Which Peckoltia is this?

[stormhawk]

Hi guys,

I need some ID help with this pleco I bought over the weekend. Is this a Peckoltia sp. L072? If yes, is this an effective algae eater, or should I supplement the diet with frozen bloodworms?



I have very little knowledge of the L-numbers since I am not into them, so any identification help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[johannes]

It looks more towards Peckoltia brevis formerly known as L205 to me.... :P
They are omnivorous and take various sinking pellets and blood worms.

[stormhawk]

Thanks Johannes. I'll try and get a side profile shot when I can so the identity is clearer. By the way, the image shown was taken with flash. In my tank is more of a greyish color. Very shy fish only appears when I turn off the lights.

[johannes]

give it time, Peckoltia is less shy than Hypancistrus, once they are familiar with the surrounding, they will eat in front of you..:P

[stormhawk]

Like you said, it's more adventurous now. I have no idea what its feeding on but there's an obvious decrease in the brown algae growing on my tank walls.

Anyway, I managed to get a better shot of it:



It's not very co-operative. That's the colour it was displaying back at the LFS in a tank with black Oyama paper backing.

I hope you can make a definite ID with this pic.

[johannes]

I'll stick to Peckoltia brevis hehe

[stormhawk]

Thanks Johannes. You think it's a male, or female? Right now it's making itself at home in a clay apisto house. For some reason it likes it more than the pleco cave I got for it.

[johannes]

you need to condition it for a bout 1-2 months to be able to confirm whether it's amale or female.
female - rounder body
male - v-shaped and rather hairy flank

[stormhawk]

Alright. It seems to like the BorneoWild food. A small piece of the S-size pellets went past its snout and boom.. gone. Gobbled up.

[stormhawk]

After more than 1 year in my tank, my Peckoltia has grown much bigger.



So is it still an L205? From the spikes on the tail, I guess my fish is a male. He's been digging pits all over the tank. Anyone got a mature female for him?

[johannes]

Yup a male - hairy flanks...

But your male seems like a short body type ...

[stormhawk]

There's 2 different forms? In any case, I was worried it was a female because each time it gorged itself on the carnivore pellets, it would be so fat. These days he keeps digging pits all over the tank. and for some odd reason, my Red Lizard keeps following him around.

[johannes]

Hi, there is not two types of L205, it;s just that yours look like short body or just fat haha...

[stormhawk]

That's the thing.. he is fat. Always gorging himself on the pellets. After that he goes back to his happy spot under a log and doesn't come out. For some reason my Red Lizard has changed color from the red of the young form to a brownish splotchy form. I wonder if I have Rineloricaria lanceolata instead of the L10a? It looks like this currently:

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._7759465_n.jpg

Pic from www.loricariidae.se

I'll try and get a picture of it soon.

[stormhawk]

Took a pic of it while it was out feeding:



Fat as usual. Somehow I think it's a female. In any case, is this a L10a or just a Rineloricaria lanceolata? When I first got it at GC, it was all red.

[johannes]

Hm... i am not so sure myself bro, but it looks very nice, better than plain red.. haha

[stormhawk]

I agree, at least I like the current patterning. Is it true that there's hybrids between the L10a and R. lanceolata?

[johannes]

Natural hybridization, albeit not regular, may happen so we cannot rule out the possibility.
Man made ones are also possible, haha...

[stormhawk]

Bought this yesterday at C328, is it a P. brevis female? Aunty said it was LDA075 but I think it's the same as my male:



A little shorter than my male in the tank but it does not have the spikes unlike my male.



Ventral view of the new specimen

Is this a mature female Peckoltia brevis? They are behaving oddly at the moment. The male is in a hideout and not moving much and the other one is hanging out nearby. I saw them battling yesterday with the smaller one giving way. I hope they're a good pair so I can see some young Peckoltia soon.

[armourshrimp36]

nice pleco used to keep many breed in my old tank last time.. but now going for shrimp tank.. cannot keep them anymore