My 3 catfishes.Can you please ID them?

[beat89]

Hi.
I 'm new here and generally in this hobby...
I have in my aquarium 3 plecostomus and I am not sure about their kind.
Can you help me?

[MatsP]

The last two are almost certainly

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

, and the first one MAY be

Ancistrus sp`rio_ucayali`

, but it is not that easy to say.

Ancistrus spp. are definitely NOT the easiest to ID.

I would certainly say that the first fish is not the same species as the two others, so I would separate them, as you do not want "accidents" with a male of the first picture having babies with the female in the last one.

--
Mats

[Jackster]

Ancistrus spp. are definitely NOT the easiest to ID.
--
Mats

I think the first photo is

Ancistrus sp(l349)

.
L349/LDA45 and Ancistrus sp. "Rio Ucayali" both come from Peru and can be difficult to tell apart.

[beat89]

Are you sure that the first is not an Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus?
They sold it to me like an Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus that 's why I 'm asking.
Also,the first is female and not male.
Thank you very much.

[MatsP]

I am fairly confident that the first fish is a male - it has a ridge from the front of the fish going up between the eyes. That is typical for males.

Of course, that could be because the picture is not showing the fish very well, rather than it actually being a ridge there.

--
Mats

[beat89]

what do you mean by "ridge"?
If you mean that ridge is what it has the fish in the second photo on its head I am sure that the first fish has not it...

Ridges have only in front of its mouth and not on its head and between its eyes.
I think that means that it is female..
Maybe the foto is not good enough...

[MatsP]

By ridge I mean a raised line - think of it as if the fish was made from clay, and it got slightly pinched by a finger and thumb. Males form a ridge before the bristles start going up the, so it is a gender indicator before the bristles start showing clearly.

--
Mats