Madama Pleco

[Tom37]

I got 5 Ancistrus "Madama" plecos at the Youngstown society aquarium auction this past weekend. Have been trying to find some information on them and so far have not been able to. The label on the bag says unsexed F1 young new and rare in the hobby very rare in the USA. Was wondering if any one had any info on care and feeding of them?

[Dave Rinaldo]

Most likely fish bred by Eric Brodrock! "Ancistrus sp. "Madama”, a new Ancistrus just recently seen here in the USA. They are sized at 1.5" or larger in total length. The parents of these fish were wild & hand caught by myself and a group of friends back in the end of April 2018 in the Madre de Dios region in Peru and were shipped back to the States thru Go Wild Peru. Photo shows some random adult fish from my wild breeding group, me at their collection location, and an F1 juvenile. There is an article with more info and photos on these fish in the (May/June 2021) issue of AMAZONAS magazine on page 94 & 95. Males grow to just over 4” TL and females about an inch smaller. They hold their color pretty well but may darken up some if kept on dark substrate. Easy to feed with assorted pellets, frozen foods and green beans and zucchini." https://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction ... 1635109313

[Tom37]

That is who I got them from, he came and gave a talk at the Akron Aquarium Society 2 or 3 months ago about his trip and catching the fish in 2018. He brought a bag of them but they went for more than I was willing to spend that night, but they were at the auction this past weekend. Thanks for the info.