33.
Submitted by Proflooney
Baryancistrus demantoides
Synonyms: L200
Common Names: Green Phantom Pleco, L200 High-Fin
Category: Species Plecostimus
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Loricariidae
Origin: Known only from the area around the confluence of the río Ventauri with the río Orinoco in Amazonas state, Venezuela, and also occurs in the lower reaches of the Ventauri as far as the inflowing río Guapuchi.
Main Ecosystem: Collected from spaces between granite bedrock and boulders. Other loricariid species inhabiting the area around the confluence of the Ventauri and Orinoco include Acanthicus hystrix, Ancistrus macrophthalmus, Baryancistrus beggini, Hemiancistrus subviridis, Hemiancistrus guahiborum, Hypancistrus contradens, Hypancistrus debilittera, Hypancistrus furunculus, Hypancistrus lunaorum, Lasiancistrus schomburgkii, Leporacanthicus galaxias, Leporacanthicus triactis, Panaque nigrolineatus, Peckoltia vittata, Pseudancistrus orinoco, Pseudancistrus pectegenitor, Pseudancistrus sidereus, Pseudolithoxus anthrax, Pseudolithoxus dumus, and Pseudolithoxus tigris.
Salinity: (Freshwater)
Temperment: Juveniles are relatively peaceful but males in particular become increasingly intolerant of conspecifics as they age and typically aggressive towards any other fish viewed as a territorial threat.
It’s therefore best kept with species that inhabit other areas of the tank with medium-to-large sized characids particularly suitable. In very large aquaria you may be able to combine it with other catfishes or maintain a group provided care is taken to provide sufficient territorial space and visual barriers when laying out the décor.
Care: na
Diet: Gut analyses of wild specimens revealed the contents to be composed of a ‘mixed brown orgamic and mineral matrix’, within which only strands of filamentous algae could be identified. This suggests the species feeds by scraping periphyton and sediment from submerged surfaces.
In the aquarium aufwuchs should thus be allowed to colonise all surfaces except the viewing pane so that the fish can browse naturally although the diet should of course be supplemented with high-quality, sinking dried foods (preferably with added vegetable content), live or frozen bloodworm and similar, plus slices of fresh fruit and vegetables and the occasional defrosted prawn or shrimp.
Home-made, gelatine-bound recipes containing a mixture of puréed fish food, shellfish, fruit and vegetables, are also proven to work well and in many ways represent the ideal staple diet since the ingredients can be altered at will, and when made well such foods contain a greater concentration and diversity of nutrients than any of the other options.
Baryancistrus spp. are often under-nourished and/or suffering from health issues post-importation and may require an extended period of quarantine and acclimatisation. They also have a relatively high metabolic rate and and may require several meals per day during this initial period.
pH: 5.5 - 7.5
Temperature: 26.0-30.0°C or 78.8-86°F
Hardness: 18 – 179 ppm
Potential size: The largest specimen in the type series measured 150.5 mm.
Water Region: Bottom Dweller Rock piles and wood tangles. Plants are not vital.
Activity: na
Lifespan: na
Color:
Sexing: Adult males develop a broader, slightly flatter head profile and longer pectoral-fin spines than females.
Acclimation: na
Breeding: Has been achieved at least once. Eggs are laid and fertilised in a cave with the female ejected post-spawning and the male responsible for guarding and tending the brood until the free-swimming stage is reached. Any successful attempt is likely to depend on providing a large tank, well-oxygenated water and an excellent diet.
Comments: Not difficult to maintain under the correct conditions but largely unsuitable for the ‘general’ community aquarium. We recommend keeping it in a set-up designed to resemble a flowing river with a substrate of variably-sized rocks, gravel, and some large water-worn boulders.
This can be further furnished with driftwood branches, roots and tough aquatic plants such as Microsorum, Bolbitis, or Anubias spp., which can be grown attached to the décor. Bright lighting will promote the growth of aufwuchs upon which the fish will graze.
Like many species that naturally inhabit running waters it’s intolerant to the accumulation of organic wastes and requires spotless water at all times in order to thrive. It’s also essential to provide sufficient levels of dissolved oxygen and water movement using a combination of canister filters, powerheads, etc., particularly if the aim is for the fish to breed. Weekly water changes of 40-70% should also be considered mandatory.
The genus Baryancistrus can be distinguished from all other loricariids by possession of an enlarged membrane located posteriorly to the last branched dorsal-fin ray. This membrane may or may not reach the supporting structure of the adipose fin (it does so in B. beggini) and in this way members can be told apart from the genera Oligancistrus, Parancistrus, and Spectracanthicus, in which the dorsal and adipose fins are completely connected, and Hemiancistrus in which the membrane is not well-developed.
Sources:
Werneke, D. C. , M. H. Sabaj Pérez, N. K. Lujan and J. W. Armbruster, 2005 - Neotropical Ichthyology 3(4): 533-542
Baryancistrus demantoides and Hemiancistrus subviridis, two new uniquely colored species of catfishes from Venezuela (Siluriformes: Loricariidae).
Armbruster, J. W., 2008 - Zootaxa 1822: 1-76
The genus Peckoltia with the description of two new species and a reanalysis of the phylogeny of the genera of the Hypostominae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae).
Armbruster, J. W. , 2004 - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 141: 1-80
Phylogenetic relationships of the suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae) with emphasis on the Hypostominae and the Ancistrinae.
Cramer, C. A., A. M. R. Liedke, S. L. Bonatto, and R. E. Reis, 2008 - Bulletin of Fish Biology 9: 51-59
The phylogenetic relationships of the Hypoptopomatinae and Neoplecostominae (Siluriformes: 725 Loricariidae) as inferred from mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I sequences.
Cramer, C. A., S. L. Bonatto, and R. E. Reis, 2011 - Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59(1): 43-52
Molecular phylogeny of the Neoplecostominae and Hypoptopomatinae (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) using multiple genes.
Lujan, N. K., M. Arce, and J. W. Armbruster, 2009 - Copeia 2009(1): 50-56
A new black Baryancistrus with blue sheen from the upper Orinoco (Siluriformes: Loricariidae).
Rapp Py-Daniel, L. , J. Zuanon, and R. Ribeiro de Oliveira, 2011 - Neotropical Ichthyology 9(2): 241-252
Two new ornamental loricariid catfishes of Baryancistrus from rio Xingu drainage (Siluriformes: Hypostominae).
Reis, R. E., E. H. L. Pereira, and J. W. Armbruster, 2006 - Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 147(2): 277-299
Delturinae, a new loricariid catfish subfamily (Teleostei, Siluriformes), with revisions of Delturus and Hemipsilichthys.
