MatsP wrote:krazyGeoff wrote:Even though common names are utterly meaningless it would be good if the different retailers could at least use the same common name if that is what they purchased the fish as, if that makes sense
Indeed, it makes sense to me. I'm pretty sure it's mix between accidental mislabeling and strategic sales decisions in the different sales channels - "Oh, shucks, we've run out of this one - these look the same, they won't notice".
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Mats
NZ has rigorous bio security rules and the therefore open importation of all fish is not allowed.
And the costly exercise of setting up an import facility with a Quarantine set up means that we are at the mercy of just a few importers.
A fish like this might hit our retail market for $70.00-80.00US, and most work on 100% markup, so a wholesaler buys, imports, then has to quarantine the fish for no less than six weeks. He/she has to pay our bio-security and customs agencies fees to oversee this process. Saying nothing of the geographic isolation and that most of these fish are bought sight unseen and freight will be expensive due to distance and time.
So you can imagine to make any profit on the fish that he/she sells for $35.00-$40.00, the fish he/she seeks from an American or Asian supplier is at the budget end of the scale and are often fish whose ID is problematic, therefore not getting top dollar and reaching more lucrative Northern Hemispere markets.
Many of the imports of plecs don't have a designated L# but will often have a common name that could fit or be a close facsimile.
The importer can designate any common name and often plec starved NZ'ers are all to keen to apply L#'s to such fish often leaning toward a more 'exotic' option.
The "serious" plec market here probably totals people in the tens- thats how small it is, and the interest here is only a recent development, so as a whole importers, retailers and the general community have only fledgling experience. " A little bit of knowlege can be a dangerous thing"
Recent Examples
An unidentified peckoltia species brought in as "Leopard frog" with no designated L# yet within a very short time people were delighted in displaying Their new L134's, despite the simple truth that the new import looked nothing like it.
An unknown pseudancistrus species(likey L67) came in under"Flathead Gold Nugget".
A dekyseria species( likey L168- not the cleanest around) were marketed as "bumble bee" plec.
Batches of Scobiancistrus that seemed to have different species ( L253?, L014?) within them, yet sold as only "goldie.
Some nothing looking Ancistrus species sold as "blue spot" pleco. No blue anywhere near it.
Hypostumus Cochliodons sold as "scarlet pleco".
LDA33 consistently sold as "Snowball".
The only saving grace here is that every now and then, and because of this mostly ill-informed practise we occasionally get something slightly exotic sold as something common( L136 sold as ancistrus species)
I just grabbed em and took a pic, packed them up and drove 550km back home with them 
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