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What's the deal with the L200 and L200 "high fin"? I find it almost impossible to believe that two species so similar morphologically would be sympatric...so does anyone know the real story? Has anyone found definite M&F of both varieties? Even that wouldn't prove they were different species, but it would be a start...

I don't know the real story but I can tell you mine.
I have recently added an L200 about 3.5" (9 cm) to one of my aquariums.
I can't answer your question but I noticed a strange shift in the color of mine.
When I first put the Peckoltia in my tank it was olive green with yellow spots and
last night befor I went to bed it was out eating and the body coloration was much
lighter and the spots had a blueish tint. I'm not a Loricariidae expert but does the
possibility exist that the L200 and L128 are the same species just different variants?
Wouldn't that be the same for normal and "high fin" L200s?
My avatar is a photo of the actual fish in my tank and it was taken the first day it arrived.
I do know one thing and that is I really like this species and I will get more in the future.

L 200 and L 200 "hi fin" are probably two different spp. They come from the upper Orinoco that have similar color patterns. The new DATZ book distinguishes between them. L 200 "hi fin" is a much smaller fish at adulthood.

L 200 Hi Fin


L 200


-Shane

OK I'll take that answer because you know a lot more than I do!:cheers:
I see the one you identify as L200 has spots on the tail and dorsal.
Is that a key to their identification or just a coincidence?
I noticed that mine has no spots on either place like the upper photo.

Hm. Honestly, those two fish don't look terribly alike. If that's typical, then most of the L200 pics I've seen have been "high fin."

BUT, my original question remains: Has anyone definitively shown that there are "high fin" males and females?

BTW, it makes it difficult, to say the least, to take a forum seriously that promotes a silly superstition... "Pl*co?" Puh-leez.

L200 "low fin" for lack of a better description has been bred in the aquarium (Norway). I've seen bad pictures but it has been done at least to fry hatching. So, if you're thinking it's males with the big fins, it's not like that. I thought that too at one stage.

The larger, low fin fish with the variable spots that can be anything from green through yellow to blue/black(l128) is all likely one species. Spots mean nothing in terms of ID of this fish.

BTW, the "real" L200 is the hi-fin. In this case, real means the first DATZ fish.

I'm holding out for L128 high fin!!!!

Jools

The colors of L 128/200...

Green L 200 "Lo Fin" male. This fish is about 11 inches TL


Not green and not black L 128/200 "Lo-Fin." Note body is 3/4 spotted. Also, note margins of dorsal and caudal are light colored but not white as in the above L 200 photo I posted. Note spots on dorsal and some on caudal.


Not green and not black. Half spotted with no light fin markings. Almost no spots on fins.


L 200 "hi fin." Spots aside, these fish always have a yellowish tinge to the paired fins that is absent in the "Lo Fin" L 128/200.



As Jools stated above, the original L Number 200 was assigned to the Hi Fin. Technically, this should make the Hi Fin L 200 and all the rest L 128 whether they are yellow, green, gray, or black.
-Shane

Would it be safe to say that mine is the L200 "High Fin"?
Can someone reflect on the size difference.
If the "High Fin" is smaller, what is it adult size?

Jackster,
I do not see the "shark fin" or yellow tinged paired fins on your specimen. Looks like a green 1/2 spot L 200 "Lo-Fin" to me.
DATZ lists 20 cm for Hi-Fin and 25 cm for Lo-Fin. I can only say, having looked through 100s of shipments, that the largest Lo-Fins I have seen have been around 28 cm total length and the largest Hi-Fins no more than 15 cm.
-Shane

Excuse me for sounding stupid, but which fins are the paired fins?
Do you mean both the pectoral and ventral fins?

Yes. Not a stupid question as it is a more frequently used term in taxonomic works than by aquarists.
-Shane

so these are hi-fins, that's obviece

but this one is a lo-fin?

the second one looks nothing like this one:


strange...

If I understand correctly only "hifin L-200" is real "L-200" and it comes with green-yellow and has yellow on paired fins, while "lowfin L-200" and "L-128" is supposed to be the same fish that is different from real "L-200" and comes with green-yellow to blue to black coloration, no yellow on paired fins, and variable amount of light spots.

L 14, you hit the nail on the head. Rense, The point I was trying to make with the photos is that this is one variable species. The link you posted to the lo-fin is also a very young specimen. The photo above of my fish with lots of spots and white margins is a 10-11 inch adult female.
-Shane

okey, thanx!

but mine don't have a hi-fin, but they do have the yellowish color in their fins, so these are hi-fins then?

Just wanna be sure ;)

Rense,
These are lo-fins. Look closely at the hi-fin photos and you will see the yellow-orange tinting.
-Shane