Ancistrus cucutae

[Elwood]

I've just bought this pair as Ancistrus cucutae L150 but in L-numbers there's no name for L150, just Ancistrus sp.
So what are them?

30 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2929 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2928 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2927 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2926 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2925 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

100_2931 di Riccardo B, su Flickr

[Shane]

I've just bought this pair as Ancistrus cucutae L150 but in L-numbers there's no name for L150, just Ancistrus sp.

Ancistrus cucutae is not a valid scientific name. This is the Ancistrus sp exported from Cucuta on the Colombian/Venezuelan border.

I'll check some resources and get back to you with an identification. I have been meaning to identify this fish for some time.

The Cat-eLog says they are from the Orinoco, but this is incorrect. They are a true mountain sp. I spent some time in the area (in Tachira) and it is quite cold there.

-Shane

[sidguppy]

so the requirements for this little Bristlenose would be a non heated tank at roomtemperatures or even slightly below?

[Jools]

Shane,

The species we have pictured under

L150

(which is also apparently

L125

) is rather different from the one in this post?

So, is the lumping of these two l-numbers incorrect? What's the link here to the fish you encounted in Tachira?

Jools

[Shane]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 28&start=0

Above is a 2003 thread on the topic... so maybe I have been meaning to get to this for a little longer than "some time."

I have no idea if the Ancistrus sp commonly exported from Cucuta is L150 or even has an L Number, though I expect it does.

-Shane

[sidguppy]

since you've been romping around in the streams where this fish lives, what would you say about husbandry?

cool water fish (non heated tank in the living room), cold water fish (pond when summer, cool fishroom in winter) or tropical heated tank?

[Shane]

I am pretty confident this fish is

Ancistrus bodenhameri

. It also sells frequently as

L149

which is it is not. L149 is an Orinoco sp.

I can not see that it was assigned an L Number.

Ideal care would be similar to what we provide Chaetostoma in terms of O2 levels and aquascape. These fish would very rarely encounter water as warm as 77F (25C) and would certainly be happy down to 68F (20C).
-Shane

[Jools]

I have no idea if the Ancistrus sp commonly exported from Cucuta is

L150

or even has an L Number, though I expect it does.

L150

(=

L125

) is out of Puerto Ayacucho, Amazonas, Venezuela.

Are you saying the fish pictured above is

Ancistrus bodenhameri

or something else is? If so, I/we should search through all

Ancistrus

and retire one more l-number...

Jools

[Shane]

Are you saying the fish pictured above is Ancistrus bodenhameri or something else is?

Yes, the Ancistrus sp commonly imported as Ancistrus sp Cucuta or Ancistrus cucutae is actually

Ancistrus bodenhameri

.

I/we should search through all Ancistrus and retire one more l-number...

Unfortunately, it looks like this sp never received an L Number as far as I can tell.

-Shane

[Jools]

Unfortunately, it looks like this sp never received an L Number as far as I can tell.

I just spent some time thoroughly checking and I agree.

Jools

[Jools]

@Elwood,

Can we use the some of the pics of your Ancistrus bodenhameri for the site?

Cheers,

Jools

[Elwood]

@Elwood,

Can we use the some of the pics of your Ancistrus bodenhameri for the site?

Cheers,

Jools

Sure!

[Elwood]

I am pretty confident this fish is

Ancistrus bodenhameri

. It also sells frequently as

L149

which is it is not. L149 is an Orinoco sp.

I can not see that it was assigned an L Number.

Ideal care would be similar to what we provide Chaetostoma in terms of O2 levels and aquascape. These fish would very rarely encounter water as warm as 77F (25C) and would certainly be happy down to 68F (20C).
-Shane

Thank you Shane!

[Lobosupermalo]

Hi.

I don't think this is A. bodenhameri.
The most loricarids are exported from Puerto Ayacucho,Ancistrus "cucutae"too.I think this Cucuta is another little town or stream in the jungle who nobody knows or maybe this is a made up name from some cute exporter!
In Southamerica you have a lot of citys and currents/rivers with the same name.Look like Rio Branco
Some exporters sell this fish with "Ancistrus cucutae Rio Meta".
The real A. bodenhameri is describes from Maracaibo lake and confluences ,the typlocation are Rio San Pedro from the Motatàn-system at the east side of the lake.A. bodenhameri take more bright spots on the heat and haven't black spots before the dorsal fin begins.
I think the fishes at the picture are A. triradiatus,a tipical species of the Rio Meta system.

Regards
Patrick

[Shane]

Patrick,
I checked with two exporters in Colombia exporting these fishes before I made the above identification. They are in fact collected near Cucuta, the capitol of Norte de Santander department, an area in which I have collected. Cucuta is in the Maracaibo drainage system.

The most loricarids are exported from Puerto Ayacucho

Puerto Ayacucho is in Venezuela, not Colombia. The center for Colombian exports from the Orinoco is Puerto Carreño. That said, most loricariids available to hobbyists from Colombia are collected from areas around Villavicencio in the llanos. This includes the majority of Panaque maccus, Farlowella, Hypostomus, Hemiloricaria, and Panaque, not to mention several Corydoras spp. By comparison, the combined numbers of all "fancy" (L Number) loricariids exported from the Orinoco do not add up to just the numbers of P. maccus exported out of Villavicencio.

Some exporters sell this fish with "Ancistrus cucutae Rio Meta".

I have not seen that name used. Which exporter uses it? I agree with you though that the only Ancistrus I have seen exported with frequency from the Rio Meta (via Villavicencio) is A. triradiatus. However, the Colombian export lists I have on hand all correctly identify this fish.

-Shane

[Jools]

A. bodenhameri take more bright spots on the heat and haven't black spots before the dorsal fin begins.

Hi Patrick

This is useful, but I need to check its veracity. What is the source of this info please?

Cheers

Jools

[Shane]

Any chance for a belly shot to confirm the identification of your above fish? I have it down to two candidates:

Ancistrus bodenhameri

and

Ancistrus martini

The easiest, purely visual, way to separate the two may be the belly pattern. A. martini has a distinctive pattern of light squiggles and dots on the belly.

A. martini was actually described from Cucuta, so this may (or may not) mean something.

I would also love to see more pics of fish purchased as "Ancistrus cucutae" as I would not be suprised at all to find that both spp are coming in under this name.

The resource I thought would be key "Fishes of Catatumbo" was a complete bust as they just declare that all Ancistrus in the llanos, Maracaibo, and Magdalena basins are

Ancistrus triradiatus

. /Epic fail

Also, do we have any additional info on

Ancistrus sp`colombia`

?

-Shane

[Jools]

Shane,

Great work. I have a bunch of pics from Elwood of this, but none show the belly. So perhaps he could take a few snaps?

Ancistrus sp. `Colombia` is exported from Bogota. That's all I have...

Jools

[Shane]

Just realized I missed checking a resource.

Wels Atlas II (pg 144-145) shows a fish identified as A. bodenhameri that was collected near the holotype location. It is not the above fish. This is one more thing now pointing my identification towards A. martini for the above fish.

L 125 and L 150 were issued to the same Ancistrus sp exported from Puerto Ayacucho. I have seen several retailers and hobbyists mis-associate "Ancistrus cucutae" with this L Number.

L 149, very frequently mis-associated with "Ancistrus cucutae," is also an Orinoco basin fish.

Ancistrus sp(lda072)

may actually be "Ancistrus cucutae."

So I am leaning towards the common names "Ancistrus cucutae" and LDA 72 actually representing

Ancistrus martini

. Pics of the belly pattern will either confirm this... or have me starting all over again.

-Shane

[nvcichlids]

Hey Shane, I found this fish listed on http://www.davesfish.com, listed as an LDA 72

http://www.davesfish.com/images/Ancistr ... 0LDA72.jpg

it says it comes from columbia, but I don't see the squiggles on the belly. Would that mean this fish is not LDA 72?

And going back to the initial posted pictures, to me, they look similar to the fish in the posted link.

[Shane]

I am not sure there is not a pattern on this fish's belly. It may just have been washed out by the flash.

I am still not sure that "Ancistrus cucutae" and LDA 72 are the same fish. It is just a working theory.

-Shane

[Elwood]

I will take some picture from above this afternoon.

[Elwood]

I will take some picture from above this afternoon.

I have to postpone the picture, I see some "movement" in the tank, I don't want to disturb.