6 L134/ $240. USA only

[apistomaster]

Leopard Frog L134 Plecos 6/$240.
Imperial Queen, Hypancistrus L333 small, 6/$150.

PayPay accepted+3%
Express mail only for guaranteed live delivery.

[drpleco]

Is "imperial queen" L260? Also, which variant of the L333's do you have, and do you have pictures of the parents? Thanks!!

[apistomaster]

Hi dr,

I most associate the common name, Queen Arabesque with L260.
L333 common names I have seen used in the trade have been Imperial Queen or Queen Tiger.
Common names don't mean much but some folks like them and only the L-# system helps us in lieu of as of yet not described species to try to sort them out. I think that there may be a couple different spp or collection locations of what are sold as L333. I consider the yellow and brown forms to be L333 and the black and whites something else.

My L333 are the Yellow and Brown form. I don't have any photos of mine but they are like those in the species profile on planetcatfish.
Their juveniles are more cream white with dark brown squiggles. Pretty typical of all their relatives at a young age. Their patterns continue to become more intricate as they grow larger. L333 do get a lot larger than L260. I have bred my L260 but I only have 12-14 which I am keeping as future breeders. They have small and infrequent spawns a lot like H. zebra. The L333 are spawning frequently and their broods are pretty large, about 25-30 seems to be average from my fish. They don't grow nearly as fast as the L134 fry do. I kept many L134 from last summer which are 2-3/4" in just 12 months. It looks likely that they could begin spawning within another 12 months.

[jrjerin]

Are All of the fry related?

[apistomaster]

Are All of the fry related?

They are the offspring of 2 males and 3 females.

[longfinvietdude]

How big are they? and how old?

[apistomaster]

I have some of the first young of the year that are about 4-1/2 months old which are 1-1/2" TL or perhaps a tad over that.
My L134 only breed from early spring to the beginning of fall.
I have some from last year I kept for future breeding stock that are already 2-3/4" TL.
L134 grow faster than any Pleco spp I have bred. I'm hoping they will be able to begin spawning next year at 24 months old. Janne has told me he has seen them breed as early as 18 months to 2 years. I hope that is true.

[nvcichlids]

I look at this listing every day and am still throwing cupcakes against the wall if I should or shouldn't.

[apistomaster]

Hey nv,

At least that is reasonable.
I don't know of any one else in the USA that is breeding these in the hundreds like I do but I keep getting stories like one today in a pm.
Guy claims he bought 6 locally for $100.
Next sentence he wrote, "I'm looking for a proven group of wild caught breeders."

I hate to say it but I don't think any one would part with a proven breeding group of L134 and I probably have the only group that produces them in commercial quantities.
I am wholesaling them to 3 different distributors who buy $500 to $1000 worth of them at a time.
I just received Oliver Lucanus' price list this morning and here is what he sell his L134 at retail:
Hypancistrus

spec.

L 134 - gold tiger

Tapajos

md

$ 60.00

6

@

$ 50.00