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I just bought a couple of otocinclus and I'm not sure they're O. vittatus. The big spot near the tail seems bigger than O. vittatus. Anyone have any idea on what species I might have? I'll try to post a couple of pictures, but they're kinda blurry.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e237/imrandy85/10%20gallon/oto3-16-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e237/imrandy85/10%20gallon/otoonbreedernet3-16-07.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e237/imrandy85/10%20gallon/otoondriftwood3-16-07.jpg

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that those were O. hoppei, but I'll leave a definitive ID to the experts (COL, Cali, Natalie, LHG, etc.)

Joe Potato

I think joes first guess is a good one, but that otto falls into the colour variation possibilities of at least three species of ottos. We'd need a clearer, closer picture of the otto to be sure.The patternation and details of the head and fins arent clear enough for me to be really positive about an id.

I'll try and take some more pictures of them tomorrow. It actually looks really close to the O. hoppei

Those fish look almost EXACTLY like mine. I'll embed a pic of my "methuselah" Otocinclus for comparison.

I sent this same picture to the webmaster at Planet Catfish, who informed me that the most likely identity for my fishes (and for most fishes labelled in the trade as Otocinclus arnoldi, which is an invalid taxon) is Otocinclus mariae.

Pic of my Otocinclus coming up ...


Attached Image:


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I don't knowif they're the same fish, Cali. Randy's oto's black spot covers the entire caudal penuncle, while yours does not.

Joe Potato

The only chance you'll ever get a solid ID on this fish is if you provide a catching locality. Markings are not really a particularly useful nor proper method of interspecific designation, as, not only do many looks similar---for some animals caught in the same vicinity with identical color banding, noticeably different markings appear. However, most conventional sources do tend to use caudual spots, amongst other things, as a method of identification, mostly because there's been so little work on the genus...If I HAD to hazard a guess, I'd say O. bororo, as classically, hoppei does not bear a continuous line to caudual spot conversion.