PlanetCatfish.com

Have searched the internet all night long and just can't seem to find any info regarding the Rio Pacaya in Peru. This is where the Sailfin Plecos occur naturally so therefor it is of the greatest importance to know the biotope for this river> Rio Pacaya located in Peru.
Thank you a thousand times in advance!

Nessau,
Nearly all the sailfins (Glyptopterichthys spp.) are very adaptable. In fact, the are so adaptable that they are now established in Texas, Florida, Singapore, Hawaii, and probably many other places. Which sp is this the holotype location for? I could not find it in any of my references.
-Shane

Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps

http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/g_gibbiceps.htm

Scotcat's information appears to be incorrect. Burgess, "An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes," (TFH 1989) lists the holotype location for G. gibbiceps as the "Rio Negro bei Marabitanos" as does the Planetcatfish Cat-eLog.
The main problem is that G. gibbiceps, as presently understood, represents either a single very variable species or a complex of closely related species. Just about every river system connected to the Amazon or Orinoco has its own local variant of this fish. The main differences between populations being maximum size, color pattern, and the presence or absence of light colored markings.
I know that you hope to spawn these fish, so let me make the following suggestions.
Buy six fish all at the same time of more or less equal size and start growing them up. Depending on what size they are when you buy them, you could probably start them off in a farly small tank. They should be capable of spawning by the time they reach six or so inches. On a good diet with frequent large water changes, they should be this big in a year or so. Once you are sure you can tell the males from the females, get rid of the extras and keep two males and two females. Place these in the largest tank you can afford and add a large clay pipe for each fish. Let them keep eating and growing in the large tank until you are sure the females are very gravid. At this point, start doing daily water changes with soft, cool freshwater. I do not think that this fish would be super difficult to spawn. The main reason that no one is doing it is because they grow large, require lots of work, and the fry have almost no resale value since they are bred in onds in large numbers in the U.S. and Asia.
-Shane
PS Try this link for more information:

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... =gibbiceps

Gratefull for all your effort in helping me with my spawning project. Would just like to ask one last summarizing question. Normally I breed birds and such and when dealing with e.g Budgies you have to be careful to avoid inbreed. Is this something that I should watch out for when buying my Sailfin Plecos, to buy them from different stores etc. I want a good culture to keep working with thorughout the year. Thanks for all the help with the other issues though! Thumbs up.