# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  Recommendation for plecos that look similar to L46 (Hypancistrus zebra)

## sragor

Silly question from a newbie. Starting to like pleco a lot and would love to set up a species tank soon. However, the prices are hindering me. My favourite is still the zebra, but is there anything close to it yet much cheaper? Like a poorer cousin? I'm a poor student after all  :Sad:

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## valice

Check out the _Hypancistrus_ species. Most of them are striped. But you wouldn't be able to find one which is similar as _H.zebra_ is one of the only species whose white is blue based under good photography lighting while almost all the rest are either yellow or black based.

Some others more readily available ones are L333, L66, L260, L129. Each of them has varying white thicknesses.

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## RHX

Even L46 is expensive, but i think they are quite readily available. Some of the other hypans i've been searching for like L250 & L173 are not to be found & i heard that the price could run up quite high too. 

L236 is one of the closest to L46 you can find in terms of even thick black & white strips. They are quite pretty if you can find quality ones where Black & white strips are very well define.

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## Gecko

Agreed with Valice, L66 and L333 are easily available. Another one is L174.

The L236 is so rare that the price is not established not unlike the L173. I do have a pair of L173 which I might consider selling if I receive a bid of US$2k and above. This is NOT a sales proposition, I am demonstrating that L236 is in the same league. (Recent shipments of L236 are not L236s).

Another way to look at it is if you have basic fishkeeping skill and confident enough...get a trio of about <1.5" zebras for total $600 ballpark. After about 6 or 8 months, they will be about 2" and breedable if you are lucky to get both sexes. If not, you can sell them easily at about $900 total or $300 a piece. More if you have a breeding pair: about S$1,000 to $1,200 for the pair.

If you have a breeding pair, you might be able to get about 40 frys a year (conservative estimate). In less than 1 year, fry can be sold at $200 each, more if you wait.

You are a student, you do the math. If you really have passion for the zebra and want to play a part in breeding and maintaining this species (Brazil banned the export and there is fear that the wild population might be destroyed if Rio Xingu is dammed), do consider. The higher upfront outlay could mean you save the money for a longer while and wait till you are ready. It is proven already in this forum that you can breed zebras in a 2 feet tank with good filteration.

Or of course you could pay $45 x 3 = $135 for the other lookalikes and pat yourself for being wise and pretend you have a zebra. If that will do for you, thats fine too.

Today, my breeding stock of about 16 adults, plus 2 purposed made 4 footer breeding tank, each filtered by a Pro II and III are free, self-financed. The joy and experience is priceless.

Happy Plecoing, just wanted you to have all the facts.

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## Don90

What about L270? thats my favourite zebra lookalike, the chocolate zebra! :Grin:

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## RHX

NKS do bring in a mixture of hypans occasionally. However they did not state the L number of it. But i'm pretty sure i saw some that looks really similar to L236. I bought 1 myself, however i can't confirm as i'm not really an expert in it.

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## Savant

I think the Zebras are really nice and there are alot more literature on it out here than any other lookalikes. Therefore well worth considering. 

Get the other species if you are interested in them, but not because they look like zebras, you will probably still end up wanting the real thing.

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## Quixotic

As mentioned by Gecko, if you are eventually keen to keep _H. zebra_, you are encouraged to breed it, because the fear that you may never get these fishes in the wild once the dams are built is very real. Do take your time and do some homework first, read, read and read.

Alternatively, you can always try gaining some experience from other plecos first. This is especially encouraged if you are very new to pleco keeping, having learnt the failures from past experiences myself.

The experience gained will be in good stead once you decided to venture into keeping _H. zebra_. The same setup can be used, if not with some minor tweaks, so the only investment necessary is in getting the fish.




> NKS do bring in a mixture of hypans occasionally. However they did not state the L number of it. But i'm pretty sure i saw some that looks really similar to L236. I bought 1 myself, however i can't confirm as i'm not really an expert in it.


I believe this was on their stock list. Take some pictures and start a new thread, a discussion on them would definitely be of some interest.

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## sragor

Thanks for the advice all. Will give a serious thought about it. Another question, where would be a good place selling a wide variety of such plecos at reasonable price? I have people recommending NKS to me.  :Roll Eyes:

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## Savant

So bro, which ones have *you* decided on?

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## Reforma

How about L134? looks close to L046 too.
http://planetcatfish.com/catelog/spe...species_id=213

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## Savant

Nice, but i think you will hardly see this fish...

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## CHOO

> What puzzles me is that why can't the big boys like Qian Hu or Ah Teo's get in the business of breeding L46? Why go into lucky charm/ Toto fishes that only sells during Chinese New Year? Haven't they done their math? My sense is that they are not confident that people are willing to part with $300-400 plus on something thing as precarious as a fish. But my advice to them is not to be so greedy... that if they succeeded in breeding L046 to a sustainable, good enough numbers, they could over time lower the price to a level that hobbyists will reasonable... then their business would have hit a goldmine.


I believe that they worried if the banned had lift, L46 would worth $50- 80 ,as no more value anymore.

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## celticfish

Sorry I didn't participate in this thread earlier...

I do like the L134 too.
And from my reading thought they aren't hypancistrus they have similar requirements and breeding behaviour.
I did see about 4 pieces for sale at Wu Hu this past year end (Nov/Dec).
Price was reasonable and the size was decent, about 2.5" to 3"?
I'm not sure if they were bred or wild though as I didn't ask Ben.

The price may drop if the ban is lifted for the L046 but I seriously doubt it will hit the sub-$100 range.
Even if SG cannot take the "slack" the international market is there.
Also, the exchange rate of the western countries will support the prices, not counting the Japanese/North Asia market and buying power yet.
If anything does happen it would probably be an extension of species being banned for export.
There is talk in the pleco community on the export rules change in Brazil.
They may change from the current "unapproved" list to a "scientifically described list, check wild population for viable harvest and then approved list".
If the above happens... there may be no way to get "new discovered" L-numbers from legal means.
Only smuggled specimens will be avialable.
Want to make a guess on the pricing after such a scenario?  :Knockout: 
But we can all speculate on this till it happens!  :Grin:

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## Savant

These L number "jiak sai hee" are really endearing, I love the way the swim around in short bursts and when they toss sand around in mock conflict.... 

Having seen a tank full of baby L 183s, they really angelic...

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## Quixotic

_Peckoltia_ sp. L134 can be found seen quite frequently IMO, more so than any _Hypancistrus_ spp. Interested in breeding the fish?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesw...article_id=241

I doubt the ban will ever be lifted. The construction of the dams is going to have some effect on certain species and this can only makes things worse.

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## Savant

I have actually been looking out for them but have not seen any to date...

Would appreciate it if any bro who sees them could PM me  :Smile:

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## Quixotic

Uhm, please start a sighting request in Aquatalk, thanks. Otherwise, this thread will degenerate very quickly into nonsensical posts, which has little to do with the husbandry of the fauna.

I think most of the L134 are wild caught, which is why you may not see it during the off season of the Amazon shipments.

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## Savant

Alright, paiseh... will do the sighting request and bros who are interested in this fish can check that out  :Smile: 

If most of the fishes are wild caught, that would mean that once the dam is built, we will not see much of it anymore..

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## celticfish

@ Quixotic,
Yes, have been dabbling with the idea of trying out the L134.
So far, I've only collected two specimens.
And these need some time to grow on too...

Back to topic...
I thought what the heck...
Pleco season is here might as well, SO...

Easily avialable fish, currently, and giving the most problem with ID.
L333 - these are notorious fish that mess most ID's up for the following L066, L236, L173, etcetera...
From the price differential it wouldn't be hard to imagine how they get "confused" with the more valuable fish.

In the league of similar looking fish to zebra pleco...
L046 - obviously...
L066
L098
L173
L174
L236
L250
L287
L333
L345
L399/400 - Belo Monte
L401 - Alenquer
L411 - Monte Dourado 
H. sp. Lower Rio Xingu - no L-number for this guy

Caveat - 
Most of the fish above are quite hard to ID, with few exceptions like L046.
Main cause is the highly variable pattern in the striping, black or white.
If the fish are juveniles the problem is compounded further, as the striping is not quite developed.
Note also that some of them are not quite "black and white".
The white can vary from a yellow base to a grey base.
Few are like the L046, which is a blue base white.
Although some exceptional individuals might have the blue base white like the L046.
Chances are, that the specimen you see in the various pleco book are of exceptionally coloured individuals.
This is what gets everyone chasing a sort of "Holy Grail"... 



Not exactly black and white but they are "similar".
L129
L199
L270
L316
L318
L340

Not exactly Hypancistrus but one of my favourite, so I have to mention it!  :Grin: 
L134

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## Gecko

Ir

L98 = L46.

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## celticfish

Yeap, but got to leave some home work for the guys!  :Grin: 

Anyways, here's some "theories", as I have not come accross a clear report of interbreeding of the numbers, on the L046.
Some say L046 is the same species as other L-numbers, as below.
Just striping variations of the same species.

1) L046 = L098 = L173 = L236
2) L046 = L098 = L173
3) L046 = L098 

This list/combination is by no means exhaustive and the combination has changed over time.
Which is a reason why it was left out of the earlier list.  :Opps:

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## Savant

4ft rack!!!

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## celticfish

Must upgrade mah...  :Laughing:

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