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Ancistrus leucostictus (Günther, 1864)

Image contributors to this species:

Mark Henry Sabaj (1) Raphael Covain (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: More than 20 teeth in each half jaw; teeth week and slender or filiform; snout with a wide naked margin; evertible interopercular odontodes hook-like; presence of long, forked tentacles on the snout of males. Body brown with large whitish spots. Typical Ancistrus shape with both sexes sporting bristles to the head area with the male having the larger and more impressive tentacles. Aquarium Care: Quite an easy species to keep as long as there is adequate aeration in the aquarium and giving them a choice of pipes, stones or rockwork. Diet: Vegetable foods such as cucumber and courgette and also tablet and meaty foods. Reproduction: The female lays her eggs in caves or crevices... that the male has chosen and cleaned.... as a cluster. The male usually then guards the eggs after ejecting the female. The fry then cling to the sides of the cave and when they use up their yolk sac, which is around the four to seven day period, they will be ready to feed on infusuria, vegetable matter, brine shrimp naupli or micro worms. In a community tank a few will survive if enough hiding places are afforded to them. (Up to 100 yellow eggs of 3 mm diameter are guarded by the male in a cave). Etymology: The specific name leucostictus: leukos, white; stictus, spotted, referring to “pure white dots” scattered over entire body and over all the fins.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Chaetostomus leucostictus

Family:

Loricariidae

Distribution:

South America: Essequibo River basin and possibly all main Guianan rivers to the Oyapock River. Type locality: Essequibo [Guyana].

Size:

10.0cm. (4ins)

Temp:

24-28°c (75-83°f.)

p.H.

6.5-7.5.

Reference:

Fisch-Muller, S., 2003. Loricariidae-Ancistrinae (Armored catfishes). p. 373-400. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 02/2018 ).
Mol, H.A. Jan, The Freshwater Fishes of Suriname. BRILL, Leiden Boston, 2012. 889 p.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf

Family: Loricariidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Ancistrus leucostictus

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