fredmir wrote:The ancistrus I have are dolichopterus

I that what you were calling the "Brown Lace Ancistrus"?
is a black fish with white spots.

Female P. maccus will develop eggs with no males present as eggs are fertilized upon laying and is not a prerequisite to egg development. With that said, P. maccus have a tendency to get rather portly whcih does not necessarily mean its holding eggs or even necessarily a female.

Gold Spot Plec

Same family as gibbiceps but a seperate species.

That looks like lymphosists which is a virus. As far as I know, there isn't anything you can do about it. It usually goes away on its own & normally doesn't return. if around the inside of the mouth it can create problems if it gets large enough to interfere with eating but where it is now it do...

Those pictures are interesting indeed. I feel that would never happen if the pl*co was larger. I have a 2nd 2ft tank that i would mature the pl*co to a good size if need be. My tank also has many hiding places, hollow logs and rock caves etc. Unfortunately the only problem with that is that Oscars ...

Panaque nigrolineatus, L190.

It can be a bit of a judgement call as the main difference is the spot size. L81 has smaller & more numerous than L18 but there is variability in spot sizes of all GNs. So what some may call a large-spotted L81, others might call a smaller-spotted L18. I'd lean towards L18.

Gold Nugget. L18 or L81.

Feed them raw. No need to blanch them. If they don't eat them right away keep offering it (remove uneaten portions & replace). Sometimes it takes a few tries before they recognize it as food. What veggies are you feedng? Once you get them eating a veggie its usually easier to get them to eat oth...

Thanks. That was the way I was understanding it. Guess it was put as eloquently so I wasn't sure if he was saying that the "original" L144 is a variant of the sp(3) or the current (at least in the US) L144 is a morph of sp(3). Thanks for clarification.

On another forum a member who has proven to be very knowledgable stated that the current L144 in the hobby is the same fish as Ancitrus sp(3), or at least a color morph of the current sp(3). Has anyone heard this before or what are your thoughts on the matter?

Most juveniles of the various Royals (L190, L191, L027) start out with a window in the tail. As they grow they eventually lose this window. I personally don't think its a good method to use to distiguish the various Royals. Nor, for that matter is an identification based soley on the coloration of t...

I'd say
Can you get additional pic, like a mouth shot?

LDA63 according to the Cat-elog is the same as L27c 'Xingu' which would top out at around 15"SL. Even if it is 'Tocantins' vice 'Xingu' it'll still get just as big.

I do concur with an L191 though. Should stay smaller than most other Royals.

Gibbiceps are commonly called Leopard Sailfins in the US. For me, P. gibbiceps has always been the first plec I equate with "Leopard". It was what I bought my first gibby as, long before I'd heard of a Leopard Cactus, and is far more common. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen P. gibbice...

Could be a little of both. It also depends on how often you change water. Clean water is often more important to good growth than ample food. Well, I guess it's a bit of both. If you change 80% of the water each day, but don't feed the fish at all, I doubt they will grow! But good amounts of food w...

You should reread the page you linked. Judazzz (he's a member here) provides some good info there. Take another look at the Aquarum setup section.

Could be a little of both. It also depends on how often you change water. Clean water is often more important to good growth than ample food.

I didn't realize the L047's were so difficult to keep. How is it difficult to replicate their diet in captivity? Do they require constant algal grazing? I did some research and asked at the aquarists where they have some healthy looking 2.5" specimens and they said they are omnivorous and as l...

Looks quite similar to the one in this thread:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 13&t=22381

It doens't appear to have an adipose fin. This means its an Acanthicus.

I was mistaken about it not being previously exported. I think it was mid to late last year I did see it on the Japanese site. Forgot all about it until HaakonH mentioned it. Sorry for the confusion.

Synodontis hybrid 'Valentine'. You can see it in the tail & dorasl patterns.

after seeing the L18 and L81 side by side I have to say I belive mine are L18 as the importer had said. the coloring of the L81 is so much paler , greyer then mine. The pale, grayish color is due to the fact that that L81 pictured was just placed into the tank the day the photo was taken. When full...

I don't believe that one was every exported. It was captured & filmed by a place in Venuzeula, if I remember correctly. Venezuela does not allow for the export of captured fish.

That video was posted about a year ago. There have been a few threads about it here in the past. it's supossed to be a Leporacanthicus sp. out of Venezuela.

Looks like a . Those are capable of reaching 14"+.

Well, I can't say it is truely Hypostomus plecostomus. You see this was what was thought to be the "Common" plec & the name has stuck. Whether or not it truely is Hypostomus plecostomus, another Hypostomus sp, or even another family is the real question. When labeling fish, the fish st...