L052 or L168?

[Mcasella]

I have three of these guys and I am trying to figure out what they are, the third (not pictured) seems to be male based on the extended growths of odontodes on the pectoral fins. The smallest does not show coloration that the larger two do, the smallest is just over 2.5" it also doesn't seem to vary in the light/dark of the striping. The larger two darken to match where they are hiding, which is most often underneath the sponge filter and around the driftwood or pots in the tank.





Thanks for the help!

[bekateen]

Without catch location, it's almost impossible to say. Scientifically, both L052 and L168 are considered a single species,

Dekeyseria picta

.

I know you want more, but it's difficult to make a better judgment without catch location.

Cheers, Eric

[Dave Rinaldo]

Dekeyseria brachyura had an L#168

[bekateen]

Dekeyseria brachyura had an L#168

This is true, but

Dekeyseria brachyura

has also been synonymized with

Dekeyseria picta

. But so far, PCF has not reconciled the pages for L052 and D. brachyura, I presume in part because hobbyists aren't convinced the scientists are correct, and in part because of the complexity of the preexisting CLOG entries for thes two forms.

Cheers, Eric

[Mcasella]

No catch location, they were simply listed as butterfly plecos.
What your saying is they can breed anyway despite not showing similar coloration and pattern displays? (The larger two show dark coloring on darker substrate, the smaller in the one pictured with it showing visible pattern under the lighting the pictures were shot with.)

[bekateen]

A single fish can drastically change color in a matter of hours, from bright yellow/black, to dingy camouflage tan and dull blacks. Your three fish may be a mix or L168 and L052, but from these photos I can't tell that clearly. They could just as easily be all the same. And unless you paid extra for them, they are more than likely all L052, which in the USA is much more commonly imported than L168. People who've kept both forms say they can see clear differences which persist through age and size, but as I mentioned above, scientists claim they are a single species, perhaps population variants from different parts of rivers. I don't know enough to say more than that. I'm keeping 11 of the L052. Sometimes they look stellar. Sometimes they look drab. Even on the same light sand.

Cheers, Eric

[Mcasella]

Pulled them to get a better shot, this is after about 8 minutes in the container.