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ne of the easiest members of the Loricariidae genera to keep in my eyes is the Peckoltia genus and when kept in suitable conditions their colours can be outstanding. This is our factsheet for the beginning of August 2020, a difficult year for many of us, and maybe this species and the more colourful L135 will brighten your day up.

 

Peckoltia braueri - 8 soft dorsal rays?

 

Peckoltia braueri has had a few L-number names in the not too recent past, L121, L135 & L305 to name three. L305 is actually the correct number with the other two species (L121 & L135) being larger and having 7 soft rays in the dorsal fin (and being more colourful) whereas P. braueri (L305) has 8 soft dorsal ray fins. Another species that is alike is Peckoltia cavatica. Abstract: from Armbruster & Werneke 2005, Peckoltia cavatica is described as a new species and P. braueri is redescribed. Peckoltia cavatica and P. braueri differ from all other Peckoltia by having distal orange bands on the dorsal and caudal fins when alive and by having the plates and bones of the head and nape outlined in black. Peckoltia cavatica is found in the Essequibo River basin, and P. braueri is found in the Takutu River basin. The species differ in that P. cavatica has weaker dorsal saddles, the plates and bones of the head and nape are completely outlined in black (vs. partially outlined in P. braueri), lacks vermiculate lines on the pterotic-supracleithrum, lacks at least one broken band in the caudal fin, and has wider orange bands.

 

 

Peckoltia braueri - Wild caught, Sawariwau River, Guyana

 

The image above shows a wild caught specimen from the Sawariwau River in Guyana which is part of the Takutu River basin. The dorsal fin does not show any orange bands but as we all know some wild caught specimens of any fish can show up differently some time after capture, and when we put them into our glass boxes. The image below shows Peckoltia sp. (L135) with more intense colouration and the less soft rays (7) in the dorsal fin with different markings with example two black bands to the dorsal fin.

 

Peckoltia sp. (L135) - 7 soft dorsal rays

 

The only other described species of Peckoltia similar to P. braueri in colouration is P. vermiculata, which can be separated by having vermiculations on the dorsal head bones and plates other than the pterotic (vs. colouration confined to the borders between bones and plates in P. braueri) (Armbruster & Werneke 2005).

Below in this map you can see the area pinpointed along the Takutu River on the border between Brazil and Guyana where you can find P. braueri and also the the code number L135 further into Brazil in the Rio Demini, a tributary of the Rio Negro which for all purposes is a larger species (15cm) with less soft rays (7) in the dorsal fin. L121 is also from Guyana and also has 7 soft dorsal rays and may or not be the same species as L135.

 

 

 

 

Worm Line Peckoltia, L305

Hemiancistrus braueri

Hypostominae

South America: Brazil, Guyana, Takutu River downstream of Lethem.

12.0cm. (4¾ins)

25-29°c (77-85°f.)

6.0-7.5.

Dorsal spines (total): 2 - 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 1-8, Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 4. Differs from P. cavatica by having the dorsal saddles better developed, and by having the the lower end of the caudal fin usually oblique and only slightly indented.

Orange bands in the dorsal fin with thin, orange bands at edge of dorsal and caudal fins and by having thin, wavy, black lines that tend to outline the plates and bones of the head. Dorsal surface with four dark saddles, saddle one below second and third dorsal-fin rays, saddle two below last two dorsal-fin rays and slightly behind dorsal fin, saddle three below adipose fin, and saddle four at end of caudal peduncle. Head plates and bones completely outlined in black and with lines intense, by having black vermiculations on the pterotic-supracleithrum, by having at least one, broken band in the caudal fin, and by having the marginal orange band of the dorsal and caudal fins not as thick or as intense as in P. cavatica.

Should be kept at slightly higher temperatures and have a requirement for a higher oxygen intake. Peaceful inhabitants of an aquarium. They like their own territory in the aquarium as males will sometimes spar with other males, but usually nothing comes of this confrontation as long as they have their own caves, be it PVC pipes, ceramic pots or even under flat stones that have been built up on the substrate.

Not easy. Good water quality and water changing at the right time. They lay their eggs in caves (pipes) and the male guards them for about 10 days. The feeding of courgette (zucchini) and peas taken out of their shell seems to be a precondition for the successful spawning of the Peckoltia genus.

The males have short odontodes (spines) covering the front edge of the pectoral fins and parts of the main body just behind the gill plates, these spines run the full length of the body, they also produce them on the hard rays of the caudal fin. The females are devoid of this character and I find that they are not quite as colourful as the males, being that bit darker.

Omnivore: Vegetarian food, tablets & pellets, insect larvae, zooplankton and soft wood. As mentioned in the breeding section they love courgette (zucchini), half cook them, sliced, in a pot of water and then frozen for future use. They are also partial to peas now and again.

Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Caudal fin: The tail.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Pectoral fins: The paired fins just behind the head.
Pterotic-supracleithrum: Large combined bone on the head, placed behind the eye.

Peckoltia: Named for Snr. Gustavo Peckolt of the Natural History Commission of Rondon.

Armbruster, J.W. and D.C. Werneke, 2005. Peckoltia cavatica, a new loricariid catfish from Guyana and a redescription of P. braueri (Eigenmann 1912) (Siluriformes). Zootaxa 882:1-14.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2008. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (11/2008).
Grant, Steven, Worm Line Peckoltias (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) Catfish Study Group. CatChat Volume 12, Issue 1. January 2011.
Seidel, I. 2008. Back to Nature guide to L-catfishes, Ettlingen, Germany 208 p.
www.loricariidae.info

Photo Credits

Peckoltia braueri (1): Nick Rideout
Peckoltia braueri (2): Michael Tobler
Peckoltia sp. (L135): Yann Fuliquet
Map: www.yourchildlearns.com
Map: Google maps 2020
Takuta bridge image : JodyB - Own work, CC BY 3.0.
Takuta bridge: Wikipedia.