Article © Jacqueline Bennett-Leaver, uploaded March 11, 2018.

In September 2016 I visited Oliver Frank in Germany. That was the first time I came across this little black Ancistrus from the Rio Cuara. He only had just a few juveniles and I decided to take them home to learn more about this species. At just about 4cm TL I put them in a tank with some other juvenile Ancistrus to let them grow on.

Ancistrus sp. L486 is a beautiful species. They have a deep black base covered with tiny white spots. On the dorsal and caudal fins, they have a brownish band/seem along the edge. The fish are a little shy but will come out to feed, so you can enjoy their beauty. I keep them at a temperature of 27-28 degrees Celsius, on normal tap water of PH 7, hardness of 3 degrees and a conductivity of around 300µs.

In just 4 month's time they developed into young adults. The male showing his bushy tentacles on the head. I realized I had only one male in my group of eight. He took residence in one of the caves, fanning to attract the ladies which were showing signs of carrying eggs. Astonishing enough the fish are still very small. The females are no bigger than 6cm TL and the male a little larger at 7cm TL. The German L-welse database says this species reaches up to 14cm TL, so I was very surprised to find them trapping in early January 2017.

Like many Ancistrus species trapping is swift, no issues. Eggs were laid on the ceiling of the cave with the male fearlessly fanning his eggs. The following day he was visited by another female and she also deposited her eggs next to the existing eggs on the ceiling of the cave. So, my very small young male was taking care of two batches of eggs!

After four days I took the eggs and they started hatching the same day in a fry trap. I had about 60 fry from this first attempt which is not bad at all. Within 24 hours the male was trapping again and another three batches of eggs followed in the following two days. The fry dissolve their egg sacks within 8 days and start eating around 9 days old. I feed them Repashy herbivore formulas and provide them with Walnut leaves in addition to their diet. The young grow at a good pace reaching 3cm in 4 months old.

All in all, a lovely small Ancistrus species which is just a little different.

Copyright information for the images used in this article can be found on the species' full Cat-eLog page.

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	Ancistrus sp. (L486)
Common Names	L486, Caura Bristlenose Caura-antennesugemalle (Denmark)
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.
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Species Information
Articles
Identification	Mature males and sometimes females have soft tentacles (bushy fleshy growths) on the snout - this is unique to the genus Ancistrus.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Orinoco, Lower Orinoco, Caura (click on these areas to find other species found there) Log in to view data on a map.
Husbandry Information
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Registered Keepers	There are 5 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is but a single wish to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 4 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	Search for A. sp. (L486)
	Look up A. sp. (L486) on AquaticRepublic.com
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Last Update	2022 Jan 22 14:25 (species record created: 2018 Mar 11 06:11)

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