Description:
Adults males are especially spiny with extensive odontodes
on the cheeks and opercle.Colouration:
Ranges from medium-brown to near-black (especially
those from the Madeira, Branco and Xingu rivers that
are dark), and the underparts often have a vermiculated
pattern. Some of the variants are commonly considered
as separate, undescribed species in the aquarium trade
(e.g., L193
from the Orinoco basin and L407
from the Branco basin), but there is extensive overlap
in the morphometrics of the different populations.
Unlike the polka dot lyre-tail pleco (A.
adonis), A. hystrix never
has white spots. Aquarium Care:
One of the larger Loricariids known, so would need
to be kept in exceptionally large aquariums. Intolerant
of other large Loricariids. Diet:
Omnivores and will require large amounts of vegetable
foods, tablet and frozen foods such as shrimps and
mussels. There are only two described species in this
genera, this species and A. adonis.
Common
Name:
Lyre Tail Pleco, L155
Synonyms:
Rinelepis acanthicus
Family:
Loricariidae
Distribution:
Brazil: Amazon
River basin. Type locality: flumine
Amazonum.
Size:
70.0cm. (28ins)
Temp:
25-29°c (77-85°f.)
p.H.
6.0-7.5.
Reference:
Chamon, C.C.
(2016): Redescription of Acanthicus hystrix Agassiz,
1829 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), with comments on
the systematics and distribution of the genus. Zootaxa,
4088 (3): 395–408. Seidel, I.
2008. Back to Nature guide to L-catfishes, Ettlingen,
Germany 208 p.
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