Bought as "zebra pleco" but def. not L046

kaleidoskope · Post by **kaleidoskope** » 16 Mar 2009, 05:33

...and it certainly wasn't anywhere near as expensive.

I found this little guy in my LFS in a tank full of clown plecos. There were no other labels, so I asked the teenager working the floor if he knew what it was. He said he had to ask his boss, disappeared for several minutes, then came back and said it was a "zebra pleco". I knew about L046 Hypancistrus zebra and that this definitely wasn't it, but I didn't argue.

Here he is in the quarantine tank shortly after arriving home; I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. Size is about 1.5" in length (juvenile, I assume). The light areas of the pattern are creamy white with absolutely no yellowish cast. He is capable of camouflage; the dark areas can range from medium brown to almost black. Towards the end of all fins, the pattern breaks up into tiny spots. Seems to be omnivorous and is very peaceful; gets along well with my similarly sized bristlenose pleco.

I've searched the Cat-eLog and have narrowed the possibilities down to several Hypancistrus sp. (, , , , , ) or possibly .

Any thoughts?

[Mod edit: Fix species name for L134 -> compta & delete removed images --Mats]

andywoolloo · Post by **andywoolloo** » 16 Mar 2009, 05:49

kinda looks like a L134 to me, but I am a newbie. The way his markings are, behind his head looks like the L134 photos in the cat e log, also matches the dorsal view shot this site shows for L134. I cannot really see his eye that well in the bottom picture to see if that matches. But then again maybe the 333? Cause his tail doesn't look as forked at the other hypans you listed.

Any chance to get a belly and mouth on glass shot? They always ask for that here.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Mar 2009, 09:30

A slightly larger copy of the first photo would be good.

I'm kind of tempted to go with the answer "None of the above", and suggest that it may be aka L129.

Although I could well be wrong - there are SEVERAL similar looking Hypancistrus species. I'm fairly convinced it's NOT L134 - but I could be wrong there too.

--
Mats

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 16 Mar 2009, 09:39

looks like 270 to me.

f3mg · Post by **f3mg** » 16 Mar 2009, 11:13

Quite often this is difficult even with big and clear photos, but with the current ones is nearly impossible - at least for me.
Please try to post better pictures, with the dorsal fin raised, and head or teeth details if possible.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 16 Mar 2009, 15:01

That's almost certainly a nicely marked Hypancistrus debilitera, L129. They're sold/imported as "columbian zebra plecos," and that's probably what the clerk saw on the stocklist when s/he told you that it was a zebra plec.

One way to tell the difference between 270 (Brazilian) and 129 (Colombian) is the position of the eyes. The eyes are higher on the head in Colombian fish (same for 199, 340), presumably because they come from shallower water and adapted to look up and avoid predation by birds. That's pure speculation on my part, however. The eye-location part is true, though.

Nice fish!

nvcichlids · Post by **nvcichlids** » 16 Mar 2009, 23:56

Well I am no expert, but I have to agree with both the 270 and the 129. It looks alot like my group of L129's, but it looks alot like what is commonly sold as L270's, even though most of the time they are wrong with their id's. I know my LFS has a L129 labeled as an L134 and charging for a L134, so that fish will be there a VERY long time.

rickylbc · Post by **rickylbc** » 17 Mar 2009, 00:01

I agree with Jon, L-270.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 17 Mar 2009, 00:21

This is an L129 - albiet a very nicely marked one. Lately the ones that have been exported (as Colombian Zebra plecos) have been much nicer looking than some in the past. I assume they're from different areas.

L270's have been wholesale-ing at about $30. If yours was cheaper than that, I'd bet it's an L129 (about a $7-10 fish, wholesale).

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 17 Mar 2009, 00:52

From the camera angle of the second shot, the fish is far more elongate than what I had initially expected. It certainly could be debiliterra--as gold says, it is highly, highly variable.

Better shots, if nothing else, would be of great help.

kaleidoskope · Post by **kaleidoskope** » 17 Mar 2009, 04:21

Thanks for all of the responses! I got some slightly better pictures today, but my camera's not that great:

I can't seem to get a decent shot of the eyes or mouth, or a better dorsal view. I was leaning towards L270 myself.

drgold wrote:L270's have been wholesale-ing at about $30. If yours was cheaper than that, I'd bet it's an L129 (about a $7-10 fish, wholesale).

Based on the retail price I paid, $30 wholesale sounds about right.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » 17 Mar 2009, 07:20

i'm going to have to stick with 270.

JenCliBee · Post by **JenCliBee** » 17 Mar 2009, 07:46

personally think its looks like a juvi 333 ? markings just havent fully developed yet.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 17 Mar 2009, 14:13

Maybe it is 270 then. The list could have said "chocolate zebra" rather than "colombian zebra." Too many zebras in this hobby.....

Bought as "zebra pleco" but def. not L046

Bought as "zebra pleco" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046

Re: Bought as "zebra pl*co" but def. not L046