Chaetostoma Species sold as Albino Pl*cos - Need ID help!

NomenNudum · Post by **NomenNudum** » 10 May 2005, 19:03

Okay, I saw a batch of mixed Chaetostoma in one of the pet chain stores, they've been selling things as "Albino" that are in no way albinos. I bought them for a friend who's much better at breeding than I am. Two of the 3-4 species were reasonably easy to identify (at least one L187a, and the standard cf. thomsoni), but this one has me stumped. I didn't have the fish for long enough to get good pictures, as my friend was anxious to get some odd Chaetostoma! Even though I don't have the fish, I like to get proper ID on my photos, so any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 10 May 2005, 19:24

I'm not sure where the name albinius (thus the translation to albino)came from, but it is a common trade name for Chaetostoma sp.

Post by **Silurus** » 10 May 2005, 19:31

This, maybe?

Post by **Shane** » 10 May 2005, 20:47

These guys have been coming in mixed with Colombian Chaetostoma spp. There are 2-3 threads about this fish around the forum.
-Shane

NomenNudum · Post by **NomenNudum** » 11 May 2005, 01:22

Okay, I found Shane's thread with a photo identical to the fish in question Here. Of course, there's no further ID, so I guess he goes into the files as Unidentified for now. I will now go back to the search page and look at some more stuff.

Silurus, as you can see from Shane's photo, it apparently isn't the nudirostre. I had already ruled that out, as nudirostre has more of the "stellar" spotting than the fish in question, and lacks the light band on the caudal. I suppose that those could simply indicate an immature specimen, as the fish I shot was only about 2 inches.

Shane, I have many times on other forums suggested to New Forum Members that they try the "Search" button first. However, I did it nicely.

Of course, I should have known better, too, but we all get lazy sometimes.

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 11 May 2005, 14:20

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=11211
Nomen,
This shows some of the color changes this guy is capable of. He does have "stress" coloration, which is apparently very light. I haven't really seen it yet and I hope I never see it. His colors appear to change with the environment. These are just hobbyist observations. Please take them as that.

He's been in my presence since January, 2005. He was sitting at a Petsmart, mixed in with other Chaetostoma species. Some were gray with some spots. Others were olive with no markings at all. This guy was incredibly feisty which drew my attention right away. It took a while to get him out of the display tank. It took me a while to get him out of the bag. He didn't want to leave! I bought one other Chaetostoma at the same time. That Chaetostoma died within a few days. I purchased another a few weeks later. It died about a month later. He doesn't seem to get along well with other Chaetostoma. He does get along with others in the 75 gallon tank, such as Otocinclus, Corydora Paleatus and 2 kinds of Tetras: Callistus and Pristella.

The temperature of the tank is a steady 74 degrees F.during the day(a tad lower at night),pH 6.8, very soft water and unreadable ammonia (2 different test kits). There are 2 powerheads(no venturis) in the tank. He rests on rocks in the shade where the powerheads are at their strongest. He eats primarily algae from rocks. (To introduce a new food, I rub the rock with the new food.) He'll eat algae from the glass, after that, freeze-dried tubifex or frozen, frozen daphnia. He likes to forage at night, when the others are resting. He has night colors and day colors. I'm still trying to get a picture of his night colors. They're quite fabulous!