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?? L-046 ect? What are they, like scientific names?

Not exactly, sort of like code names. They are used to describe plecos. Since their are soooo many species, they are given numbers instead of names. The same goes for cories, only they are "C"s.

- DJ :88)

oh, ive never heard of people mentioning C's before! tanx

Since their are soooo many species, they are given numbers instead of names.

each pleco species will eventually get its own scientific name. I believe the L number system was created because there were hundreds of different species at a time being found and imported and it was easier to assign them the L number and then go back later to properly study and classify them.

L numbers don't go for just species; many color morphs have their own L numbers. Some species have multiple L-numbers for different color morphs for before they were classified as true species. For example, L046 (Zebra Plec) and the L098 (Wavy Line Zebra Plec) are both Hypancistrus zebra. There are a number of other examples, but basically the L-numbers are there for "naming" color morphs before they get actual scientific names. However, many are still widely used even for species that have valid scientific names, either because people know them better that way or to differentiate between color morphs.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

oh, thank you

To expand on the above- I'm pretty sure that the "L" numbers are only assigned to fish imported for the hobby. There is little point in doling out the numbers otherwise, as there wouldn't be much use for giving them to never-encountered plecs.

The L number system was originated by DATZ, a German aquarist magazine. Though the magazine is in German, an English language account of all the L-numbered plecos is in the book "AQUALOG, Loricariidae All L-Numbers, New Edition".

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

L-numbers actually date back to an earlier German convention. When several new Apistogramma Dwarf Cichlids entered the hobby before being scientifically described, they were given labels "U1", "U2" etc., until they were named and described. The "U" stands for unbekannt, which is German for 'unknown'. The idea was then extended to Loricariids via L-numbers, and Corydoras via C-numbers. I think DATZ was responsible for the original "U" designations for undescribed Apistogrammas too.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

And to expand on the C numbers, they apply not only to fish of the genus Corydoras, but also to Brochis, Aspidoras, and Hoplosternum (and any other genus in the family). The "C" stands for "Callicthyid", just as "L" stands for "Loricariid".






Last edited by Cory Addict at 27-Mar-2005 22:58

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Let us not forget our P numbers for our freshwater stingrays, as long as we're mention all of these systems.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I was about to post what Cass did, but alas, I was too slow. Like he said, loricariidae numbers were not the spawn of DATZ, but rather a collective German effort to catalog the family. DATZ is known for it's well endowed publications on the matter, but are by no means the "inventors", so to speak, of the L number system.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 28-Mar-2005 01:12