L201 or something else ?

[aquariumhobbyist]

Hello,

I came across a seller claiming to be selling a group of 6 L201's which he says are all females. These are the fish being sold:


Now the reason why I am not sure about the seller's claim is that there is another fish, also dubbed as L201 that looks remarkedly different:






When I look at the species page here on planet catfish, neither fish look like the L201's depicted on the Cat-eLog! Are both sellers wrong?

[magdalo]

Hypans indeed. Looks L-201, IMO.

[aquariumhobbyist]

Hypans indeed. Looks L-201, IMO.

the animals in the first two picture have a different pattern than the ones in the other pictures though? surely not the same animal?

[magdalo]

Yes, all of them are Hypans. The first batch are 201s IME. The others with the bigger spots look H. Contradens. Then again, photos were taken during stressful conditions, which could somehow make identification more challenging. Nevertheless, they all look very good!

[aquariumhobbyist]

Yes, all of them are Hypans. The first batch are 201s IME. The others with the bigger spots look H. Contradens. Then again, photos were taken during stressful conditions, which could somehow make identification more challenging. Nevertheless, they all look very good!

Thanks! Any chance of gender identification? The top fish look like adults?

[Farmerboyfish]

fish in the very first picture does not look like a L201 but looks very much like a Hypancistrus Contradens..!! can't see properly to tell what the rest are..

[dw1305]

Hi all,
With the usual disclaimer that I'm not very good at this, but the large Hypancistrus, in the top photo, has a lot of odontodes on the pectoral fin leading edge, which suggests to me that it is a male.

cheers Darrel

[magdalo]

Agree, the biggest one in the second pic is male. The rest are not yet fully mature but I can see potential females based on body shape and odontode growth. These are slow growers IME. Good luck!

[Farmerboyfish]

it looks as though you might have a mix of both H. Contraden and L201.. which is actually quite common. there are still a lot of fish shops who think they are the same fish. H.Contraden is a more full bodied fish, similar in shape to say a L333, where as a L201 is more flatter bodied. the dorsal fin is also much larger on a H.contraden when flared up, such as in your first pic.

[Farmerboyfish]

http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/dayne ... e.jpg.html

this is one of my males... looks very similar to yours in first pic..