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Pterygoplichthys
pardalis
(Castlenau, 1855) |
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Image contributors
to this species: |
Vedran Cuncic (1)
Jonas
Hansel (4) BigFrogFeet (1) Nikola
Banjeglav (1) Danny
Blundell (1) Acuario Marcelo (1)
Ian M. Clift (1) |
ScotCat
Sources: |
 
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Other Sources: |
  
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Relevant Information: |
Part of the P. multiradiatus
group due to the lack of the hump on the head which relates to
the P. lituratus group. The genus name has now been reclassified
back to Pterygoplichthys from Liposarcus due
to the work carried out by J.W. Armbruster 2004. There are
still some publications that still use Liposarcus as
the preferred genus name. Pterygoplichthys species can
be differentiated from the Hypostomus group by the larger
amount of dorsal fin rays, which is usually over 10. This is probably
why it has been miss sold many times as Hypostomus
plecostomus
in the hobby. Albino varieties first arrived
in the U.K. in the early nineties through breeding programs carried
out in the Czech Republic and it is now a common species bred
in the Fish farms of the Far East and also Florida in the United
States. This species has also been introduced in the Philippines
alongside P. disjunctivus probably from unwanted aquarium
specimens. Aquarium Care: Grows too large for
the majority of home aquariums so would need to be housed in a
6ft (180cm) tank or over. Can be housed with most large fish due
to its robust nature. Diet: Omnivore, vegetable
and meaty foods plus flake, tablet and pellet foods. Will eat
algae when young but not so much when it gets older. |
Common Name:
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Common Pleco, L021, L023,
Albino pleco |
Synonyms: |
Hypostomus pardalis, Liposarcus
pardalis, Liposarcus varius, Liposarcus jeanesianus |
Family: |
Loricariidae |
Distribution: |
South America: Lower,
middle and upper Amazon River basin. Introduced to countries outside
its native range. |
Size: |
50cm. (20ins) |
Temp: |
25-30°c (77-87°f.) |
p.H. |
5.5-7.5. |
Reference: |
Armbruster, J.W,
2004. Phylogenetic relationships of the suckermouth armoured catfishes
(Loricariidae) with emphasis on the Hypostominae and the Ancistrinae.
Chavez, J.M., R.M. de la Paz, S.K. Manohar, R.C. Pagulayan
and R. Carandang VI, 2006. New Philippine record of south
american sailfin catfishes (Pisces: Loricariidae). Zootaxa 1109:57-68.
Seidel, I. 2008. Back to Nature guide to L-catfishes,
Ettlingen, Germany 208 p |
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