Pleco Identification

[MissNoodle]

My own two cents is not to put them in as a known described sp. I would add them as Ancistrus sp # and note the trade name they were imported under and that they may be one of the described spp from that drainage but we can't make offer a definitive identification without verified provenience information.
-Shane

That really does help, is that the same fish as the pic we used (perhaps that was the female)?

Jools

New photos.

This is the female underbelly. No markings on her

And the male. What's interesting is his blending colour change... on wood he's dark but on sand he gets reticulated spots on him.

And video of the female

[Fishmandavew]

Just one point to note, as I know it is happening here. Stores (and I accidentally) have found that if they breed male cirrhosis with female l044a it produces brown fish with a much stronger reticulated pattern. Just what we need, more bn types (not), although I am confident this is not what you have.

[Fishmandavew]

Apologies, put l044a meaning the blue eyed lemon we call l144a ( albeit not the original)

[MissNoodle]

Alright, digging this up, as they've been doing great. Probably my favorite ancistrus by far. They're just so docile compared to my cf cirrhosis lol very mild mannered fish, get along fantastic with my farlowella and l240 as well as the cories and Bolivian ram.

But, wanted to share updated photos. Female has not changed in appearance at all. Male, he's developed beautifully, he's got a really beautiful red-gold shine to him, and fine spotted fins when they're flared open. Even some red tones in the fins too.

Male:

Female:

Bekateen, do these compare to the fish you purchased as "bodenhameri"?

[Jools]

As a total aside, did you know there are now two species of

Bolivian Ram

, look for long caudal fin extensions and caudal peduncle shading for the new sp. Just got this in before anyone replies about the

BN

, so hope not interrupting the flow too much.

Cheers,

Jools

[MissNoodle]

As a total aside, did you know there are now two species of

Bolivian Ram

, look for long caudal fin extensions and caudal peduncle shading for the new sp. Just got this in before anyone replies about the

BN

, so hope not interrupting the flow too much.

Cheers,

Jools

Wasn't aware of this, no!

He's not the most cooperative fish for photos. Ironically he gets excited when he sees the phone so doesn't sit still. Does this cute little head shaking to my phone and my finger.

We had another, but this guy apparently didn't like them and it didn't end well. So stays solo, doesn't seem to mind.

[Jools]

Wasn't aware of this, no!
20221109_181645.jpg

I am not certain, as your fish maybe has a bit of growing to do, but I'm leaning towards you fish being the new species. Check out

Mikrogeophagus maculicauda

and

Mikrogeophagus altispinosus

.

Cheers,

Jools

PS Normal pl*co service can now resume.

[MissNoodle]

Male has been staking out caves, been kicking my L240 out of his cave, so I added lots more for them to pick from, and since he's staked claim to the smallest one and the female has also begun showing interest in him in the cave.

Photo of him stealing the old cave from my L240 lol

[MissNoodle]

And eggs.

[bekateen]

Excellent! Congratulations!

Cheers, Eric

[MissNoodle]

Photos from the first week:

And most recent, today, at 41 days old:

[Jools]

I'd like to revisit this again. If I've got it right we have this species in the cat-elog as

Ancistrus sp(8)

- but the pics don't look quite like the one pictured? If so, while not assigning it to a described species, what do we think about calling it A. aff. bodenhameri?

Jools

[bekateen]

I'd like to revisit this again. If I've got it right we have this species in the cat-elog as

Ancistrus sp(8)

- but the pics don't look quite like the one pictured? If so, while not assigning it to a described species, what do we think about calling it A. aff. bodenhameri?

Jools

Hi Jools,

No this is the wrong fish. Except for the lack of abdominal mottling, these do look similar to

Ancistrus martini

and

Ancistrus triradiatus

(and unrelated, they resemble my now-deceased

Ancistrus cf_leucostictus

, although I don't know if these will grow as large as mine had).

The fish called

Ancistrus sp(8)

are my fish, which my LFS imported from Petra Aqua as Ancistrus bodenhameri, but bears no resemblance to the original description of A. bodenhameri. My fish look like the fish we've called here

Ancistrus sp`Cucuta`

. The Ancistrus sp(8) thread is here: https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/vie ... hp?t=50536

Cheers, Eric

[Casscats]

Here's a more recent baby pic if that helps at all

[bekateen]

Here's a more recent baby pic if that helps at all

20230814_223645.jpg

Now that looks very much like my fish, except that it's what my ADULT fish look like, and even after all these months, my adults are still only 5-6cm SL. And my fish, juvies and adults, are distinctly green irridescent.

Casscats, how long are your largest adults?

Cheers, Eric

[Casscats]

Here's a more recent baby pic if that helps at all

20230814_223645.jpg

Now that looks very much like my fish, except that it's what my ADULT fish look like, and even after all these months, my adults are still only 5-6cm SL. And my fish, juvies and adults, are distinctly green irridescent.

Casscats, how long are your largest adults?

Cheers, Eric

The male looks to be about 3-3.5 inches (8-9cm SL) nose to base of caudal. Maybe 4-4.5inch with tail.

Here's a photo of him recently with a mature sterbai in the background for size reference. One thing that stands apart on mine is they have the white tips on the tail and dorsal as a mature adult too.

The female is about 1 inch smaller.

[aquaholic]

About thirty years ago there were Bushy Nose Plecos - (Ancistris spp) in Australia that had very long and double branched, possibly triple branched bristles. A huge mass of pronounced impressive headgear. Some of the older text books and fish magazines might have examples. Australia would follow world wide fish trends back then. Unfortunately they were hybridised out of existence here and no longer available. I haven't seen any in my overseas travels either. I'd be very interested to find someone breeding or collecting a similar strain again. Keen enough to fly over to collect them (preferably small). I'd pay top dollar for these.

Please message me privately.

[Casscats]

Here's a more recent baby pic if that helps at all

20230814_223645.jpg

Now that looks very much like my fish, except that it's what my ADULT fish look like, and even after all these months, my adults are still only 5-6cm SL. And my fish, juvies and adults, are distinctly green irridescent.

Casscats, how long are your largest adults?

Cheers, Eric

Some updated photos


Juvenile with light camouflage pattern on leaf litter... the red tones are interesting

Juvenile with father on a rock, and father individually.

The gold shine on the adults seem really unique, my domestics do not show the same gold shine.

[DBam]

Great looking fish. If you're west coast Canada I'll definitely buy some off you if you do look to sell off juveniles.

[Casscats]

Great looking fish. If you're west coast Canada I'll definitely buy some off you if you do look to sell my juveniles.

I'm all the way out in Ontario, quite a way aways. And I have a home lined up for the juvies already, still holding on to them until the person is in town.

[Casscats]

Interestingly the male has grown an inch since I got them.

The fry are still showing a red tone, but interestingly so does the female when on substrate!

Male, female, and one of the fry

Is there possibility of these fish being ancistrus sp. Columbia listed on your site? The spots look quite similar to these fish when on light substrate.

https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/sp ... es_id=2134


Or even triradiatus?
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/sp ... ies_id=883

[Shane]

No, not either. Both have very distinctive patterns on their caudal fin which are absent in your fish. Also, I have spawned lots of A. triradiatus and the fry never show the distinctive markings yours show.
I am realizing we need to add fry photos to the Catelog where possible as in some Ancistrus their coloration and patterning is quite unique when young. This can be helpful when trying to sort spp that lack distinctive traits in adulthood.
-Shane

[Casscats]

Fry photos would be really fantastic.

And mouth closeups of all of them too would be another great option since my understanding is the mouth shape varies among species too.


Man, I wish I had more info from the supplier. The lfs just labeled them cucuta pleco and that was that. Owner netting me the fish didn't know/care how to tell male from female, so I doubt I'd have gotten any further info from him. For all I know, they may not even be from that area at all and they're just grasping for names

(They have labeled corydoras elegans as Peruvian blue corydoras, if that matters much for how far they reach for names)

[Casscats]

Here's a more recent baby pic if that helps at all

20230814_223645.jpg

Now that looks very much like my fish, except that it's what my ADULT fish look like, and even after all these months, my adults are still only 5-6cm SL. And my fish, juvies and adults, are distinctly green irridescent.

Casscats, how long are your largest adults?

Cheers, Eric

Hi bekateen I managed to get an on glass measurement of my adult male.

Seems to be about 7.5cm SL

Very very faint spots on the sides near the pectoral fins but otherwise plain brown below.

[HarryPotter69]

It sounds like you've got a keen eye for detail when it comes to identifying fish species! Those distinctive patterns on the caudal fin are definitely helpful clues. Adding fry photos to the catalog is a great idea SEO