id the L number pls.

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Acanthicus hystrix
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Cat-eLog Data Sheet Scientific Name Acanthicus hystrix (Spix & Agassiz, 1829) - add this species to your "My Cats" page.
Common Name(s) L155, Lyre Tail Pleco
Type Locality Amazon R.
Synonym(s) Rinelepis acanthicus
Pronunciation ah KAN thi cuss
Etymology This name is derived from the Greek word akantha, meaning quill or spike, in reference to its spiny body. This specific epithet literally means hedgehog and refers to its numerous body spines.
Species Information Size600mm (23.6")

Identification The genus can be distinguished from other similar genus by the combination of lack of adipose fin and the well-developed, rough keels along the side of the body.
Habitat Information Distribution South America: Amazon River basin.
Amazon (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Temperature 22.0-27.0°C or 71.6-80.6°F (Show others)
Husbandry Information Breeding Unreported.

Black Adonis Pleco (Acanthicus hystrix) aka Lyre Tail Pleco are sometimes bought by aquarium enthusiast but that is usually a mistake. Acanthicus hystrix is best suited for large public aquariums or large private aquariums not small home aquariums of 100 gallons are less. Take one look at the one pictured above and you can easily understand why.

Acanthicus hystrix are omnivorous and are native to South America. DON'T discard you oversized catfish into local waters where they can become an exotic nuisance.i can understand why you are saying the adonis pleco gets bigger because there is the wrong information all over the place... and obviously they are always mixed up.. quite frankly i am a bit confused myself with all the information that i deem incorrect.. my adonis is just over a foot and about 2.5 years old.. no way is he ever going to be a giant..
Largest catch from which a photo was published
 
You are right to be confused Liz as there has been misprinted information all over the place. Basically because not that many people have had experience with them... they are more available now, but even 5 or so years ago they were not so common. Of course most people also end up with small specimens. I think in 2006 TFH magazine printed that A. adonis got to 10" and was a herbivorous pleco. They reprinted the article saying this was wrong and that they in fact get to 2 foot. Even back then I doubt there were many people with home aquaria that had a 2ft Acanthicus of any sorts. Obviously as time goes by their sizes go up and up in articles as we know more about them.

Most recently adonis are said to get to 40"+... that's a long way from TFH's original 10" error and would indeed be a very large fish. If you wikipedia'd Acanthicus adonis (of course not a good source for anything) it will tell you between 8.11"-39". A. hystrix is said to get to around 2ft SL but anywhere up to around 28" TL.

Another thing to note is where Acanthicus are found. Most people would associate adonis with brazil- although they are exported from peru also and some say there are noticeable differences between the two populations even at a young age. There are also the adonis with wavy lines that are especially noticeable on the stomach region? Different species? Variant? Sex differences? I don't know. These similar black Acanthicus seem to have a very widespread range (heard of people saying they are in ecuador too?) and either they are the same species with locale variants or there are different species in there. Not many people even now get to work with lots of these fish at large sizes so information regarding it all is little in comparison to many other pleco species.

Also, it would not be suprising if you see your specimens never grow to these large sizes simply as they are in the aquarium as opposed to being wild.

People tend to do best with this species with a good varied diet, very high oxgygenated water and a large aquarium to be kept in.

Oh and as I finish- on telling adonis and hystrix apart when they are larger specimens here is a picture (shown by Heiko Bleher) that is supposedly showing an A. hystrix on the left and A. adonis on the right. Notice the difference in the snout and also the fin shapes in this picture. There is also a chance that they are also different sexes and some of the differences may also be sex related (often fin shapes will be different on the same species of fish) and so are exaggerated differences. In this picture the plates on the head just before the dorsal spine are also different. I didn't mean for this to turn into a long ramble... but I guess it has.

supposeL=hystrix.R=adonis.jpg
 
davo;3497616; said:
You are right to be confused Liz as there has been misprinted information all over the place. Basically because not that many people have had experience with them... they are more available now, but even 5 or so years ago they were not so common. Of course most people also end up with small specimens. I think in 2006 TFH magazine printed that A. adonis got to 10" and was a herbivorous pleco. They reprinted the article saying this was wrong and that they in fact get to 2 foot. Even back then I doubt there were many people with home aquaria that had a 2ft Acanthicus of any sorts. Obviously as time goes by their sizes go up and up in articles as we know more about them.

Most recently adonis are said to get to 40"+... that's a long way from TFH's original 10" error and would indeed be a very large fish. If you wikipedia'd Acanthicus adonis (of course not a good source for anything) it will tell you between 8.11"-39". A. hystrix is said to get to around 2ft SL but anywhere up to around 28" TL.

Another thing to note is where Acanthicus are found. Most people would associate adonis with brazil- although they are exported from peru also and some say there are noticeable differences between the two populations even at a young age. There are also the adonis with wavy lines that are especially noticeable on the stomach region? Different species? Variant? Sex differences? I don't know. These similar black Acanthicus seem to have a very widespread range (heard of people saying they are in ecuador too?) and either they are the same species with locale variants or there are different species in there. Not many people even now get to work with lots of these fish at large sizes so information regarding it all is little in comparison to many other pleco species.

Also, it would not be suprising if you see your specimens never grow to these large sizes simply as they are in the aquarium as opposed to being wild.

People tend to do best with this species with a good varied diet, very high oxgygenated water and a large aquarium to be kept in.

Oh and as I finish- on telling adonis and hystrix apart when they are larger specimens here is a picture (shown by Heiko Bleher) that is supposedly showing an A. hystrix on the left and A. adonis on the right. Notice the difference in the snout and also the fin shapes in this picture. There is also a chance that they are also different sexes and some of the differences may also be sex related (often fin shapes will be different on the same species of fish) and so are exaggerated differences. In this picture the plates on the head just before the dorsal spine are also different. I didn't mean for this to turn into a long ramble... but I guess it has.
Click to expand...
Thanks Davo... wow that was great info.. later today i am going to take a picture of my adonis snout..just for the heck of it and compare to these...i appreciate all your ramble... believe me we all do.
 
OMG.. THAT IS HUGE.. i have a question.. are they similar to mama pinto?
 
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