What is the mysterious blue and red tail in the background?

[bekateen]

Hi All,
I was reading the clog of

Panaqolus maccus

and I was impressed by the tail of the fish in the background of the photo (the same photo that appears when you hover over this link for

Panaqolus maccus

).

Does anybody know what fish is in the background? Is it a pleco?

Thanks,
Eric

[DutchFry]

good question i cannot answer it with 100% certainty but i think it might be a striking

Panaque sp(l191)

, possibly a young specimen. not blue and red in the caudal but white and orange. colors in the pic are probably corrupted due to the flash of the camera.

but then again, it could be something completely different!

[Jools]

It is a good question and I am not sure myself. I don't think it is

L191

as that species has a distinct cream coloured band around the caudal peduncle. I think it is a pleco given how it is positioned and how it looks. My gut reaction was some sort of Hypostomus(Cochliodon), however I am far from sure and

Panaque

or

Panaqolus

are also good ideas.

Jools

[bekateen]

The photo is credited to Robert Fossum. Is Robert a PC member? If so, I could message him directly.

[bekateen]

I realize that lighting conditions may change the appearance of the colors (red-orange-yellow and blue-grey-white), but I'm also trying to align the colors with the banding pattern. I looked at the photos of

L191

and I searched through the photos of Hypostomus(Cochliodon), Panaque, and Panaqolus; they just don't quite match up with the photo (maybe

Panaque schaeferi

, but the fish in the

Panaqolus maccus

photo looks relatively small - so if it's P. schaeferi, it would need to be a juvenile or a small adult).

I think it is a pleco given how it is positioned and how it looks.

I agree that the fish's position and tail shape is consistent with a pleco of some kind. Does anyone else have any ideas?

Eric

[WouterW]

I agree with Bekateen, it looks very much like a young P. Schaeferi L203. The one's swimming here are about 4'' and have those coloured tails. The markings on the body are however variable I noticed.