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hi guys,lately ive been looking more closely at some bottom feeders,and i was wondering why do they fetch such high prices,like i got a cheep bn today,10bucks,but thats for a long time customer and it was the last one,but i also bought a black sailfin pleco,and he is about 2inces,and he cost me $55,also they had a fairly good size goldspot pleco,and he was $260,(i didnt buy him,ive already got given 1 for free)plus,the bn i got today,was a male,and i thought that i had a female waiting for him,but its turns out i was wrong,so now ive got 2 males,in the same tank,do yous rekon they will fight

Supply and demand, my friend; especially in Aus where everything and its mother is restricted from import.

yeah that would be rite,very strick import laws here,but i must say,the laws didnt even cross my mind,i thought that it was cause they were hard to catch or something like that.you know when the liitle fellas,say you arent moving me,and he opens he pects and you just about have to break the wood,or pure stone cold water over them to get them to realese,i just thought that was it,but once again,ive learned something new,thanx c.o.l.n.

Australia has among the strictest import rules anywhere in the world. So it's not surprising that Loricariids fetch high prices, because so few of them are on the 'permitted' list.

The problem is that all it takes is one careless aquarist to release a bunch of plecs into a Queensland watercourse, and hey presto, it's the Cane Toad scenario all over again.

Plus, some Loricariids are subject to export restrictions from their native lands. Hypancistrus zebra commands prices here in the UK that would give my bank manager an aneurysm because of this - I'd be lucky to find a specimen for less than £200 nowadays!

You can also guarantee that quite a few of the L-numbers will fetch high prices even without import or export restrictions because they are so sky high desirable. Hypancistrus zebra suffers multiply here - it's restricted at source by export restrictions, it's drop dead gorgeous, and chances are it's also plagued by import restrictions in Australia, so if you ever saw one for sale, you'd have to remortgage your house to buy it.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

thanx guys,ive really taken a liking to the bottom feeders latelythey are in a class of there own,its a shame they fetch such high prices here

Gold spot plecos have only recently been allowed on our import list which is why they are costly. As the market becomes saturated with them their prices reduce. Having said that $260 is a rip off! The shop I work at sells them for alot less.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

If I recall from another thread, by gold spot, I assume he meant a baryancistrus sp.

yes i aggree,thats a rip off,thats why he still there.

CoL, yes thats right. Lovely fish they are too.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

i would hate to think what a full grown goldspot pleco would fetch

In regards to your question of will 2 male BN fight,
yes indeed they will. I have a male BN and a male Inspector L201 pleco in my 75g tank and they fight like two rowdy dogs. Its really cool to watch though, cuz the BN always starts the fight, and the Inspector always finishes it (ouch those inch long odontodes hurt).


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Currently, L-201 is known as hypancistrus contradens. Hypancistrus inspector is L-102.

That is so weird. Just a week ago on Planet Catfish, L201 was H. Inspector.
Well that sucks. What do you think I will get when I get my order in for L201 Inspector Pleco female then?
When did they change the number for the H. Inspector do you know? Would orders be affected already?

You know what, neither of those fish is my pleco.
They changed all the photos on H. Inspector and its not the same fish. Mine isnt H. Contradens either.
Hmmmm.



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Well, I'm from the states and they are pretty pricy here in my opinion. The cheapest one available is the ccommon pleco for about $5, but they get HUGE. Fancy types range from $10 - $100

Inky

cool thanx guys,when i first put the 2nd BN in,they had a small scuffle,but since then they havent really crossed paths,i was thinking,ill go down 2 my lfs and see if i can swap 1 of my males for a female..

ps,hey c.o.l.n what do you rekon a fullgrown goldspot plec would fecth,just ruffly.

The original description of h inspector noted differential upper and lower jaw teeth as well as spot differences. This cooresponds to what we once knew as L-102. L-201 is a different species entirely, and last I checked, your fish is indeed h. contradens; there are many variations of the species that appear morphologically distinct. Currently, most people still list L-201 as inspector, so you can rest assured that you'll be getting that, not L-102, in your order (although the latter is an awesome fish as well).

It depends, HOKE, by which species you're talking about pterygoplichthys joselimaianus grows to about 1.5', and are relatively cheap in aus. Baryancistrus sp, however, are quite ways more expensive and I've heard of them going for 300+. They generally only reach about 6" in the home aquaria, unles you purchased a large wild caught individual.

wow thats alot of money for a fish.also so very sneaky,you were dead write,i just found my 2 male bns,in a wicked fight,they were rolling and tumbling over,so i put one on the other side of my divider,i cant beleave how hard these 2 were going at it.another thing,i have just recently added a small plec(black sailfin)and the bns dont seem to mind him,how come the 2 bns fought so hard,but plec and the bns dont seem to mind each other,why is this

Cup when you helped me ID my pleco you stated
it was clearly an Inspector pleco.
As did planet catfish concur when I sent in pictures.

the funny thing is, if i had to pick any pleco he looks just like, id pick the Vampire pleco. The only problem is my guy is 4-6 inches too small to be a vampire.


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"Cup when you helped me ID my pleco you stated
it was clearly an Inspector pleco.
As did planet catfish concur when I sent in pictures.

the funny thing is, if i had to pick any pleco he looks just like, id pick the Vampire pleco. The only problem is my guy is 4-6 inches too small to be a vampire."

...That was at least six months prior, long before h. contradens was even effectively described by science. There was always some slight speculation about the holotype h. inspector not being what we know as L-201, but there was no accurate description of either, so it was left largely untouched, and they were referred to as h. cf. inspector (aff. by some).

Your fish is not at all similar to any leporacanthicus species. Take it from me, or better yet, repost the fish on PC, and ask them to ID it for you again...it's a hypancistrus, and it is cf. contradens.