New Leporacanthicus... But which one?

[MatsP]

I got a pair of these the other day:
Female
[attachment=2]IMG_0107.JPG[/attachment]

Male
[attachment=1]IMG_0109.JPG[/attachment]

Tail fin showing light/dark markings
[attachment=0]IMG_1688.JPG[/attachment]

I'm leaning towards

Leporacanthicus sp(L263)

, but

Leporacanthicus sp(L314)

would be a close match too. The tail seems to indicate L263 to me.

--
Mats

[CoryWally]

Hi Mats,
Very nice fish - what size are they?

I haven't seen either in the flesh but L263 looks good and they have been imported before.

Where did you get them from?

Cheers,
Mark.

[MatsP]

I got them from Maidenhead Aquatics in Guildford (only two they had, before they get a rush of "I want one too" customers! ;) ). They were labelled as L. triactis, but they clearly are NOT that. They were in the shop for at least a year - in fact, I think they may have been there for a lot longer.

There is a single one that I know of in another MA store that I may pick up as well.

They are about 10cm TL (I didn't measure them), so not very large, but the female looks pretty mature to me. I doubt the size in the Cat-eLog is correct, which says 25cm SL.

--
Mats

[Cristoffer Forssander]

They belong to the Joselimai/heterodon group and I never seen them in sizes over 20 cm TL

Nice ones! Never had this species myself!
Cristoffer

[andrewcoxon]

hi, they are definatley L263. iv got a big pair of these and they have maxed out a around 7" but are really chunky. nice fish good luck with them!