/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/1.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(1) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/2.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(2) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/3.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(3) Pair - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/4.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(4) Night time colouration fading into daytime colours - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/5.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(5) Close-up of mouth - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/6.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(6) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/7.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(7) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/8.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(8) Colouration on dark background - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/9.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(9) Dorsal view - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/10.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(10) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/11.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(11) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/12.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(12) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/13.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(13) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/14.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(14) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/15.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(15) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/16.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(16) - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/17.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(17) Normal colouration - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/18.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(18) Newly hatched fry - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/19.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(19) Male guarding eggs - Click to enlarge")
/loricariidae/dekeyseria/brachyura/20.jpg "Dekeyseria brachyura(20) - Click to enlarge")
 Cat-eLog Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Dekeyseria brachyura (Kner, 1854) |
| Common Name(s) | Butterfly Pleco, Flounder Pleco, L168 |
| Type Locality | Brazil: Barra do Rio Negro |
| Synonym(s) | Ancistrus brachyurus, Peckoltia brachyura, Zonancistrus brachyurus |
| Pronunciation | dee key SEAR ee ah - brak ee oo rah |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 140mm (5.5") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | This catfish is a master of disguise. It can change colouration, chameleon-style, quickly. If kept on a black or very dark substrate is will go almost black. Kept on a lighter substrate it will show a pretty striped pattern during the day. Another reason for misidentification of this fish is that its night-time colouration is totally different from that it has during the day. Similar to L052 but in D. brachyura the stripes are more clearly separated. The ground colour of D. brachyura is more orange when you compare them directly. This species can be found in many hobbyist books under its old name of Peckoltia pulcher. More recently it was moved by Isbrucker et al into their new flounder pleco genus Zonancistrus. However, prevailing scientific usage appears to be with the use of Dekeyseria. Given they were described from the same river system and also given the fishes ability to change its appearance, it is quite possible that D. pulcher is not a distinct species and is actually a junior synonym of D. brachyura. The specific name also sometime appears incorrectly as brachurus. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Brazil: Rio Negro. L168 was collected in the Rio Demini (Negro Basin). Amazon, Middle Amazon (Solimoes)  , Negro (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) |
| pH | 5.6 - 7.0 |
| Temperature | 25.0-28.0°C or 77-82.4°F (Show others within this range) |
| Other Parameters | Well oxygenated but not too cool water is also advantageous. |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | An algae eater that will require a constant vegetable foods along with the usual pleco fare. |
| Furniture | Flat, rounded rocks and pieces of wood. Plants are not necessary but are generally left unmolested especially if the fish is being fed properly. |
| Compatibility | Peaceful, doesn't appear overly territorial with its own kind. |
| Breeding | Has been bred in captivity. Male guards eggs in a cave in conventional loricariid fashion. |
| Further Information | |
| Registered Keepers | (1) CatBrat, (2) Cory-Diddi, (3) gamelle, (4) ivokilli, (5) guillermo racines, (6) Tuti, (7) Bristle nose, (8) Blue (k: 2), (9) phaedraeos, (10) Bowyer, (11) gixir (k: 2), (12) cobraconny, (13) nuth88 (k: 2), (14) L127 (k: 3), (15) chillired, (16) joepleco (p: 2), who also notes: "Another hardy pleco. Mine did better with a strong powerhead in the tank, and was very territorial, the colors are really cool.", (17) Firestorming (k: 5), (18) Gog, (19) arndogg, (20) norfolkgarden (k: 4), who also notes: " Neat fish, hides a lot. Was a bright black and white in the store tank that had a red background and blue gravel.
At home, with the driftwood/plants and normal tan gravel, the best colors are a dark brown with a pale cream. Often a muddy brown. Neat fish, hides a lot. Was a bright black and white in the store tank that had a red background and blue gravel.
At home, with the driftwood/plants and normal tan gravel, the best colors are a dark brown with a pale cream. Often a muddy brown.", (21) loloveto, (22) theonetruepath (k: 4), (23) PYRATE61, (24) traco, (25) Birger Amundsen, (26) L-ko (k: 8), (27) Numbers, (28) Chillired89, (29) cwhite67, (30) CCA001, (31) chalkvandam (k: 5), (32) Kim-Ray (p: 2), (33) 78bill, (34) Liam50LB, (35) Merlinmaus, (36) fleahound, (37) tvwav, (38) fusco, (39) Melchior, (40) Deb, who also notes: "A very cool guy. Not too shy. Likes a dark, planted tank, wood, warm 80 dF water.", (41) Dutchie1986, (42) jsper, (43) agustingonzalez, (44) Azarak (k: 2), (45) royaldragoness (k: 2), (46) ablank (k: 16), (47) Borbi (k: 4), (48) ofird, (49) andy75 (k: 2), (50) h2opleco (p: 2), (51) elmosgun (p: 2), (52) Janne Josefsson, (53) Raptor (k: 2), (54) upc239, who also notes: "Staying very skinny and small . Im afraid it may not be eating well enough. ", (55) ouscazz (k: 6), (56) djtonyel (k: 3), (57) jha61 (p: 2), (58) Hellboy, (59) phoenix44, (60) Gerard Pennards (k: 2), (61) Serian, (62) Frank the L, (63) lnumbers63 (p: 2, k: 3), (64) somename (p: 2), (65) fuzzytigerbird, (66) sampster5000, (67) gr8plecos, (68) chubbikins, (69) cjhoogma (k: 3), (70) NC24 (p: 2), (71) Donald (k: 5), (72) adrisdad, (73) plecomanpat, (74) keen-eyed (k: 7), (75) Amy, (76) Sam (k: 2), (77) Benjamin Goh, (78) gollum, (79) Quo (k: 3), (80) JamesStuddart, (81) ITR371, (82) Decker504, (83) __CAV__, (84) jimlaroche83 (k: 2), (85) Zulan, (86) Hapahound1971, (87) FFTRIP, (88) freshfishing, (89) snike, (90) ellohcee, (91) milosz (k: 8), (92) 4122Johns (k: 5), (93) flatfish (p: 2), (94) gosephe (p: 2, k: 10), (95) hatiras, (96) a-401, (97) chriscarnivorous, (98) 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 |
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| Hits | 80429 hits. |
| Last Update | 2010 Jan 12 06:08 (species record created: 2001 Oct 22 00:00) |
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