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Can anyone ID this little one for me please,
L30 or L31 or something else?
Very much appreciated.

According to the CLOGs, L030 belongs in the genus , and unique to them is "that it has lost the evertible cheek plates typical of species of Ancistrini."

In your second photo, that fish doesn't seem to want to evert its cheek plates, so I'm going with (I know, I know... Who is to say they "want" to do something or not?). If you can get it to evert the cheek plates, then I'll switch my ID to .

Having said all that, are these the only two options worth considering? I'm not asking because I suspect a third ID; I'm asking because I'm ignorant of the possibility that others might match these two.

Cheers, Eric

Thank you for your reply
I'll have a better look and also see if I can get some better pictures.
I picked her up being sold as a very young female L31 hoping to pair her up with a very handsome male I have.
As she was growing she didn't quite look the same as a young female I had sadly previously lost, now she's a bit older
I'm just not sure, so it is possible she might be something else.

Judging by the two dorsal photos I would say you have a pair of L30. The head shape doesn't look wide enough to be a Parancistrus species.

dconnors wrote:Judging by the two dorsal photos I would say you have a pair of L30.

Aren't both photos of the same individual? Just goes to show how difficult it can be to sex fish from photos...

Yes all the photo's are of the one pleco, I'll try and get some more photo's today.

A few up to date photo's from today, there all the same pleco.

Can you get photos of the genital papilla?

Back in the tank now but I did manage to get these if it help, there not brilliant though.

Its a Oligancistrus (or Spectracanthicus for the ones who want to), the eye is to big, the head to high, the dorsal fin as well and the whole body is not flattened enough for a Parancistrus.

cheers,Daniel

Thank you Daniel, it's nice to know for sure
Would you say definitely female?
Thanks, Janet.