? about the pleco formerly known as Liposarcus pardalis

biomechmonster · Post by **biomechmonster** » 01 Nov 2005, 21:37

I was scanning the cat-e-log and noticed Liposarcus was gone and that the fish is now classified as Pterygoplichthys pardalis.

I have this fish and the 'albino' version of it as well...

The question is...

There used to be photographs under Liposarcus pardalis of the 'albino' version of this fish, commonly known as a chocolate or chocolate albino pleco.

But under P. pardalis, there are no photographs of chocolate albinos or any mention of them. Do they have their own name now or what? Any information is appreciated, thanks!

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Nov 2005, 21:58

Is this what you were looking for?

Phathead6669 · Post by **Phathead6669** » 02 Nov 2005, 13:04

Is this what you were looking for?

Is that your average regular Albino Pl*co????? If it is I will send them a pic cause mine is 12" long.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 02 Nov 2005, 14:36

The commonly available albino pleco is either an , which grows to about 5" SL, or . I should think yours is the latter.

Others do exist, but they are MUCH rarer.

You can tell that it's a Pterygoplichthys specie by the number of rays in the dorsal fin. There's 11-14 in a Pterygoplichthys , whilst all (or almost all?) other Loricariidae have 7-8 rays.

--
Mats

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 02 Nov 2005, 16:43

Mats,

Actually, I find the species Silurus pointed out to be more common than the gibby. At least here in Scotland.

Phathead6669,

Certainly would like a decent picture of a larger one.

Jools

Dave Rinaldo · Post by **Dave Rinaldo** » 02 Nov 2005, 17:09

I see them on lists here as 'Chocolate Albino Pleco'. I'll see if I can track down a large one for a pic.

biomechmonster · Post by **biomechmonster** » 02 Nov 2005, 18:55

MatsP wrote:The commonly available albino pl*co is either an
Ancistrus sp(4)
, which grows to about 5" SL, or
Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps
. I should think yours is the latter.

Others do exist, but they are MUCH rarer.

You can tell that it's a Pterygoplichthys specie by the number of rays in the dorsal fin. There's 11-14 in a Pterygoplichthys , whilst all (or almost all?) other Loricariidae have 7-8 rays.

--
Mats

Thanks, I do have an albino P. gibbiceps; it's a true beauty and one of my favorites

But the fish I'm talking about is not a true albino, hence my '' when referring to this fish ('albino'). It has the usual brown eyes but a pinkish albino-type body (although it's not the pure white/light yellow of my albino gibbiceps).

It is commonly sold as a chocolate or chocolate albino pleco; in fact Petsmart regularly sells them now. Their coloration ranges from almost true chocolate to 'albino', like mine.

But I'll count the dorsal rays on this fish then.

I'm just curious because this fish used to be listed under Liposarcus pardalis; (you could see pics of it in the cat-e-log under this name) but now there are no such pictures under P. pardalis.

If anyone knows what fish I'm talking about, could you tell me where I can find it in the cat-e-log?

biomechmonster · Post by **biomechmonster** » 02 Nov 2005, 18:56

Silurus wrote:Is this what you were looking for?

No, but close!

catfish_cz · Post by **catfish_cz** » 02 Nov 2005, 20:40

To biomechmonster: This fish?

http://www.catfish.cz/popisy/loric/krunyr/ptery.htm

biomechmonster · Post by **biomechmonster** » 03 Nov 2005, 00:17

catfish_cz: Yes, that's the one! I guess it's just Pterygoplichthys sp. then? Why the change from pardalis, anyone know? Thank you

Post by **Silurus** » 03 Nov 2005, 00:21

There isn't any change as much as the fact that we don't really know which of the similarly-colored species of Pterygoplichthys is the albino form (the color pattern is useful in diagnosing some of the species, and when it disappears as in the albino form, you lose a key distinguishing character). We also do not know if there are albino forms of more than one species of Pterygoplichthys around, or if the albino is a hybrid if two species (although this seems unlikely).