There is no „official“ paper that states in which genus this popular species from Venezuela should be placed in, but the catfish community agrees that it most probably is a member of the genus Hemiancistrus. Currently we have very nice youngsters of 3-4 cm length in stock, and some smaller as well as some larger specimens, too. The species attains a length over 25 cm. The fish have an individually differing pattern.
Keeping L128 is not difficult at all. However, one should use not too small tanks, as the fish attains a respecatble length. It is important to keep these suckers at comparatively high temperatures. The Orinoco river always has 28-33°C where they are collected. So water temperature should not fall below 25°C for longer periods.
For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 128-1 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer