PlanetCatfish.com

I have 4 of these bn and have not been able to ID


I was told by the gentlemen at the store that they are a dwarf variety and shouldn't get any bigger than 3"-4" The spots on the fish appear to be gray and the rest of the fish is light to dark black depending on mood of the fish and some times gets brown patches when feeding.

Is there any particular reason to believe that it's NOT ?

One such reason would be that a fish-shop say that they are wild-caught [and you have reason to believe this!]. Admittedly, there are LOTS of Bristlenose species that are prety close in "looks", so it's hard to say. If they are tank-bred, I'd bet anything that they are sp(3), but if you don't know if they are tank-bred or wild-caught, chances are that they may be something else...

The picture isn't the quite as close to the fish as I'd like it to be. Presumably your camera takes a bigger picture than that if you choose, and you could then crop [cut] it down to a smaller size but get more of the fish and less of background and gravel.

[Edit: reword criticism of the photo]

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Mats

It is Ancistrus sp. 3. They are sometimes sold under the trade name "dwarf bushynose," but I have no idea where that name came from.
-Shane

My GUESS at the "dwarf" is to do with the fact that they are "dwarfs" compared to "common pleco's". But for bristlenoses, they do grow to about average size - maxing out at around 4-6" or so depending on conditions.

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Mats

Most BN's are dwarf in comparison to say ancistrus sp.5.

funkyj1313 wrote:Most BN's are dwarf in comparison to say ancistrus sp.5.

Ancistrus sp.5 is still a dwarf species... the long fins just make them appear larger but their bodies really aren't... basically they are the same as sp.2, sp.3 and sp.4 for example just veil fins...

I think I would agree on Ancistrus sp.3
Thanks