Panaque sp. (L204) • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Juvenile
Pair prepare to spawn
One year old
Close-up of head
Close-up of male's odontodes
Male
Female
Ventral view of adult
Dorsal view
Adult
Juvenile stress colouration
One month old
Twenty day old
Fry development from five to twenty days
Male
One day old fry
Two day old fry
Three day old fry
Five day old fry
Seven day old fry
Nine day old fry
Eleven day old fry
Close-up of head of female
Close-up of head of male
Close-up of teeth
Close-up of male's genital papillae
Three month old juvenile
Six day old fry

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Panaque sp. (L204)
Common Name(s)	Flash Pleco, L204
Pronunciation	pan ah KAY
Etymology	The generic epithet "panaque" is a Venezuelan common name for this fish.
Species Information
Size	130mm (5.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	The genus Panaque is identified by the teeth, which are spoon-shaped. This means that the teeth are noticeably wider at the tip than at the base. Other loricariidae have teeth that are similar width all the way from one end to the other. A second distinguishing feature is the lack of a buccal papilla, which is a "flap of skin" on the inside of the mouth. See pictures in this PDF on Pterygoplichthys. The L204 has a unique pattern. A dark brown to black base coloration with very thin white to yellow vertical lines starting form on the upper body and going to the lower body. As the fish grows lines tend to become broken to the point, sometimes, where they become spots. Fins have thin white to yellow bands. Juveniles have rather white lines, these lines tend to turn yellow as the fish gets older. This species belongs to the group of small sized typically wood eating plecos that has been proposed to belong to a new genus, Panaqolus. This new genus was erected in a special Loricariid only spring 2003 issue of the German aquarist magazine DATZ (well known in catfish circles as the birthplace of the l-numbers). For an aquarist, having a mini-Panaque genus to classify many new imports as is most useful in a variety of ways; not least in the quick understanding of diet requirements and facilitation of captive breeding attempts. So, we were understandably quick to adopt this new placement. That said and done, it does not appear that it will gain acceptance among the majority of the scientific community. Late in 2003, we reverted to calling this species Panaque.
Sexing	See CotM article.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Peru : Rio Alejandro Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón , Ucayali , Upper Ucayali (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón , Ucayali , Middle Ucayali (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	6.6 - 8.6
Temperature	24.0-30.0°C or 75.2-86°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	Typically found in parts of the river 30-50 meters wide river with a depth up to 1m. Conductivity around 190 microsiemens. A strong current is preferred.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	A wood eating species; vegetables are avidly eaten. Animal protein can be given once in a while but should not be the main diet except when conditioning the fish for breeding as it helps the female to mature the eggs.
Furniture	Sand or gravel bottom with a lot of driftwood. A few caves made out of slate plate or bamboo pipes as potential spawning sites.
Compatibility	Juveniles are good citizens, they become more territorial as they grow to maturity
Suggested Tankmates	Most ideally suited for the more active community tank with shoaling characins the ideal. Active fish should be chosen carefully as to avoid species that might nip at this plecos ornate tail fin extensions.
Breeding	See CotM article.
Further Information
Registered Keepers	(1) xingumike, (2) natefrog, (3) Ak Viking, (4) mikey, (5) CatBrat, (6) Borbi (k: 2), (7) plecoready, (8) spencerdeluxe, (9) Trident2004, (10) ThorG, (11) pisces52, (12) Oliver D. (k: 2), (13) lordotterby, (14) amergim, (15) geoffkemp, who also notes: "A Spectacular Species. Mine has gotten a fair bit bigger than what the page lists, probably closer to 160mm", (16) arabesque, (17) drgold (k: 7), (18) njfishguy (k: 4), who also notes: "I've been interested in this species for several years but wasn't lucky enough to raise fish of both sexes to maturity at the same time until more recently. The 4 I have now were purchased at various times in last three years and I definit", (19) fish_mad_guy, (20) taksan (k: 6), who also notes: "Bought, grew, bred and sold. Prefer lots of current and high temps (29c)", (21) harryprog (k: 4), (22) stinger, (23) VirgoWolf, (24) Blue (k: 3), (25) LoL, (26) FreshwaterJeff, who also notes: "I'm finding my L-204 to be more gregarious than other species I have kept, and I'm really enjoying keeping him.", (27) johanlidman, (28) BK, (29) ani-mal-lvr, (30) Brotox (p: 3), (31) Trollboy, (32) HBC, (33) prutsprogrammeur (k: 3), (34) alga (k: 2), (35) Live, (36) cobraconny (k: 2), (37) Poshpleco, (38) rimbaudsarm, (39) DutchFry, (40) whiteymoza, (41) Colin_BC, (42) Selveste_Preben (k: 2), (43) Birger Amundsen (k: 5), (44) Freakdaddy (k: 2), (45) soltarii007, (46) krazyGeoff (p: 2, k: 8), (47) defibf (k: 9), (48) rosemarydawn, (49) awzen, (50) chillired, (51) neon, (52) Zohar, (53) trini_100, (54) KnaveTO, who also notes: "Lost one on 21 Oct 09 - tank crash", (55) Gog, (56) gemjunkie, (57) jippo, (58) muddymudskipper (p: 2), (59) kenneth knutsen, (60) LUISGOREY, (61) scottb, (62) defi (k: 8), (63) Liz H, (64) Complexity, who also notes: "Beautiful, but extremely shy fish. Loves his wood. Temp 76F, pH 8.0. Territorial when older. Very hardy. Loves zucchini, cucumbers, and algae tabs. Lots of poop! His tail is especially pretty.", (65) ayshea, (66) RayGnz, (67) traco, (68) Wels, (69) lewishan, (70) ashik (k: 3), (71) dreadboy113, (72) miniko, (73) doodle, (74) Numbers, (75) pureplecs, (76) The Highlander, (77) addictedtocats, (78) chalkvandam (k: 6), (79) Complecs, (80) cathje (k: 2), (81) djwalker124, who also notes: "A wood eating species; vegetables are avidly eaten. Animal protein can be given once in a while but should not be the main diet except when conditioning the fish for breeding as it helps the female to mature the eggs. pH 6.6-8.6", (82) fleahound, (83) PlecoCrazy (k: 3), (84) tvwav, (85) missileman, (86) lizimal, (87) ElTofi (k: 6), who also notes: "several pseudo-spawns... but probably a too hard water... they are in a community 720 liters with Pterophillum ", (88) smsjazz81, (89) Rixxter, (90) Gord Emsdale (p: 2, k: 4), who also notes: "No eggs yet", "This species is extremely shy, they were about 1.5 inch when I got them, now they are about 4 inches, still have not bread, but very healthy, sure wish they'd make some babies.", (91) Haavard Stoere (k: 18), (92) upc239, (93) otyrwhitt (p: 2), (94) robt18, (95) Liam50LB (p: 2), (96) ablank (k: 12), (97) ofird, who also notes: "13 cm Flash Pleco, L204 Peru A wood eating species; ", (98) busgod, (99) ahodge84, (100) johnpeezy, (101) Sutrisno, (102) stang1 (k: 3), (103) AleGer (k: 11), (104) jomi, (105) thicis, (106) andy75 (k: 2), (107) KAROBA (k: 8), (108) Janne Josefsson, (109) godfreyhales (k: 7), (110) jac (k: 2), who also notes: "Wildcaught.", (111) poel_19, (112) flatfish, (113) nvcichlids (k: 8), (114) Boxy, (115) Billybob, (116) dave air, (117) Jørn Kåsa, (118) Bjørn, (119) DaveW (k: 5), (120) ayrtoninst, (121) andi, (122) andreogmikela, (123) drpleco (k: 6), (124) ACMEexp (k: 9), (125) janne dahle (k: 8), (126) Nichof (k: 3), (127) kwalker (k: 2), (128) stuart264, (129) KnapTo, (130) Neri2495, (131) FynFisker, (132) keen-eyed (k: 6), (133) scleropages, (134) EHEIM~ADDICT, (135) Aquanaut (k: 2), (136) Derzel, (137) mrfishydude, (138) rdp50734, (139) oli (k: 6), (140) 2wheelsx2 (p: 2, k: 4), who also notes: "Lost on June 26, 2011.", "Chubby female from Charles.", (141) satony, (142) theviper06, who also notes: "Emperor ", (143) saltcop, (144) Buc_Nasty, (145) Hansen (k: 3), (146) wimmels, (147) Nabobmob1, (148) Little-AL, (149) bcmitchell, (150) ridout, (151) Steen (k: 5), (152) Donald (k: 7), (153) MatsP (k: 4), who also notes: "Bought tiny ones at the CSG auction in September. They have almost doubled in size in two-three months.", (154) plecorocks, (155) Skwidd, Inc., (156) Mazzi, (157) SHEAG35 (k: 9), (158) danlinn, (159) plecomanpat (k: 2), (160) hankinswood (k: 3), (161) aquaoahu, (162) idudi, (163) DazSH (k: 3), (164) PanaqueDave (k: 4), who also notes: "Havinf VERY good luck with New Life Spectrum Sinking wafers and Sinking pellets.", (165) essexaqua, (166) mike h, (167) Jude, (168) jp11biod, (169) SHEAG (k: 9), (170) smitty (p: 2, k: 2), who also notes: "Duplicate Entry.", (171) Korsaaven (k: 2), who also notes: "I sold off my 2 males to see if the pair will spawn. So far no luck.", (172) pleco maniac, (173) zopie, (174) arapaimag, (175) stumac (k: 2), (176) FFTRIP (p: 2), (177) chez, (178) bartian, (179) Decker504, (180) 29buur (k: 4), (181) Dan101, (182) Zulan, (183) Martin Holm, (184) lethalcustoms00, (185) elcucuu, (186) Yakov_krepak, (187) phiaqeezh, (188) ColumbianChocolate (k: 2), (189) Sam, (190) tomr (k: 4), (191) Skägget (k: 2), who also notes: "Beautiful and not shy at all", (192) jeff.l (p: 2), (193) Italian1026 (k: 5), (194) Terrycherry, (195) Copp81, (196) verbal (k: 5), (197) marsbar, (198) ali_uk_1, (199) Ottofan2003, (200) john82, (201) mikebren12, (202) johni (k: 6), (203) Floody, (204) knirper, (205) crusnik, (206) dudiel, (207) seliel, (208) Brisch, (209) HERVE. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- CotM 2005 December - Shane's World Reproduction Spawning Panaque sp, L204 - Search Planet Catfish for more on Panaque sp. (L204) - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Panaque sp. (L204) on AquaticRepublic.com - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	169150 hits.
Last Update	2010 Aug 06 01:59 (species record created: 2001 May 05 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Panaque sp. (L204)

Flash Pleco, L204

pan ah KAY

The generic epithet "panaque" is a Venezuelan common name for this fish.

Species Information

Size

130mm (5.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

The genus Panaque is identified by the teeth, which are spoon-shaped. This means that the teeth are noticeably wider at the tip than at the base. Other loricariidae have teeth that are similar width all the way from one end to the other.
A second distinguishing feature is the lack of a buccal papilla, which is a "flap of skin" on the inside of the mouth. See pictures in this PDF on Pterygoplichthys.

The L204 has a unique pattern. A dark brown to black base coloration with very thin white to yellow vertical lines starting form on the upper body and going to the lower body. As the fish grows lines tend to become broken to the point, sometimes, where they become spots. Fins have thin white to yellow bands. Juveniles have rather white lines, these lines tend to turn yellow as the fish gets older.
This species belongs to the group of small sized typically wood eating plecos that has been proposed to belong to a new genus, Panaqolus. This new genus was erected in a special Loricariid only spring 2003 issue of the German aquarist magazine DATZ (well known in catfish circles as the birthplace of the l-numbers). For an aquarist, having a mini-Panaque genus to classify many new imports as is most useful in a variety of ways; not least in the quick understanding of diet requirements and facilitation of captive breeding attempts. So, we were understandably quick to adopt this new placement. That said and done, it does not appear that it will gain acceptance among the majority of the scientific community. Late in 2003, we reverted to calling this species Panaque.

Sexing

See CotM article.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Peru : Rio Alejandro
Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón Show it on a map

, Ucayali

, Upper Ucayali Show it on a map

(hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón Show it on a map

, Ucayali

, Middle Ucayali Show it on a map

(hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)

6.6 - 8.6

Temperature

24.0-30.0°C or 75.2-86°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

Typically found in parts of the river 30-50 meters wide river with a depth up to 1m. Conductivity around 190 microsiemens. A strong current is preferred.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

A wood eating species; vegetables are avidly eaten. Animal protein can be given once in a while but should not be the main diet except when conditioning the fish for breeding as it helps the female to mature the eggs.

Furniture

Sand or gravel bottom with a lot of driftwood. A few caves made out of slate plate or bamboo pipes as potential spawning sites.

Compatibility

Juveniles are good citizens, they become more territorial as they grow to maturity

Suggested Tankmates

Most ideally suited for the more active community tank with shoaling characins the ideal. Active fish should be chosen carefully as to avoid species that might nip at this plecos ornate tail fin extensions.

Breeding

See CotM article.

Further Information

Registered Keepers

(1) xingumike, (2) natefrog, (3) Ak Viking, (4) mikey, (5) CatBrat, (6) Borbi (k: 2), (7) plecoready, (8) spencerdeluxe, (9) Trident2004, (10) ThorG, (11) pisces52, (12) Oliver D. (k: 2), (13) lordotterby, (14) amergim, (15) geoffkemp, who also notes: "A Spectacular Species. Mine has gotten a fair bit bigger than what the page lists, probably closer to 160mm", (16) arabesque, (17) drgold (k: 7), (18) njfishguy (k: 4), who also notes: "I've been interested in this species for several years but wasn't lucky enough to raise fish of both sexes to maturity at the same time until more recently. The 4 I have now were purchased at various times in last three years and I definit", (19) fish_mad_guy, (20) taksan (k: 6), who also notes: "Bought, grew, bred and sold. Prefer lots of current and high temps (29c)", (21) harryprog (k: 4), (22) stinger, (23) VirgoWolf, (24) Blue (k: 3), (25) LoL, (26) FreshwaterJeff, who also notes: "I'm finding my L-204 to be more gregarious than other species I have kept, and I'm really enjoying keeping him.", (27) johanlidman, (28) BK, (29) ani-mal-lvr, (30) Brotox (p: 3), (31) Trollboy, (32) HBC, (33) prutsprogrammeur (k: 3), (34) alga (k: 2), (35) Live, (36) cobraconny (k: 2), (37) Poshpleco, (38) rimbaudsarm, (39) DutchFry, (40) whiteymoza, (41) Colin_BC, (42) Selveste_Preben (k: 2), (43) Birger Amundsen (k: 5), (44) Freakdaddy (k: 2), (45) soltarii007, (46) krazyGeoff (p: 2, k: 8), (47) defibf (k: 9), (48) rosemarydawn, (49) awzen, (50) chillired, (51) neon, (52) Zohar, (53) trini_100, (54) KnaveTO, who also notes: "Lost one on 21 Oct 09 - tank crash", (55) Gog, (56) gemjunkie, (57) jippo, (58) muddymudskipper (p: 2), (59) kenneth knutsen, (60) LUISGOREY, (61) scottb, (62) defi (k: 8), (63) Liz H, (64) Complexity, who also notes: "Beautiful, but extremely shy fish. Loves his wood. Temp 76F, pH 8.0. Territorial when older. Very hardy. Loves zucchini, cucumbers, and algae tabs. Lots of poop! His tail is especially pretty.", (65) ayshea, (66) RayGnz, (67) traco, (68) Wels, (69) lewishan, (70) ashik (k: 3), (71) dreadboy113, (72) miniko, (73) doodle, (74) Numbers, (75) pureplecs, (76) The Highlander, (77) addictedtocats, (78) chalkvandam (k: 6), (79) Complecs, (80) cathje (k: 2), (81) djwalker124, who also notes: "A wood eating species; vegetables are avidly eaten. Animal protein can be given once in a while but should not be the main diet except when conditioning the fish for breeding as it helps the female to mature the eggs. pH 6.6-8.6", (82) fleahound, (83) PlecoCrazy (k: 3), (84) tvwav, (85) missileman, (86) lizimal, (87) ElTofi (k: 6), who also notes: "several pseudo-spawns... but probably a too hard water... they are in a community 720 liters with Pterophillum ", (88) smsjazz81, (89) Rixxter, (90) Gord Emsdale (p: 2, k: 4), who also notes: "No eggs yet", "This species is extremely shy, they were about 1.5 inch when I got them, now they are about 4 inches, still have not bread, but very healthy, sure wish they'd make some babies.", (91) Haavard Stoere (k: 18), (92) upc239, (93) otyrwhitt (p: 2), (94) robt18, (95) Liam50LB (p: 2), (96) ablank (k: 12), (97) ofird, who also notes: "13 cm Flash Pleco, L204 Peru A wood eating species; ", (98) busgod, (99) ahodge84, (100) johnpeezy, (101) Sutrisno, (102) stang1 (k: 3), (103) AleGer (k: 11), (104) jomi, (105) thicis, (106) andy75 (k: 2), (107) KAROBA (k: 8), (108) Janne Josefsson, (109) godfreyhales (k: 7), (110) jac (k: 2), who also notes: "Wildcaught.", (111) poel_19, (112) flatfish, (113) nvcichlids (k: 8), (114) Boxy, (115) Billybob, (116) dave air, (117) Jørn Kåsa, (118) Bjørn, (119) DaveW (k: 5), (120) ayrtoninst, (121) andi, (122) andreogmikela, (123) drpleco (k: 6), (124) ACMEexp (k: 9), (125) janne dahle (k: 8), (126) Nichof (k: 3), (127) kwalker (k: 2), (128) stuart264, (129) KnapTo, (130) Neri2495, (131) FynFisker, (132) keen-eyed (k: 6), (133) scleropages, (134) EHEIM~ADDICT, (135) Aquanaut (k: 2), (136) Derzel, (137) mrfishydude, (138) rdp50734, (139) oli (k: 6), (140) 2wheelsx2 (p: 2, k: 4), who also notes: "Lost on June 26, 2011.", "Chubby female from Charles.", (141) satony, (142) theviper06, who also notes: "Emperor ", (143) saltcop, (144) Buc_Nasty, (145) Hansen (k: 3), (146) wimmels, (147) Nabobmob1, (148) Little-AL, (149) bcmitchell, (150) ridout, (151) Steen (k: 5), (152) Donald (k: 7), (153) MatsP (k: 4), who also notes: "Bought tiny ones at the CSG auction in September. They have almost doubled in size in two-three months.", (154) plecorocks, (155) Skwidd, Inc., (156) Mazzi, (157) SHEAG35 (k: 9), (158) danlinn, (159) plecomanpat (k: 2), (160) hankinswood (k: 3), (161) aquaoahu, (162) idudi, (163) DazSH (k: 3), (164) PanaqueDave (k: 4), who also notes: "Havinf VERY good luck with New Life Spectrum Sinking wafers and Sinking pellets.", (165) essexaqua, (166) mike h, (167) Jude, (168) jp11biod, (169) SHEAG (k: 9), (170) smitty (p: 2, k: 2), who also notes: "Duplicate Entry.", (171) Korsaaven (k: 2), who also notes: "I sold off my 2 males to see if the pair will spawn. So far no luck.", (172) pleco maniac, (173) zopie, (174) arapaimag, (175) stumac (k: 2), (176) FFTRIP (p: 2), (177) chez, (178) bartian, (179) Decker504, (180) 29buur (k: 4), (181) Dan101, (182) Zulan, (183) Martin Holm, (184) lethalcustoms00, (185) elcucuu, (186) Yakov_krepak, (187) phiaqeezh, (188) ColumbianChocolate (k: 2), (189) Sam, (190) tomr (k: 4), (191) Skägget (k: 2), who also notes: "Beautiful and not shy at all", (192) jeff.l (p: 2), (193) Italian1026 (k: 5), (194) Terrycherry, (195) Copp81, (196) verbal (k: 5), (197) marsbar, (198) ali_uk_1, (199) Ottofan2003, (200) john82, (201) mikebren12, (202) johni (k: 6), (203) Floody, (204) knirper, (205) crusnik, (206) dudiel, (207) seliel, (208) Brisch, (209) HERVE.

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Add this species to your My Cats species list