Gold nugget and vampire (?) I.D.

westwood8183 · Post by **westwood8183** » 06 Oct 2004, 21:39

Hi, I recently picked up these two plecos and was hoping someone could positively i.d. them for me. I'm sorry the pics are pretty bad, but the tank has some huge amazon swords in it which make the tank very dark. I can try later tonight to get some better ones if need be.

The first one I believe is a gold nugget, and I think I've narrowed it down to either L018/L085 or L177. Can anyone tell which it would be? I'm mostly wondering about the potential size of this fish.

The second one came in as a peppermint but I'm pretty positive it is not, the lfs owner also agreed that it was very different from the regular peppermints he gets in. I'm leaning towards the vampire (L007/L029) but the spots on this pleco are definitely white, not yellow as a lot of the pics in the cat e-log show. I can try to get a picture of the "teeth" later on if that would help, but he didn't seem to have a very defined tooth unless it was damaged in shipping.

Thank you in advance!!

INXS · Post by **INXS** » 07 Oct 2004, 02:40

westwood,

I think you are right about the first one being either L-18/85 or L-177. It is nearly impossible to tell the difference as the spotting varies from fish to fish and usually the only way to tell for sure is by knowing the collection site.

I have found both the species very hard to acclimate to my water conditions (hard and alkaline). It seems they prefer warm, soft and acidic water. Even when you do get them acclimated you will want to be careful of doing too big a waterchange which may stress or damage the fish.
Mine eat plenty of dry food , love zuccini and get some frozen food additionally. I think the listed potential max size is 25 cm or 10" but some reports say 12". The largest specimen I have seen and had was about 5.5" and I think they grow quite slowly. You will want to keep an eye on your baryancistrus as they tend to fight and be territorial. They also don't have a high tolerance for polluted water and when the water gets dirty they will swim up and down the glass, sometimes crawl out of the tank.

The second one is hard to tell. It may be a vampire but the leporacanthicus galaxis I have had have had a longer and pointier nose. The male may have a shorter nose or maybe it was the female(?) still it is noticable. It may be a snowball pleco - LDA-33.
This was my L-007

westwood8183 · Post by **westwood8183** » 07 Oct 2004, 05:54

Thank you for all the information! I do have a 120 gallon tank which they could go into once they are larger, but for now they are in a well planted 20 gallon for observation. I already feed a variety of dried and frozen foods but I will definitely get some zuccini tomorrow and try it out.

I was thinking the same thing about the pointy nose after looking at my picture of the black and white pleco for a while. He does look very similar to the first of the pictures listed under LDA33. Do you by any chance know what the general size of the LDA33 would be? And would a picture of the mouth help to confirm an i.d.?

Thanks again for your help!

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 07 Oct 2004, 12:20

Hi!

Yeap you have a the other is a leporacanthicus cf galaxias hard to give which L-number without an exact catching locality!!

Cheers
Yann

westwood8183 · Post by **westwood8183** » 07 Oct 2004, 19:46

Hi Yann, thank you for the identification! Could you tell me what traits of the fish lead you to think that it is a leporacanthicus cf galaxias instead of the LDA33? I'm not doubting your i.d., just trying to learn more about the fish.

Thanks again!

Wood · Post by **Wood** » 08 Oct 2004, 00:01

Westwood, I own both and there is quite a difference in the snout of the LDA33 much wider and shorter than your fish.

Beautiful fish!!

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 08 Oct 2004, 06:14

Hi!

LDA33 is a Baryancistrus just like your L177... just compare the head and snout shape of both of your fish and you will easily see the differences...

Also you can compare the teeth of both...!!

Cheers
Yann