by Francesco Zezza

FOREWORD: It’s always the same "old" story each of you know pretty well! When dealing with messy importers (like the one I visit every now and then) you get – almost – NO information that, sometimes, is better than wrong information. This being said all I can tell you is that this fish (almost all loriicarids come from South America) comes from Brasil. The – above mentioned – fellow has a Brasilian wife … I found this fish on sale under the common - and wrong - name of Peckoltia "tigre" (where tigre stands for tiger). This fact reminds me about:

Then – finally - Julian Dignall (www.planetcatfish.com) stated this fish is a (possibly a female specimen) of Hypancistrus sp. "King Tiger Pleco" L066. You may check – fore more details and pics – the Cat-eLog area of that site.

Biotope: Amazon Basin (South America), nothing more: sorry!

Tank: If you take its size into consideration (currently about 11-12 cm; roughly 4 inches) tank size should definitely not be a problem. Since this is a wild caught specimen, the fish was initially quarantined (although it was sold to me as "already quarantined") in a 75 liters tank and was then moved to the 500 lt tank. Since I don't have the slightest idea about its final size, I can only make guesses but my experience tells me that this tank will fit its needs even when fully grown.

Water chemistry: I should say neutral to slighty alkaline water. This is a general recommendation for fishes living in the Amazon basin although I will add that in Cocha of Yannachi, in Peru we found a pH as high as 7.0!)

Spawning: Well, beyond the fact no result can be reached with only ONE fish, I have to admit my failure: I didn't manage to spawn even the (supposed) easiest catfish ever - the Ancistrus, so …

Food: All members of this genus are reported to like (a bit more than other loriicarids) meaty foods. I tend to agree, hence: carnivore sinking pellets, frozen food, bloodworms, mosquito larvae are included in the diet. NEVER forget almost all loriicarids like to chew wood

Tank Mates: I – succesfully – tried the following species: middle sized characins, other catfishes (not only loricariids but also, for instance, dorarids), small cichlids and more.