Differences between henlei and leo's?

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J

jray33

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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Washington state
I'm interested to hear about some of the major or minor differences between these rays.
After some reading, it looks like leos are generally more expensive then henlei's, but im curious why? most look verrry similar. Are there big differences in size/hardiness or being picky eaters?
Also curious what a "average" price for an average leo and henlei would be.
I say average because BD's and such are too expensive for my wallet :cry:
 
Henlei can be lighter colored almost brown and the spots tend to be bigger in most cases.

Expect between 800-1500 for either depending on quality

Here is an example of a light henlei

Both are beautiful rays

P.%20Henlei.JPG
 
Henlei are supposed to have spots that are also found on the underside of the disc and disc edge where as leos shouldnt (there are probably exceptions of course). According to data they are also supposed to be smaller. I suspect some of the Henlei on here may be P.garrapa which is the third black ray and rarely mentioned in these forums
 
Henlei and leo both get huge in the wild like 30" plus but doubt the average aquarist will see that size at home. To add to the about statements henlei also have a dark ring around their spots. On the darker base ones it is harder to see but it is still present. Henlei are also not going to be jet black like leos. There are some dark ones that are almost black but will still have a hint of gray color to them.
 
FishDog said:
Henlei and leo both get huge in the wild like 30" plus but doubt the average aquarist will see that size at home. To add to the about statements henlei also have a dark ring around their spots. On the darker base ones it is harder to see but it is still present. Henlei are also not going to be jet black like leos. There are some dark ones that are almost black but will still have a hint of gray color to them.
Click to expand...

Well put Fishdog,i think this pretty much sums it up.
The spines running down the tail of Leopoldi always out number that found in Henlei plus the tail is longer from the stinger in the later,this can usually only be seen in captive bred individuals where they still sport a full tail,most wild imported black rays have reduced tails ,even ending in a thorny stump due to damage sustained in the wild.
 
I have to say I disagree with most of these ways of telling the 2 species apart and you can find exceptions to these 'differences'. The toothsize is different, but not something most hobbyists will look at.
 
most simple way to distungush the two species is the rows of spines and the tail,leos/bd have a paddle tails that are short, henlei have a way longer tail with no wide paddle.i have both leos,bds and henlei

henlei come in variety unlike leo in one way the color.hens tend to be lighter but not all, i have very black ones too.leos are all black bds and leos both,henlei start off brown usually and turn grey or black.to me the nicest spoted black ray is a light color henlei. henlei are just like leos for price nicer rays get more money? its harder to find top quality hens vs leos are the most common ray in the hobby.henlei are harder to breed and rarer than leopoldi,as for hardyness they are about the same. hens maybe a bit more tame too!!

henlei come from tocantins river leopodi come from xingu river.
their are a hole bunch of garbage wildcaught henlei that got exported over the last year dont buy those,find some nice captive breed hens pay a bit more its worth it.
to me henlei are alot nicer than leos,they have nice belly spots or marbled bellys and lighter colored ones look better to me than bds.dont get me wrong i love bds and leos but a nice top quality henlei with a lighter base and big clean spots is alot nicer and rarer.

overall they are both very stunning animals i love them both its for you to decide what you want.i like assortment bds,leos and hens all in one group is good.you can go wrong both ways
 
Well said I also have a soft spot for hens
 
good thing about henlei they are cheaper than bds and if you get a nice one they have just as many spots that stay clean not turning into eclipses or ugly looking c shaped spots like alot of bdleos do.vareity is nice! henlei and leos mix very well in a community tank adds more colors if you are lucky and get a lighter based henlei
 
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