco?



[Mod Edit: Fix image tags --Mats]

[Martin S]

There are two species in this pic, it looks like the two in the background are possibly

Peckoltia sp(l134)

, and the fish in the foreground look like (from an non expert eye) something similar to

Loricaria parnahybae

or

Loricaria sp`rio_atabapo`

.
It's the extremely long tail extensions that make me think it's neither of these, but it's a start I suppose.
HTH
Martin

[Janne]

It's either

Lamontichthys filamentosus

or

Lamontichthys stibaros

.
And the one's in the background like Martin said, L134 Peckoltia sp.

Janne

[soltarii007]

Thanks Martin,

You're right, that's a L134 at the back.

This whiptail has a flattened and smooth head, its upper caudal extension is as long as its body while the lower caudal extension is about half of that. And lastly in the same tank I found what should be a male, withe extremely long extensions to the dorsal and pectoral as well.

Wonder if this bit of info helps.

[soltarii007]

Thanks Janne,

do you have experience with this species? What are the requirements?

[Janne]

Yes I have kept Lamontichthys filamentosus and they are a lovely fish, they can be hard to start feeding in the beginning and are one of the more sensitive species I have had. First food I would recomend small crustaceans like Daphina, Cyclops or froozen Artemia (Brine Shrimp), also feed them tablet food like algae wafers even if they maybe not eat them the first weeks but with time they will start feed at tablet food too. They dont compete so well with other Loricariids and are best kept alone with some tetras or other smaller fishes, medium to heavy currents makes them thrive much better then slow currents.

Janne

[Richard B]

I can only agree entirely with what Janne has stated on keeping Lamontichthys - to be kept successfully & have them thrive, the tank set-up & tankmates etc must be built around them, with their considerations first - it's NOT the sort of fish to be added to existing tanks with competative other loricariids.

[soltarii007]

Now I have both L. filamentosa and L. stibaros, same shipment. Do they have the same requirements? And what temperatures can I keep them in?

[Martin S]

Temperature for L.filamentosus in the catelog is 22.0-24.0°C or 71.6-75.2°F, and as L.stibaros comes from the same areas, although more widespread, I'd assume they would both be happy at somwhere in between. I'd expect requirements to be the same too.
HTH
Martin

[Janne]

I would not recomend lower temp then 24 C, best kept between 24-26 C and if you want to try to make them breed rise the temp to 27-28 C but of course it will take some time before they have become in so good condition.

Janne

[soltarii007]

Any recorded breeding before?

[soltarii007]

great news, my lamons are eating!

[soltarii007]

Here they are after roughly a month..







[mod edit: Remove "Disable BBCode" --Mats]

[Janne]

They looks really lovely...and you have both sexes, good luck

Janne

[five]

Hey Janne, how do you distinguish the sexes?
Carl

[Janne]

In the first pic the male is in the background and a female in the front, in the second pic the female is in the background the male in front. Males develope a much higher dorsalfin, longer filaments on their pair fins and more contrastly coloured.

Janne

[Loracidlover]

Wow, really beautiful specimens, I'd love to get my hands on some of these! Hope they breed for you

[soltarii007]

Hi Janne,

Do u mean that the third picture is that of L.stibaros male? I thought that was a L.filamentosus?

[Janne]

The third pic shows a male of L.filamentosus, I could have been to fast when I answered but females of L.filamentosus looks almost identical to the right speciemen in the same picture, paler with shorter dorsalfin and shorter filaments on their paired fins. But I could have mistaken me if they are L. stibaros which I never have seen or kept.

Janne

[soltarii007]

Oh thanks. They are sold together, and some pple in SG think that they are the same species, and they consider the piece in the third pic to be the male of the species. The only way I'll know for sure is if they do anything kinky

Anyone else here has experience with this fish? I notice they take to carni pellets faster than algae wafers... and they hang out on the same piece of slate all day other than to eat. What's more, the new one I just bought has orange tail filaments! Wondering if that's due to diet, or is it a male/female differentiation factor.

[soltarii007]

Just got 2 new Lamontichthys stibaros, and they're HUGE!!!!! at least 7" without the whip. Ready to breed?


the one highest up the glass..

and my smaller Lamons(4-5"?)playing a fool in front of the tank glass: