Peckoltia... but what are those?

[Jobro]

Hey Folks,

I found some peckoltia on an importeurs website. Drove there (for 2h) and found those peckoltia. I took 5 of them with me.

Importeur said he ordered wild L134. Definitely didn't get some. So he labeled them as L15, P. Vittata. But told me they would probably not be Vittatas
He hinted at maybe L477. But I can't find pictures of juvenile L477.
Looking at young P. Vittatas, I can find quite some similiarities. But knowing young peckoltia, they all look kinda like one another in their first months.

One of them has a coloured belly, the others don't. He also has a higher contrast than the others. Some L477 are said to have color pattern on belly whereas others don't. Maybe really L477? Sadly I didn't takle a picture of the colored belly
But at least one of them had a black yellow pattern on his belly and 3 others didn't, not sure about the last one.

they are 5-6cm TL. 4-5cm SL.

[Jobro]

2 more pictures.

Any input is very much appreciated.

[pleconut]

Sure they're not a Panaquolus sp, possibly L169?

[pleconut]

The L169 has markings on the belly...

[Jobro]

Hm, they really gave me the looks of a Peckoltia on first sight. Headshape is very much like that of my L134. Very angular, edged. Panaqolus are more rounded in my opinion.

Behaviour and looking at their teeth should clear that up though. They are not sitting on wood yet, they prefer to cave for now. Young panaqolus tend to be not interested in caves and will go for wood instead I'd guess? So... let's see if they will cling to the wood.

As they were ordered as P. Compta, maybe they are from Tapajos as well? Maybe young L140? Looking at the various Peckoltia, there are quite some with very similar juvenile looks. I guess this will be a tough one without knowing where they were caught. Hopefully they won't loose all of their colour when grown out.

[pleconut]

I agree about young Panaqolus hanging out in wood, but with the CateLog stating L169s are around 3 inches standard length I figured yours, because of the size you stated, would be a bit closer in appearance to an adult than a youngster. So its most likely they are not L169s

[Jobro]

I looked at them and at pictures of L169 for a while now, but I really don't think they are.
I found one of them hanging on a wood branch for a while today. That made me rethink again, so i looked through out the panaqolus database, couldn't really find anything matching.

on the other hand a looked at some more juvie peckoltias and they are definitely closer to that. My own L377 did look quite a lot like them when they were younger.

[Jobro]

Here is a link to the sellers offer on ebay...

https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anz ... 6-138-8092

Has nobody any more inputs for me?

[MarcW]

Are they maybe

l015

? They look nothing like any

l134

I have seen before.

[iSynoCat]

I would say they are peckoltia, pretty sure they are not panoqulous. Will have to see whether or not they start to get more interested in wood.
Perhaps L015? I have seen a few ones with similar head shape around but none quite like that.

[stuby]

The last picture in the L477's here looks like a juvenile to me..... and looks just like your plecs. I would say they are L477's...... let them grow a little and see how they look and that will tell you for sure.

Chuck

[Jobro]

I would say they are peckoltia, pretty sure they are not panoqulous. Will have to see whether or not they start to get more interested in wood.
Perhaps L015? I have seen a few ones with similar head shape around but none quite like that.

I have seen some of them sitting on wood. But only on rare occasions. I also don't think they are panaqolus.
L15 might be a possibility. But then, there are a lot of young peckoltia looking just like that in their juvenile state.

Are they maybe

l015

? They look nothing like any

l134

I have seen before.

Yes, definitely no L134, but maybe they share the same habitat as L134 as they have been exported as L134? L140 comes to mind. But I can find different juvenile colouration patterns for them, some matching, others don't.

The last picture in the L477's here looks like a juvenile to me..... and looks just like your plecs. I would say they are L477's...... let them grow a little and see how they look and that will tell you for sure.

Chuck

Yes, they could very well turn out to be L477. But as mentioned before, there are many young peckoltias matching this appearance.


Thank you all for your inputs. I appreciate every comment

[PlecosAndLoaches]

How about L211? Here's mine (just last night):

[Jobro]

Hey, thank you. That's actually pretty close to mine. I can't find much info or pictures on L211 though.

How old/big is yours? still juvenile or will he keep that colourpattern into adulthood?

[PlecosAndLoaches]

He/she is only about 3" TL but I suspect fully grown. I also expect that the color pattern will stay. I've had the fish for about 18 months and my guess is it was already 6 mos-1 yr old when I picked it up. Got it from Chuck Carmoney, who posts on Planet Catfish occasionally. The 211 is a great little peckoltia. Like most other peckoltias, very active. A little feisty, but never overly aggressive. If I had more tank space, I'd get a group of them.

[PlecosAndLoaches]

You can also check with Jamie and Christine at Freshwater Exotics. If Jamie doesn't have it, he might be able to order it for you. I've bought a LOT of plecs from them over the last couple years. Good luck.

[Jobro]

I'm from the EU, ordering anything from US is out of the question

I also do have those 6 little fellows allready and will I don't even know what exactly they are

Yours is a very beautiful Peckoltia, indeed. Most of them lose the nice color while growing.

[Jobro]

Good thing I made this post. I was thinking I had bought 6 of these specimen and was wondering how and when I lost the 6th because I only found 5. But my first post here said 5... glad I did not lose any.

Anyhow, here is how they turned out almost 2 years later:

[Jobro]

2 of them are pretty nicely coloured, the others lack some contrast.

[Jobro]

None of them shows any odontodal growth on the pectorals or the tail. I think I have at least 2 males and 2 females. Sadly no spawning behaviour going on. If anybody has a guess on what these are, I would appreciate it.

My assumption is L477 or similiar.

[Jobro]

made some more pictures after I released them.