Loricariidae – Hypancistrus sp L333

Common Name: Loricariidae, L333

Scientific Name: Hypancistrus sp L333

Average Adult Fish Size: 6 inches  /  15 cm

Place of Origin: Rio Xingu, Brazil.

Typical Tank setup: Sand substrate, wood and many holes for the males to hide. Plants are welcome but not neccessary, will sometimes be eaten.

Recommended Minimum Aquarium Capacity: 40 gallon  /  160 litre

Compatibility: Very good tankmate for any fish living at the top of the water column. Much more demanding of the aquarist if attempting to keep together with Corydoras or other ground-living fish.

Temperature: 78 – 88 Deg. F  /  26 – 31 Deg. C

Water chemistry: pH 6.4 – 7.2

Feeding: Prefers meaty foods like shrimps, larvae or quality tablets. May even show interest in some vegetables.

Sexing: Adult males develop teeth-like odontodes around the head and the pectoral fins. Viewed from above the female looks much more massive than the male.

Easiest way of sexing even half-grown ones is to provide enough caves. The fish entering and staying in the holes are only the males.

Breeding: Very easy. The male keeps about 50-80 eggs in his hole. The fry leave the parental home at about 14 days and can easily be feed with tablets and frozen foods. Use a neutral pH and very soft water, temperature should be around 30 & Celsius.

Additional Information: If kept in good water conditions, this fish displays a very dark brown to black body with white lines.

Looks very similiar to L066, but L066 has more of a white body base colouration with black lines on top! L333 is also stubbier from head to tail than most other congeners.