Ancistrus dolichopterus • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Close-up of mouth
Close-up of dorsal fin
Dorsal view
Ventral view, female
Habitat: Rio Negro, Brazil
Sub adult
Juvenile
Stamp
Egg clutch
Four week old juvenile
Pair (Male center)
Fry
Sub-adult
Ventral view - juvenile
Sub-adult
Four week old and two week old fry
Feeding on cucumber
One day old fry
Three day old fry
Eleven day old fry

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Ancistrus dolichopterus** Kner, 1854
Common Name(s)	L183, Starlight Bristlenose Catfish
Type Locality	Manaus, Brazil.
Synonym(s)	Hypostoma punctatum, Xenocara dolichoptera
Pronunciation	an SISS truss
Etymology	The name Ancistrus is derived from the Greek word agkistron, meaning hook, in reference to the interopercular odontodes that are hooked. This specific epithet refers to its long (dolichos=long) fins (pteron=fins).
Species Information
Size	100mm (3.9") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Mature males and sometimes females have soft tentacles (bushy fleshy growths) on the snout - this is unique to the genus Ancistrus. The overall appearance of this species is not as useful for identification as you may think - there are many Ancistrus species which have a dark base with small white dots as colour pattern. There is however a key that differentiates this species from all other (currently known) Ancistrus species - it's the only species with one hard and nine soft dorsal rays (I,9). Also encountered under the name Ancistrus hoplogenys.
Sexing	Males have head tentacles, females do not.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: upper and middle Brazilian Amazon River basin and from the Negro, lower Trombetas, Tefé, Madeira and Tapajós River basins. Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes) , Negro, Lower Negro (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Amazon, Lower Amazon, Trombetas, Lower Trombetas (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Amazon, Tefé (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes) , Madeira (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Amazon, Tapajós (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	5.0 - 6.5
Temperature	23.0-28.0°C or 73.4-82.4°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	A blackwater resident that can be somewhat delicate if not kept in similar conditions in captivity.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Ancistrus are omnivorous with something of a vegetarian bent. Vegetables and commercially prepared food are avidly taken. They also like to eat blood worms, gammarus and most frozen foods. You can also witness them eating dead fish when they find a carcass before you do.
Furniture	Prefers wood to stone. Bamboo caves are best but will also take refuge in slate or PVC pipes.
Compatibility	Will defend their own territories, but these are small and so groups can be housed in relatively small aquaria.
Suggested Tankmates	Appropriate with most community fish that aren't overly big or aggressive.
Breeding	Reasonably straight forward once the correct (black water) parameters are attained. Spawning follows the typical pattern for the genus. The female lays around 50 eggs in a cave or hole that is guarded by the male.
Further Information
References	Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wienv. 7 - pp274 [24] - Pl. 3 (fig. 1)
Registered Keepers	(1) plecoboy, (2) Barbie (k: 11), (3) plecoready, (4) mikelucky, (5) Lornek8, (6) Oliver D. (k: 18), who also notes: "Spawned...", (7) husky_jim (k: 3), (8) hoplo, (9) bikerman6660, (10) gage, (11) alga (k: 2), (12) Tuti, (13) Bristle nose, (14) H, (15) Topaztas, (16) Kenneth Wong (p: 2, k: 6), (17) Bowyer, (18) Kampi, (19) spot86t (k: 2), (20) humle, (21) thebirdofprey (k: 88), (22) anthony mcdonald, (23) Plank, (24) teknikAL (k: 28), who also notes: "W/C adults. Very active. Several successful broods of about 50 fry. Have not been producing due to fungus problem with the eggs. 12/09", (25) kurasaki, (26) jjkolodz (k: 7), who also notes: "TDS: 138-162ppm pH: 5.62-6.06 GH: 3-4 dH KH: 1 dH Temp 83", (27) Benjamin, (28) prutsprogrammeur, (29) Helmut, (30) Chrysichthys (k: 2), (31) L127 (k: 3), (32) magnar30 (p: 2), (33) goodmike, (34) trini_100, (35) Firestorming (k: 365), (36) kerryteatsjr, (37) BooUrns! (k: 9), (38) Achmenrah_666 (p: 2), (39) DrNo, (40) LUISGOREY (p: 2), (41) Breus, (42) joviman, (43) AleGer (k: 2), (44) TheSpuDGuN, (45) jar (k: 2), who also notes: "They create an enourmous amount of waste, use more filtering than normal. ", (46) Loracidlover (k: 3), (47) Dan Steveo, (48) Suncoastscott, (49) reticulata, (50) Numbers (k: 39), (51) worldwide73, (52) pureplecs (k: 6), (53) The Highlander, (54) zedogz, (55) theshiner72, (56) Algaedarling, (57) Martin S, (58) ranmasan, who also notes: "very good algae eater ^_^ Newly hatched "homegrown" fry per LFS... moved to Stress Reliever on 11/08/08 @ 2.5"", (59) djwalker124, (60) Merlinmaus, (61) retchub (p: 2), (62) Waterboy (k: 2), (63) danielryan (k: 2), (64) Lihn (k: 8), (65) Phoxinus (k: 3), (66) maxiho, (67) kamas88 (k: 5), (68) smithrc, (69) andy75, (70) Juha (k: 3), (71) Piscis, (72) matti2uude (k: 6), (73) Shyfu, (74) Sutrisno (p: 2), (75) Lakatu, (76) Altifrons, (77) jomi, (78) Cory_lover, who also notes: "Needs clean water and high oxygen content. In many ways, it's behaviour is a good indicator of water quality. Feeds on blanched zucchini and algae wafers, and the occasional thawed bloodworm.", (79) oliv67, (80) mdfa.ca, (81) Greg Curtis, (82) pdav (p: 5), (83) ronalddevries (k: 2), (84) Billybob, (85) Bijn (k: 4), (86) Hitch (k: 3), (87) elle_1313, (88) schoie, (89) stlpleco, (90) DaveW (k: 5), (91) Elisabeth Dahl (k: 19), who also notes: "breeding group", (92) andreogmikela (k: 20), (93) PlecoCrazy (k: 6), (94) MatsP (k: 3), who also notes: "Lost every one of them... :(", (95) David Fnt (k: 6), (96) RickE (k: 3), (97) lethalcustoms00, (98) ridley25, (99) peterl, (100) Neri2495, (101) makok (k: 9), (102) L-ko (k: 4), (103) pleco_breeder (k: 4), (104) bottomfeeders (k: 8), (105) somename, (106) fuzzytigerbird, (107) redwood (k: 3), (108) joemc, (109) andresont (p: 2), (110) after, (111) ravyk, (112) rdp50734, (113) syno321 (p: 2), (114) Jatze, (115) Torb (k: 12), (116) Syno Rey (k: 4), (117) Birger Amundsen, (118) centropy (k: 2), (119) Donald (k: 6), (120) BasS (k: 3), (121) Eyal (p: 2, k: 2), (122) djtonyel (k: 29), (123) jac (k: 107), who also notes: "Spawning on rainwater.", (124) boski87, (125) Grimfilth, (126) Hansen (p: 2, k: 4), (127) Rita Aspevik (k: 6), (128) bsmith, (129) Nabobmob1, (130) Hurriken, (131) tomr (p: 2, k: 2), (132) homedog98, (133) Carter77, (134) extratea, (135) mpfsr, (136) Dan101, (137) Rainbow (k: 6), (138) brechtvh, (139) jp11biod, (140) FFTRIP, (141) S&KGray (k: 6), (142) 2poc, (143) dolgolev (k: 2), (144) FynFisker (p: 3), (145) baspen, (146) Matthijs (p: 2), (147) jakkals, (148) bruce3, (149) shooter50014 (k: 2), (150) ZeeZ. 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	- Search Planet Catfish for more on Ancistrus dolichopterus - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Ancistrus dolichopterus on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Ancistrus dolichopterus on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	125479 hits.
Last Update	2011 Oct 08 12:31 (species record created: 2001 Apr 25 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Ancistrus dolichopterus Kner, 1854

Common Name(s)

L183, Starlight Bristlenose Catfish

Type Locality

Manaus, Brazil.

Synonym(s)

Hypostoma punctatum, Xenocara dolichoptera

Pronunciation

an SISS truss

Etymology

The name Ancistrus is derived from the Greek word agkistron, meaning hook, in reference to the interopercular odontodes that are hooked. This specific epithet refers to its long (dolichos=long) fins (pteron=fins).

Species Information

Size

100mm (3.9") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

Mature males and sometimes females have soft tentacles (bushy fleshy growths) on the snout - this is unique to the genus Ancistrus.

The overall appearance of this species is not as useful for identification as you may think - there are many Ancistrus species which have a dark base with small white dots as colour pattern. There is however a key that differentiates this species from all other (currently known) Ancistrus species - it's the only species with one hard and nine soft dorsal rays (I,9). Also encountered under the name Ancistrus hoplogenys.

Sexing

Males have head tentacles, females do not.

Habitat Information

Distribution

South America: upper and middle Brazilian Amazon River basin and from the Negro, lower Trombetas, Tefé, Madeira and Tapajós River basins.
Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes) Show it on a map

, Negro, Lower Negro (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Amazon, Lower Amazon, Trombetas, Lower Trombetas (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Amazon, Tefé (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes) Show it on a map

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

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

5.0 - 6.5

Temperature

23.0-28.0°C or 73.4-82.4°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

A blackwater resident that can be somewhat delicate if not kept in similar conditions in captivity.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Ancistrus are omnivorous with something of a vegetarian bent. Vegetables and commercially prepared food are avidly taken. They also like to eat blood worms, gammarus and most frozen foods. You can also witness them eating dead fish when they find a carcass before you do.

Furniture

Prefers wood to stone. Bamboo caves are best but will also take refuge in slate or PVC pipes.

Compatibility

Will defend their own territories, but these are small and so groups can be housed in relatively small aquaria.

Suggested Tankmates

Appropriate with most community fish that aren't overly big or aggressive.

Breeding

Reasonably straight forward once the correct (black water) parameters are attained. Spawning follows the typical pattern for the genus. The female lays around 50 eggs in a cave or hole that is guarded by the male.

Further Information

References

Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wienv. 7 - pp274 [24] - Pl. 3 (fig. 1)

Registered Keepers

(1) plecoboy, (2) Barbie (k: 11), (3) plecoready, (4) mikelucky, (5) Lornek8, (6) Oliver D. (k: 18), who also notes: "Spawned...", (7) husky_jim (k: 3), (8) hoplo, (9) bikerman6660, (10) gage, (11) alga (k: 2), (12) Tuti, (13) Bristle nose, (14) H, (15) Topaztas, (16) Kenneth Wong (p: 2, k: 6), (17) Bowyer, (18) Kampi, (19) spot86t (k: 2), (20) humle, (21) thebirdofprey (k: 88), (22) anthony mcdonald, (23) Plank, (24) teknikAL (k: 28), who also notes: "W/C adults. Very active. Several successful broods of about 50 fry. Have not been producing due to fungus problem with the eggs. 12/09", (25) kurasaki, (26) jjkolodz (k: 7), who also notes: "TDS: 138-162ppm pH: 5.62-6.06 GH: 3-4 dH KH: 1 dH Temp 83", (27) Benjamin, (28) prutsprogrammeur, (29) Helmut, (30) Chrysichthys (k: 2), (31) L127 (k: 3), (32) magnar30 (p: 2), (33) goodmike, (34) trini_100, (35) Firestorming (k: 365), (36) kerryteatsjr, (37) BooUrns! (k: 9), (38) Achmenrah_666 (p: 2), (39) DrNo, (40) LUISGOREY (p: 2), (41) Breus, (42) joviman, (43) AleGer (k: 2), (44) TheSpuDGuN, (45) jar (k: 2), who also notes: "They create an enourmous amount of waste, use more filtering than normal. ", (46) Loracidlover (k: 3), (47) Dan Steveo, (48) Suncoastscott, (49) reticulata, (50) Numbers (k: 39), (51) worldwide73, (52) pureplecs (k: 6), (53) The Highlander, (54) zedogz, (55) theshiner72, (56) Algaedarling, (57) Martin S, (58) ranmasan, who also notes: "very good algae eater ^_^ Newly hatched "homegrown" fry per LFS... moved to Stress Reliever on 11/08/08 @ 2.5"", (59) djwalker124, (60) Merlinmaus, (61) retchub (p: 2), (62) Waterboy (k: 2), (63) danielryan (k: 2), (64) Lihn (k: 8), (65) Phoxinus (k: 3), (66) maxiho, (67) kamas88 (k: 5), (68) smithrc, (69) andy75, (70) Juha (k: 3), (71) Piscis, (72) matti2uude (k: 6), (73) Shyfu, (74) Sutrisno (p: 2), (75) Lakatu, (76) Altifrons, (77) jomi, (78) Cory_lover, who also notes: "Needs clean water and high oxygen content. In many ways, it's behaviour is a good indicator of water quality. Feeds on blanched zucchini and algae wafers, and the occasional thawed bloodworm.", (79) oliv67, (80) mdfa.ca, (81) Greg Curtis, (82) pdav (p: 5), (83) ronalddevries (k: 2), (84) Billybob, (85) Bijn (k: 4), (86) Hitch (k: 3), (87) elle_1313, (88) schoie, (89) stlpleco, (90) DaveW (k: 5), (91) Elisabeth Dahl (k: 19), who also notes: "breeding group", (92) andreogmikela (k: 20), (93) PlecoCrazy (k: 6), (94) MatsP (k: 3), who also notes: "Lost every one of them... :(", (95) David Fnt (k: 6), (96) RickE (k: 3), (97) lethalcustoms00, (98) ridley25, (99) peterl, (100) Neri2495, (101) makok (k: 9), (102) L-ko (k: 4), (103) pleco_breeder (k: 4), (104) bottomfeeders (k: 8), (105) somename, (106) fuzzytigerbird, (107) redwood (k: 3), (108) joemc, (109) andresont (p: 2), (110) after, (111) ravyk, (112) rdp50734, (113) syno321 (p: 2), (114) Jatze, (115) Torb (k: 12), (116) Syno Rey (k: 4), (117) Birger Amundsen, (118) centropy (k: 2), (119) Donald (k: 6), (120) BasS (k: 3), (121) Eyal (p: 2, k: 2), (122) djtonyel (k: 29), (123) jac (k: 107), who also notes: "Spawning on rainwater.", (124) boski87, (125) Grimfilth, (126) Hansen (p: 2, k: 4), (127) Rita Aspevik (k: 6), (128) bsmith, (129) Nabobmob1, (130) Hurriken, (131) tomr (p: 2, k: 2), (132) homedog98, (133) Carter77, (134) extratea, (135) mpfsr, (136) Dan101, (137) Rainbow (k: 6), (138) brechtvh, (139) jp11biod, (140) FFTRIP, (141) S&KGray (k: 6), (142) 2poc, (143) dolgolev (k: 2), (144) FynFisker (p: 3), (145) baspen, (146) Matthijs (p: 2), (147) jakkals, (148) bruce3, (149) shooter50014 (k: 2), (150) ZeeZ.

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

Add this species to your "my cats" page.

Breeding Reports

None.

More Resources

- Search Planet Catfish for more on Ancistrus dolichopterus
Link

- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Look up AquaticRepublic.com

- Look up Ancistrus dolichopterus on AquaticRepublic.com
Look up Fishbase

- Look up Ancistrus dolichopterus on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
Link

- URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)

Hits

125479 hits.

Last Update

2011 Oct 08 12:31 (species record created: 2001 Apr 25 00:00)

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