ID's of fish from pet store...

[chrisinha]

So, I went to this pet store... needless to say I was disgusted by how the fish were being treated. One of them had so much fungus growing on his back and his respiration was so rapid... I felt like taking the guy just so that he would die in a better place... seriously. So, what are these? Pictures were taken with my phone, so not the best quality.

common?



this guy had an orangish coloration

[Richard B]

the 2nd pic looks like pterygoplichthys gibbiceps & the third pic looks like a rineloricaria species

[Suckermouth]

First is some sort of Hypostomus.

The last guy looks like a male Hypancistrus contradens.

[Shane]

These are all fishes exported out of Colombia.

The first one is H. plecostomus from the llanos. #2 the Orinoco form of P. gibbiceps. #3 R. eigenmanni # 4 is

Loricaria sp`rio_atabapo`

.

-Shane

[racoll]

# 4 is Loricaria sp`rio_atabapo`.

Shane, did you mean

Sturisomatichthys sp`rio_atabapo`

The last guy looks like a male Hypancistrus contradens.

Number 5 looks more like

Hypancistrus sp(l201)

to me.

[Suckermouth]

The last guy looks like a male Hypancistrus contradens.

Number 5 looks more like

Hypancistrus sp(l201)

to me.

Understandable, I'm not a pro at ID'ing Hypancistrus.

[chrisinha]

Suckermouth, at least you are in the ballpark... i wouldn't even try
Thanks everyone for your inputs! I think it's amazing how you can id these guys so quick! I cant stop thinking about that sick fish though (id'ed by Shane as R. eigenmanni)...

[Martin S]

I understand where you are coming from re: the Rineloricaria, but it doesn't look like it stands much of a chance with the damage done, and without knowing what caused it, you could just be transferring something nasty to your tanks, so as hard as it may be, I'd suggest you avoid doing that.
It's certainly an unusual selection of fish, and I'd be very tempted to snap up the Lamontichthys, but only if I had a quarantine tank so I could ensure it's health before risking it with my other fish.
Personally, if the conditions of the Rineloricaria mirror how they keep their fish, I'd have to boycot the shop in future, if only to take away the chance I'd buy something on impulse at a later date and regret it due to the reasons above.
If you do end up buying any fish from this store, then I strongly suggest you do it only if you are able to quarantine them.
Martin

[Jon]

From the angle, the sturisomatichthys almost looks like a lamontichthys.

[DutchFry]

# 4 looks more like

Lamontichthys llanero

to me.

[Shane]

Shane, did you mean Sturisomatichthys sp`rio_atabapo`

Nope.

# 4 looks more like Lamontichthys llanero to me.

That is what I meant

-Shane

[chrisinha]

I understand where you are coming from re: the Rineloricaria, but it doesn't look like it stands much of a chance with the damage done, and without knowing what caused it, you could just be transferring something nasty to your tanks, so as hard as it may be, I'd suggest you avoid doing that.
It's certainly an unusual selection of fish, and I'd be very tempted to snap up the Lamontichthys, but only if I had a quarantine tank so I could ensure it's health before risking it with my other fish.
Personally, if the conditions of the Rineloricaria mirror how they keep their fish, I'd have to boycot the shop in future, if only to take away the chance I'd buy something on impulse at a later date and regret it due to the reasons above.
If you do end up buying any fish from this store, then I strongly suggest you do it only if you are able to quarantine them.
Martin

Martin,
I do have a small hospital tank but I agree with you when you say the fish might not even stand a chance. I was thinking if anything just to put it out of its misery instead of letting it die slowly in a filthy tank. Thing is they might not even want to sell it to me or it might have died already
I would never put a sick fish in my tank and judging from what I saw in that store chances are I wouldnt buy a fish from them anyway unless it was some rare finding...
The 2 last fish I posted pictures of were not for sale. I didnt ask why.

[Jon]

in retrospect, i'm pretty sure that's not a lamont.

[MatsP]

Martin,
I do have a small hospital tank but I agree with you when you say the fish might not even stand a chance. I was thinking if anything just to put it out of its misery instead of letting it die slowly in a filthy tank. Thing is they might not even want to sell it to me or it might have died already
I would never put a sick fish in my tank and judging from what I saw in that store chances are I wouldnt buy a fish from them anyway unless it was some rare finding...
The 2 last fish I posted pictures of were not for sale. I didnt ask why.

I would recommend that you DO NOT buy ill fish for any purpose. We shouldn't reward shops for having poor fish-conditions. If they are generally not caring for their fish, report them to the local SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) or whatever. Generally you need some sort of license or similar to sell livestock, so you may also ask the local authorities to check up on them too. This has a MUCH better effect on improving the live-stock conditions than "rewarding" the shop by buying the fish.

I have also been known to tell the shop that "this fish would be best off if it was humanely euthanized" - e.g. when Red-tail-cats (tiny) were kept in the same tank as some agressive cichlids, and the red-tails had nearly nothing left of it's tail.

--
Mats

[chrisinha]

I get your point, Mats. Thanks for the advice. I have no intention to go back to that store.

[DutchFry]

in retrospect, i'm pretty sure that's not a lamont.

Jon, I'm quite confident about # 4. I've seen a lot of these recently, as they are being sold here in my home town, as Sturisoma (which apparently they are not).

[Shane]

in retrospect, i'm pretty sure that's not a lamont.

The more I look at that picture the more I think that the fish looks a little bit like a lot of things I have seen but not the exact same as any I have encountered. A good mouth shot would help. I would certainly buy this fish, if anything, just to try to figure out what it is.
-Shane

[DutchFry]

Ok ok, so I got it wrong! but I was very close at the least

on second thought, I'm quite sure it's

Lamontichthys stibaros

[Jon]

"Jon, I'm quite confident about # 4. I've seen a lot of these recently, as they are being sold here in my home town, as Sturisoma (which apparently they are not)."

Not to step on any toes, but I'm currently keeping stibaros, and have, at some point in my fishkeeping experience, kept all three species in the genus. The more I look at it, the more confused I get. The pectorals, which are usually the hallmark of the genus, are present. The rest of the fish just doesn't look quite right. A better angle would help.

[chrisinha]

the guy at the store told me that this fish wasnt for sale. I didnt ask why. Hmmm. I guess Im going to go back there for better pictures...

[chrisinha]

So I went back there. The guy told me the 3 fish in that tank are not for sale because they are "babies". They will be ready for sale in 3 weeks. Anyway, I asked him what kind of pl*cos they were and he said the one I posted a picture before (pic #5) is a snow ball pl*eco, the one I havent posted any picture of is an orange seam pl*eco and the other fish that you guys are trying to ID (picture #4) is a "royal farlowella" which I dont think it is.

I tried taking more pictures but it's not any better than the first one. The fish wouldnt move.

[Suckermouth]

Oh, I wouldn't touch those fish unless they get better in the next 3 weeks; it looks like there's ich on the L201.

[Jon]

Yeah, definitely lamontichthys. That'll teach me to second guess myself.

[DutchFry]

Yes Jon, and is it llanero or stibaros in your opinion?

I think it a good thing to question other people's opinions! this way we can learn form each other!

and since I never kept any species of Lamontichthys myself, I think you could teach me a thing or two about these lovely critters!

[Martin S]

Is it me or does the "snowball" have extremely well defined odontodes? None of those are 'babies' in any sense of the word!
Martin

[Jon]

I think it's llanero, but I am not positive.

Aside from the initial die off, they have always proven quite hardy for me. I think it's a matter of tankmates and getting them to eat.

[Shane]

I am pretty sure it is L. llanero as well. One clue is that all the other fishes are from Colombia, so it is likely we are looking at fishes from one shipment.

-Shane