From the Rio Ventuari in Venezuela we have received this extraordinarily beautiful Hypancistrus, which is very similar to H. inspector, H. contradens and L201, but has considerably larger spots, which also appear slightly yellowish. At least wild collected L471 seem to remain much smaller than the other mentioned Hypancistrus and hardly grow beyond 6 cm. Of course this makes them especially attractive for owners of smaller aquariums. However, offspring – the species is, like all Hypancistrus, a cave-breeder – can grow slightly larger (by 8 cm).
Important for the successful care of these otherwise undemanding animals are comparatively high water temperatures, which should be in the range of 26-30°C, and good filtration. Hypancistrus are not algae eaters, but prefer to eat frozen and dry food. A piece of raw potato, carrot or zucchini is also gnawed, but one should use these foods sparingly, as they pollute the water considerably when they start to rot.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 471-1 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
