Help IDing loricariid updated

[SammySam]

Hello, they arrived. I grabbed one and took some pictures. Hopefully it'll be easier to ID em!




Tail - there is no "whip", just a common catfish tail.



Belly view

[bekateen]

Hello, they arrived. I grabbed one and took some pictures. Hopefully it'll be easier to ID em!

Tail - there is no "whip", just a common catfish tail.

Belly view

Hi SammySam,

To me, it looks like one of the Rineloricaria, and although you don't see a "whip" on the tail, I suspect it's just damaged and will likely regrow. If I had seen two parallel dark lines along the ventral surface posterior to the pelvic fins and a single strong line on each fin (with the possibility of a few smaller and more faint rows of spots; see here: viewtopic.php?p=320418#p320418), I would have said

Rineloricaria eigenmanni

. I don't see that on your fish and I see what appears to be multiple, approximately homogenously dark rows of spots on each of the paired fins, so I don't think it's R. eigenmanni.

Given the condition of the tail and the overall pale markings of the fish, I suppose it's possible to still be R. eigenmanni (if there are any dark stripes, they may be faded due to the fish's general condition). So maybe time will reveal those features. But for now I'm angling away from that ID. Most people alternate between R. eigenmanni and

Rineloricaria parva

as the most commonly available in the trade, but there are many whiptails that have similar markings to both and you may need to wait until the fish adapts to your tank and starts to show stronger colors before you can be sure.

Good luck with this fish.

Cheers, Eric

[FlyV]

Just a by-the-by, as far as I understand, the "whip" refers to the latter portion of the fish before the tail, and not the long filaments that some have.

[bekateen]

Just a by-the-by, as far as I understand, the "whip" refers to the latter portion of the fish before the tail, and not the long filaments that some have.

Could be. I don't know. The commonly used word i hear for the extensions of the caudal rays is "streamers" or filaments.

Cheers, Eric