celticfish
18-04-2008, 02:40 PM
As I've always been saying I'm still a pleco "nubie".
Though I've bred one my knowledge is very confined to the species and its family.
So the other day I managed to get one of the AQ guys fired-up on a pleco breeding project.
And the three of us were sifting through DATZ for a suitable L-number.
But as you guys know there's only one picture to represent the many possible morphs of each L-number.
We eventually picked a couple and headed to NKS yesterday.
For instance, he was looking at the tank with L236...
And we were all trying to find out which it was.
We borrowed the store's copy of Aqualog and got no where.
So the question is really how do you ID them?
From what I've read about L134 there is what is called a "high pattern" and a "low pattern".
One being "normal" stripes and the other broken stripes.
I wondered if this extends to the other striped L-numbers and makes precise ID quite an uphill task.
To top it off some L134 specimens have yellowish stripes while some have white stripes.
(Yes, I know L134 is not a hypancistrus. I use it as an example as its the next L-number I'm most familiar with... :o)
Essential questions are:
a) Is there a precise method to ID them?
b) Does the high/low pattern in L134 extend to other striped L-number? (this would need to qualify, similar or hypancistrus kind)
c) Thoughts on the variation of stripe colour (ie - between whitish and yellowish within an L-number kind).
Any additional method/s and comments appreciated! :)
Though I've bred one my knowledge is very confined to the species and its family.
So the other day I managed to get one of the AQ guys fired-up on a pleco breeding project.
And the three of us were sifting through DATZ for a suitable L-number.
But as you guys know there's only one picture to represent the many possible morphs of each L-number.
We eventually picked a couple and headed to NKS yesterday.
For instance, he was looking at the tank with L236...
And we were all trying to find out which it was.
We borrowed the store's copy of Aqualog and got no where.
So the question is really how do you ID them?
From what I've read about L134 there is what is called a "high pattern" and a "low pattern".
One being "normal" stripes and the other broken stripes.
I wondered if this extends to the other striped L-numbers and makes precise ID quite an uphill task.
To top it off some L134 specimens have yellowish stripes while some have white stripes.
(Yes, I know L134 is not a hypancistrus. I use it as an example as its the next L-number I'm most familiar with... :o)
Essential questions are:
a) Is there a precise method to ID them?
b) Does the high/low pattern in L134 extend to other striped L-number? (this would need to qualify, similar or hypancistrus kind)
c) Thoughts on the variation of stripe colour (ie - between whitish and yellowish within an L-number kind).
Any additional method/s and comments appreciated! :)