The Cactus Cats L24 and L25 become around 25-30 cm long and are quite popular among hobbyists with spacy tanks. The fish are very colorful and scientifically still undescribed. L24 originates from the Rio Tocantins and Rio Araguaia, L25 from the Rio Xingu. The two can be best distinguished by the pattern of the head: in L24 the head is plainly colored, in L25 are clearly visible dark spots on the head.
Now we received for the very first time Cactus Cats from the Rio Itacaiúna. The headwaters of that river are the same as the headwaters of the Rio Frisco, which is an affluent to the Rio Xingu. Moreover, both rivers, the Rio Itacaiúna and the Rio Frisco, are connected during the rainy season by a flooded savannah. So one would expect from the Rio Itacaiúna rather L25 than L24 and this is the reason why we listed the new fish provisionally under the name of L25b Pseudacanthicus sp. New Itacaiúna.
However, regarding coloration the new fish are much more alike L24 than L25. So DNS-samples have been sent to an institution to clearify the status. It is possible that L24 and L25 represent only colour morphs or subspecies of the same species. Both have also proved already to be somewhat variable. We know already at least 2 morphs of L25 from the Xingu and 4 morphs of L24 from the Tocantins and Araguaia (see http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/archiv.php?news_id=768).
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 025B-6 on our stocklist. Only three specimens currently available! Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Pseudacanthicus: means “false Acanthicus”; Acanthicus is another genus of loricariid catfish.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Brasilien/Brazil |
| Verfügbare Größe in cm | 20-25 |
