help ID my new plec with sunken belly

AndyAps.com · Post by **AndyAps.com** » 26 Sep 2006, 23:59

hello all.
below are some pics of my new plec. I bought it last week from Viscum aquatics. i had no idea what it was and neither did they but its an absolutley stunning fish. its now in my 150gallon tank along with a pair of BN's and a royal.
I have searched through the Datz and aqualog and the closest i can come up with are the following possibilities
L233
L229 Hypostomus cf. ericius
L308
Lda 42
All in all i think its defintatly a Hypostomus species but not sure which. any information or advice on IDentification would be much appreciated.
My second problem is that the fish is starting to get a hollow stomach appearance, he looked full when i bought him but seems to have hollowed out since he has been in my tank despite me feeding catfish pellets, algea wafers, shelled peas and protien sticks. the info i have shows hypostomus as omnivores.....any ideas what i should try feeding to fill him up?

Thanks in advance
Andy

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure160.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure159.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure150.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure145.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure142.jpg

Post by **Silurus** » 27 Sep 2006, 01:26

Given the number of dorsal-fin rays, I suspect this.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 27 Sep 2006, 10:44

I agree with Silurus on the ID. It is absolutely sure that it's NOT a , as they have 7 rays in the dorsal fin, and your fish has more than that, although there isn't a clear picture to count exactly, it's easy to tell that it's got the typical long dorsal fin of the and friends.

Both Hypostomus and Pterygoplichthys are mainly herbivores, but will eat more meaty foods too. I'd try some vegetables, such as courgette(zucchini) or green beans (fava/broad beans is another popular food). Make sure there is food available literally 24/7 - but don't leave the food in for so long that it makes the water dirty - remove anything that isn't eaten in 24 hours...

You can find more food ideas in my article on "Feeding plecos" which is linked at the bottom of this post.

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Mats

AndyAps.com · Post by **AndyAps.com** » 27 Sep 2006, 21:50

thanks alot for your help guys. After seeing the pictures of the Glyptoperichthys i agree totally. i only came up with the other suggestions by looking through the aqualog book i have. hopefully i will beable to save him with plenty of food.
Does anyone know of any breeding reports or how to sex them, or even how i would go about getting hold of another one cos they are stunning fish.
Thanks

P.S here's another pic showing the dorsal fin, best i can get at the moment
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/A ... ure133.jpg

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 28 Sep 2006, 10:43

There are close relatives, such as G. gibbiceps, G. joselimaianus and Liposarcus pardalis being bred on industrial scale in Florida and SE Asia.

They are probably a bit hard to breed in captivity, since they require quite a lot of space to dig tunnels in the side of the river in natural habitat. In captive breeding, they are bred in ponds.

You can sex them by looking at the papillae (assuming you have a mature specimen).

[Your picture seems to not work at the moment...]

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Mats