There seems to be a consensus among armored catfish enthusiasts that L92, which is very widespread in the Orinoco drainage of Colombia and Venezuela and later received another L-number, namely L194, is identical to Lasiancistrus tentaculatus, which was described in 2005. However, L. tentaculatus is described as more or less monochromatic brown, while L92 is quite differently colored: on the front half of the body, approximately up to the base of the dorsal fin, there are many bright spots, but not on the rear half of the body. That is why the name „headspotted delta catfish” fits very well. Typical for Lasiancistrus is the coloration of the caudal fin: the lower half is much more pigmented than the upper half. In the case of L92, the lower half of the caudal fin is rusty red.
Lasiancistrus species are typical algae eaters, but also need soft wood to supplement their diet. They are perfect for discus aquariums as „glass cleaners”, as they cope well with the usually somewhat higher temperatures in discus aquariums. At around 10-12 cm L92 is fully grown, making it one of the smallest Lasiancistrus species.
We can now offer this cave spawner, which likes to use stone crevices for spawning, as a German offspring.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 092-3 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
