bristle noses-identification

[DJ-don]

This is a major problem for me identifying diferent bristlenoses.
I've got 2 ancistruses which I've been trying to spawn, but personely I don't think these bristlenoses are the same species.
After looking in the cat-elog,i thought my 2 fish might be a. cf. sirrhosus, but I've got a small book called Catfish by oliver lucanas and it mentions only a dolichopterus instead not cirrhosus. But then again after looking at pictures in the dolichopterus section in the cat-elog, it looks nothing like my catfish and then there is the ancistrus tamboensis which i think looks like my male.
i've been attempting to breed these for atleast a year and the male only shows aggression to the female.
here are some pictures.
sorry if they aren't clear enough it is because of the fact that we dont hav a high megapixel camera nad had to use my phone's camera.

[MatsP]

They are PROBABLY

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

simply because they are most common. But without a clearer picture, I can't say (and I doubt anyone saying they can are actually sure about what they say). There are literally dozens of species of Ancistrus that are almost identical by looks, but scientists have seen fit to describe them as different species.

--
Mats

[sunfish]

The common brown BN is often incorrectly referred to as Ancistrus dolichopterus. The real A. dolicopterus is actually quite rare.

The fish in your pix are too out of focus for a positive ID. They could be A. cf. cirrhosus (I don't see anything that rules that out), and they most probably are. I don't think your male is A. tamboensis.

[Richard B]

To chip in - if they were reasonable money, they are probaly commons - aka A. cf. cirrhosus - others that are positively identified tend to be more expensive. To get a positive ID people will generally ask which river it came from, which is info rarely available.

[DJ-don]

To chip in - if they were reasonable money, they are probaly commons - aka A. cf. cirrhosus - others that are positively identified tend to be more expensive. To get a positive ID people will generally ask which river it came from, which is info rarely available.

the female i have im sure of it as a cf cirhosus.
my sisters friend's own 1 of the most prestigous shops in canberra. when i saw the male it was in a containment at the back in a quarantine tank. they told me somone handed it in. they sold it to me for 30 dollars (aus).
but after looking at pictures of the cf cirrhosus' this male doesnt have forks on its tentacles like most in the pictures.

[Mike_Noren]

but after looking at pictures of the cf cirrhosus' this male doesnt have forks on its tentacles like most in the pictures.

Some males don't. There is individual variation.

[Jools]

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

Mod edit: Jools: Fixed broken clog tag.

Jools

[DJ-don]

here's a better picture sorry if its been a long time for the new picture

[MatsP]

I see no reason to change my ID. But it's still not definite - there are several species that look and behave exactly the same.

--
Mats

[Richard B]

but after looking at pictures of the cf cirrhosus' this male doesnt have forks on its tentacles like most in the pictures.

Some males don't. There is individual variation.

I have 3 males of breeding size - the largest & the smallest have forks but the middle sized one doesn't - these are all from the same source, so yes, lot's of variation amongst individuals