Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (05/03/88)
In article <5284@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, dalka@ihlpg (Ken Dalka) writes: > I've never heard of these. Is there a more commonly used name? I've seen them labelled as "bristlemouth", "bristlenose", "bristlemouth plecos", and so on. They are also called Xenocara in some older books. > I would like to know more about this Ancistrus..... Ancistrus (armored catfishes) belong to the Loricariidae (mailed catfishes), along with Loricaria, Otocinclus and Plecostomus. Ancistrus belong to the Amazon region and Guyana. They are a lot like Plecostomus, essentially bottom dwellers with sucker mouths with which they cling to rocks and plants and eat algae. They look like Plecostomus, but have bristles, tentacles or spines on their snouts which are often forked. The bristles are less prominent or even absent in females (which makes them hard to distinguish from Plecostomus. Most pet shops think they are a type of Plecostomus anyway; some label them "bristlenose" or "bristlemouth plecos".) Ancistrus require a lot of vegetable food as well as animal food; their main diet seems to consist of algae. They need wood as ballast for digestion, and pieces of leached wood for rasping. According to Sterba, "the Ancistrus are by far the best destroyers of algae of all aquarium fish, including Gyrinocheilus" (the infamous Chinese algae eaters). I can't compare it with Plecostomus since I've never kept any Plecostomus myself, but it does do a good job. Ancistrus are relatively unaffected by low temperatures (21-26 C is ideal). They like a lot of hiding places (rocks and driftwood). Breeding doesn't seem to be too difficult (I haven't tried it myself). The male cares for the large orange eggs and the fry. Different books differ about what the species are called, but here are a couple of representative ones (common names in quotes): - A. cirrhosus ("bristlemouth"). Upto 14 cm, most smaller. Body dark olive-brown to black-brown, belly grey-green to fawn-colored, large number of irregular pale blotches. Dorsal fin large, dark spots, large black spot at base between first two dorsal rays. - A. dolichopterus (Xenocara dolichoptera) ("bushmouth", "blue antenna catfish", "blue-chin xenocara"). Upto 13 cm, most smaller. Body dark brown to blackish with a blue-black shimmer and dark blotches. Belly paler. Fins black-blue with white spots. Dorsal fin has white spots and white border. Blue tint is more intense on young fishes. They are hard to tell apart, but I think I have either a cirrhosus or a lineolatus. I've been looking for a dolichopterus without any luck so far. Anyone seen one? -- Ashwin. ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs
halo@cognos.uucp (Hal O'Connell) (05/10/88)
In article <28327@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: }In article <5284@ihlpg.ATT.COM>, dalka@ihlpg (Ken Dalka) writes: }} I've never heard of these. Is there a more commonly used name? } }I've seen them labelled as "bristlemouth", "bristlenose", "bristlemouth plecos", }and so on. They are also called Xenocara in some older books. } }} I would like to know more about this Ancistrus..... } }Ancistrus (armored catfishes) belong to the Loricariidae (mailed catfishes), }along with Loricaria, Otocinclus and Plecostomus. Ancistrus belong to the }Amazon region and Guyana. There is one other member of the Loricariidae which appears (somewhat infrequently) in the hobbyist's tank. That is Farlowella, I can't remember the common appelation, but this species resembles a twig and is a good example of using natural camouflage. -- Hal O'Connell decvax!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!halo Cognos Incorporated P.O. Box 9707 (613) 738-1440 3755 Riverside Dr. Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA, K1G 3Z4