Is it really a Colombian Zebra Pleco?

[NewCat]

Hello! First post here though I've lurked over the years when I wanted to know more about a cat. Have been getting sucked deeper into the catfish world and have begun choosing more exotic species to try. Recently purchased what the seller called a Colombian Zebra Pleco but some have expressed doubts. One person said it looked more like a Leopard Frog Pleco. Can anyone here help out with the ID? I'm far from an expert and so many look the same to me!

http://imgur.com/ya9Nh2M

http://imgur.com/kMjQDGf

http://imgur.com/EyDlkC1

[SLIMESLAYER10]

i would put money on L134

[Acanthicus]

Hi

Thats Hypancistrus cf. debilittera, you can find this phenotype in the trade as L340.

[NewCat]

Thank you both! I think the L340 identification is my beast. So now what? Are they common in the trade? I'd never heard of Mega Clowns before now! Should I get more of them? Is it rare enough that I should pass it on to someone who breeds them?

[bekateen]

I've seen L340 come in to my LFS a few times over the last 3 years, so they aren't really common but they aren't super rare in my opinion.

If you like the fish, keep it. I suspect anyone who breeds them would prefer to get a bunch of the same fish at once so they can be assured the fish are all the same species. Although yours looks like L340, if you try and pass it on to someone else who already has L340, the fish might not look the same and the person might opt out of the offer.

Conversely, can you try and get more for yourself from the same source? This may be your foot in the door, dragging you deeper into the world of catfish keeping and now breeding.

[NewCat]

LOL it seems everyone in the fish world is an enabler! I'm tempted but I have too many catfish as it is. I'm thinking of paring down so I can try to focus on a select few from here on out.

[bekateen]

I have too many catfish as it is.

There's no such thing as "too many catfish." (*Isn't this a Game of Thrones meme?)

I have 27 tanks running right now (9 at home and 18 at work), all with catfish. I have three species of non-catfish (tiger teddies, least killies, and golden tetras)... And that's probably two species too many.

Cheers, Eric

[cat_allergy]

These are my four L340s I've had for over 2 years. Sourced from my LFS which gets wild caught fish from Colombia around twice a year. Trapping attempts and other breeding behaviour has been very limited, and my best guess is that I have 3 males and 1F.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bpIlE ... r8S0m9hDjX

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_oV8hy ... sp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z0UhI ... WvpyjDQtgd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d24mP-4 ... e=youtu.be

[NewCat]

Thanks for that! So in your opinion is what I have an L340 or not? I don't know how much variation is normal but it just seems that mine has much larger and fewer stripes.

[NewCat]

Ok, so this morning I emailed the guy I bought the Pleco from to ask where he got it and stopped by the store on my rounds to ask. This is what they had labeled as Columbian Zebras. I got permission to take the picture. These seem to have very similar patterns but with less yellow. They're also about 1/3 the size or less of mine.