paintless Otocinclus

4zap · Post by **4zap** » 06 Sep 2004, 15:41

Hello

the pic schow an Otocinclus. The colouration is really "flat". From the pigmentation it could be a Otocinclus xakriaba. I try to find an difference between O. hoppei, which are darker pigmented.
The midlateral plates are like O. xakriaba, the colour ist like O. hoppei. The golden pigments on the lateral stripe are very intensiv near the caudal fin base. The caudal fin base also show this golden pigmentation. So, i am not sure if this little dwarf is an hoppei or an O. xakriaba. Can anyone tell me the right ID for this fish? IT's imported from Brasil 2002, but i dont know where they catch them.
When i look into S. A. Schaefers "neotropical cascudinhos...." the O. xakriaba is described with this golden pigmentation in the midlatetal stripe, but at the O. hoppei article there an no golden pigments described.

Post by **Silurus** » 06 Sep 2004, 15:50

Isn't there a raised tuft of enlarged odontodes on the tip of the supraoccipital process in O. xakriaba? That should tell you what your fish is.

4zap · Post by **4zap** » 06 Sep 2004, 16:05

Hi silurus

The odontodes are really bigger than by O. hoppei. the second is the eye diverticel (if it was one...) you can see on the foto. I'm not sure if it is an diverticel or just a missbuilded iris. That are the criterias that make me thinking about the ID.
Normaly their are no O. xakriaba in the shops here in Europe. I found two of them between hundreds of O. macrospilus in an tank and the seller catch me these two Otocninclus. It was not very funny for him to do this. I know that the Otocinclus who will catch in Brasil are often transported to manaus and then they send this mix to Europe. It may be that some other Otocinclus, than the usual, are imported to europe.....
have you ever heard about that golden midlateral pigmentation by O. hoppei?

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 06 Sep 2004, 19:11

To me that does not look like an iris diverticulum. Does the eye on the other side look the same?

Is that a recently bought fish? It looks a bit like fright coloration to me.

4zap · Post by **4zap** » 06 Sep 2004, 20:14

Mike_Noren wrote:To me that does not look like an iris diverticulum. Does the eye on the other side look the same?

Is that a recently bought fish? It looks a bit like fright coloration to me.

Yes. it does. Both eyes are looking the same. Thats the cause why i ask. I bought the fish a few years ago. I think they are imported by aqua global, the company where Ingo Seidel works for. This is the source, where the berlin shops buy their cats.
The times i stay in brasil i was never admitted to bring some fishes to europe without permission from the state of brazil. The brasilian jails are not very funny, i think. And as a tourist, who will brake the rules there, you are faster in prison than anyone else. (if you do not have the money to free yourself)

I have another pic from the female Otocinclus. Is larger than the male. I 'll search and posting it....just a moment..........

Mike_Noren · Post by **Mike_Noren** » 06 Sep 2004, 23:38

The reason I doubt it's a diverticulum, is that the diverticulum should be positioned in the dorsal side of the eye, as in this O. flexilis:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/lo ... 1350_9.php
and this (fright-colored) O. affinis:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/lo ... 1083_1.php

I have looked at my photos of Otocinclus, and one of my vittatus but not the others had a structure similar to the one seen in your fish. This makes me suspect it is a minor deformity.

The absence of diverticulum means it's not a xakriaba.
Another possibility, considering where you found them, could be partial albino or xanthoristic O. macrospilus, but I don't think so - the stripe seems continuous, and too thin.

Basically, I have no idea what species your fish are.