# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Catfishes >  Pleco ID

## ironman

Hi,

Can i know what L number is this pleco? My friend told me this is a L173, can someone help me to confirm. Thanks!



Picture taken from http://aquafin.web.infoseek.co.jp/

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## celticfish

Thats a L333 and a magnificent specimen too.
The price differential is W---I---D---E between the two fish.

The picture has been ripped from http://aquafin.web.infoseek.co.jp 
15th row fish on the right.
Quoted price: ￥９,８００
Do give photo credit where it is due or action will be taken.
Image title: GoldenKingRoyalPeckoGerman030-2

genes sighting in Japan at An-Aquarium for L173 is about $2,300 or ￥153,333 (2" fish).

I'd keep a "friend" like yours at arm's length.
Or better, expose his nick here to clear yourself for a welcomed stay in the Catfish Section.
If you are trying to "stir things up" best move along to another forum.

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## ironman

I apologize for not linking the picture for my part because a friend of mine sent me this picture and did not specify where he got the picture from.
After seeing your link, i found he took the picture from that site.
Sorry for the mistake.

We guess this is a L173 so i think i better post this picture to let the expert ID it.

Thanks for helping me to ID it.

We are here to exchange information on fishkeeping and not to stir any kind of trouble.

Cheers!

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## celticfish

Still didnt tell who your "friend" is...

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## benny

Ha Ha!! I use to have both the L173 and L333! Beautiful fishes.

Cheers,

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## celticfish

Here a picture from An Aquarium.
They call it supainperiaruzebura pureko or "super imperial zebra pleco" for those who cannot read romanji.  :Wink:

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## drakeho

I hope you have not bought this pleco and thinking that it is L173 ... One look its not .

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## ironman

> I hope you have not bought this pleco and thinking that it is L173 ... One look its not .


 Thanks, i did not bought that pleco, because the fish is still "on sale" at that site.

I did not know L333 can be so nice.

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## StanChung

Small juvenile L333 pleco looks whiter. The older ones look a little grey. Not so for L173/L98/L46 hence the price difference.  :Roll Eyes: 
More solid black too.

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## drakeho

There are always very nice black and white l333 and l66 but it will never reach singapore . Those will go direct to japan ....  :Sad:

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## ironman

Here is a picture of my L173 which i bought from germany.



I do not know whether i have been conned or not, but the guy i bought from is very reputable in germany.
There is alot of difference in what celthicfish have posted.

Please share your insight in whether this is a true L173.

Thanks!

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## drakeho

I am not very sure ... But your fish looks yellowish ... My L173 when it was young . Around 1.5 inch .

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## drakeho



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## celticfish

> .
> .
> I do not know whether i have been conned or not, but the guy i bought from is very reputable in germany.
> There is alot of difference in what celthicfish have posted.
> .
> .


So which is it?
Conned or reputable?!?
The gap between these two words are just as W---I---D---E as the price between L333 and L173.

You take a picture from another website thinking it matches your fish (which looks very different).
I post a picture and you say its very different from the first picture you posted.
Next, you post a picture of your actual fish which looks more similar to the fish I posted.

I'm fine with you wanting to hide identities (notice the "I"'s turned to "we"'s?  :Grin:  ) and fish purchases.
But if you are *asking for help* to ID I would ask that you be honest in the first place and post the CORRECT fish to ID.
You screwed up your intention to hide the actual fish picture, when we ID your "wrong picture" correctly you then suggest that a "reputable German supplier" is a "con-man".
See how little "white lies" can turn ugly?
BTW I hold the general population of German breeders and suppliers in high regard.
They are one of the few who will cull fish that dont meet their own high standards.





> ... 
> We guess this is a L173 so i think i better post this picture to let the expert ID it.
> ...
> We are here to exchange information on fishkeeping and not to stir any kind of trouble.
> ...


A three year old kid can tell you your first picture is a different type of fish from the second.
So how am I to think of you? 
Lurk in shadows for one way traffic for information?
AQ is a "free information counter" to ID rare Hypancistrus?
Etcetera... etcetera...
Until you clarify your intention I will withhold my comments to help ID.




Also,



> Thanks, i did not bought that pleco, because the fish is still "on sale" at that site.


Since your English is eloquent enough, I shall add the following:
Your sarcasm does not help your case.

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## ironman

> So which is it?
> Conned or reputable?!?
> The gap between these two words are just as W---I---D---E as the price between L333 and L173..


What do you mean by this statement "Conned or reputable" means? Clearly i wanted an ID of the pleco that my german supplier claim that it is an L173. In layman terms, i wanted to know whether i have been dupe(Conned) in believing this is an L173.

Why do you have to keep emphasizing "W---I---D---E" in the price?
You sound that you look down on me, not having enough money to buy an L173. 

"Conned or reputable"?
How does this word "conned" link with the word "reputable"? and what are the difference? Please advise!





> You take a picture from another website thinking it matches your fish (which looks very different).
> I post a picture and you say its very different from the first picture you posted.
> Next, you post a picture of your actual fish which looks more similar to the fish I posted


I disagree with your above assumptions. Please read the sequence of the thread again and not to confuse yourself and jumping into your own conclusion.
I posted the picture with the purpose of identifying what pleco is that, as it is a japanese website which did not specify the L number. 
After that you have ID it to be a L333, i thank you for IDing it *THEN* you posted a picture of an L173.
After that, Drakeho posted "I hope you have not bought this pleco and thinking that it is L173 ... One look its not"
I posted the picture of a L173 which i bought from a german breeder.




> But if you are *asking for help* to ID I would ask that you be honest in the first place and post the CORRECT fish to ID.


What is the "CORRECT" and "WRONG" fish got to do in this thread?
A pure pleco ID thread becoming an exam question? To answer your correct fish question, the first picture is your so called "CORRECT" fish to ID.





> You screwed up your intention to hide the actual fish picture, when we ID your "wrong picture" correctly you then suggest that a "reputable German supplier" is a "con-man".
> See how little "white lies" can turn ugly?.


Haha, what a twist of words can be from another person!
As stated above, i wanted an ID of the pleco with the intention of purchasing it. After i saw your picture of the real L173 and *sticking to the subject of the thread* which should be *Correctly* be "Pleco ID and L173", I posted my own fish (WRONG picture) bought from a german supplier.

I did not suggest my german supplier is a "con-man", it is from your own assumption that pleco is a fake L173. Nobody have suggested it is a Fake L173, so where is the so called "CONNED MAN"?
I just asked whether i have been conned or not.

I only said he is very reputable germany.

What are the white lies turn ugly here?
From what i see, it is the pure assumption on your part that turns ugly.




> BTW I hold the general population of German breeders and suppliers in high regard.
> They are one of the few who will cull fish that dont meet their own high standards.


I do fully agree with you in this. That's the reason why i posted the "WRONG" picture of the L173 i bought from the german for IDing.




> A three year old kid can tell you your first picture is a different type of fish from the second.
> So how am I to think of you? .


As a MOD, i don't understand why you need to add such a sarcastic remarks. Are you implying i have an IQ of less then a three year old kid? 
Your sarcasm *does not* look good on you.

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## celticfish

Nice update on your signature "IRONMAN vs AQUAMAN". 
I leave it to the AQ members to make the judgment.

Maybe you want to login to AQ with your proper user ID?
If you like I can expose it with _all_ its associations.

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## genes

I don't know whats going on down under. But to me, its not a L173. I've seen 3.5" specimens in Japan, i've seen drakeho's L173 juveniles. They look absolutely different from the picture you have posted. Hence i hope you do not intend to sell them at L173 prices to whoever may be interested.

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## ironman

> I don't know whats going on down under. But to me, its not a L173. I've seen 3.5" specimens in Japan, i've seen drakeho's L173 juveniles. They look absolutely different from the picture you have posted. Hence i hope you do not intend to sell them at L173 prices to whoever may be interested.


I am not a trader myself and do not intend to buy L173 and sell them to our local community at a premium. I would be an idiot to do that and post the "WRONG PICTURE" for ID.

In fact, I have been net buyer for plecos, if you would have ask around.

I hope i have clarify my position here and not offend anyone here.

Thanks for your concern, genes.

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## benny

> As a MOD, i don't understand why you need to add such a sarcastic remarks. Are you implying i have an IQ of less then a three year old kid? 
> Your sarcasm *does not* look good on you.


Francis,

I do not take such comments lightly.

I hope you have a very good explanation for using multiple nicknames/IDs in Aquatic Quotient.

*This thread is now closed to ALL except ryo88.* Anyone else replying in this thread risk a direct infraction from me.

Cheers,

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## ironman

Hi Benny,

I am also a person who do not take comments lightly. In fact, i was very offended by the comments that this MOD made insulting my intelligence. In the first place, if he wants me to explain why i am using multipe nick in this case, he/she could pm me or directly ask me without resorting to sarcastic remarks, like what you have did in this case.

I am a very low profile person and normally i buy stuff from people in AQ or arofanatics through private messages.

I prefer to deal with people discreetly because i do not like others to know what i am doing and keeping what.

In this current world of internet era , it is very hard for a person like me who wish to stay low profile becoming one. Just a search of the username, you will know what the person you wanted to check is doing what.

Through the years of fishkeeping, i have made some good friends in AQ and also some nasty ones. To keep those nasty ones away and maintaining my privacy, i would use a different nick to post. Not that i am dealing with anything bad.

My recent hobby is going into plecos keeping and i am consider quite a newbie in this field. As a newcomer, i have difficulties in identifying what species the pleco is, that is the reasons why i posted the picture for IDing which attracted a sarcastic statement. The pleco community in singapore is consider small, a check with them you will know what i am buying and from who.

As AQ does not have a multiple nick rules, i deem it is acceptable for me to use a different nick of course *without any* ill intentions as the case of pleco IDing. 
I am a user of vbulletin software and i know how to avoid being detected and i know most forums has multiple nick detection applications.
I did not try to avoid detection, as i thought AQ does allow double/ multiple nicks as long as the MODs know who has multiple nicks and this person did nothing wrong. In this case, once i have login, most of the MOD already know i am using multiple nick.

The ball is in your court, i play by your rules and i am agreeable to whatever you have to do.

Cheers!

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## benny

> Hi Benny,
> 
> I am also a person who do not take comments lightly. In fact, i was very offended by the comments that this MOD made insulting my intelligence. In the first place, if he wants me to explain why i am using multipe nick in this case, he/she could pm me or directly ask me without resorting to sarcastic remarks, like what you have did in this case.
> 
> I am a very low profile person and normally i buy stuff from people in AQ or arofanatics through private messages.
> 
> I prefer to deal with people discreetly because i do not like others to know what i am doing and keeping what.
> 
> In this current world of internet era , it is very hard for a person like me who wish to stay low profile becoming one. Just a search of the username, you will know what the person you wanted to check is doing what.
> ...


Hi Francis,

Yes. You are right. The ball can only be in my court. I call the shots here.  :Grin: 

Anyway, I make no apologies for our AQ team for I can see that they work hard to keep AQ to be a great place from troublemakers, fraudster, fly-by-night traders as well as quarrelsome cliques. If you were in their shoes, on a volunteer basis, you may not fare much better. However, let's not go into that as it's not a productive discussion.

In AQ, you are free to maintain a low profile, and free to buy/sell things through Private Message. We don't have a problem with that and a lot of our members are like that.

If you need to be discreet because you have something hide and cannot be honest, it's your call too. In our forum, we focus on quality information sharing for our members to make informed decision. The marketplace interactions in not an area of focus for us. We do not judge on our members integrity and standing unless it infringe on the market place guidelines.

I use the same internet ID across any online portal whenever possible and I don't exactly keep a high profile. How you want to manage your online persona is up to you. In AQ, we allow muti-nicks for some of our members who has a separate trading requirement. Most of these members inform us in advance of their intent and we never had a problem if the reason is legitimate. In every forum, there will be bad eggs and some sort of bullying. I'm inclined to believe that our team in AQ root out these negative elements fairly effectively. If you beg to differ, show me some evidence and I will definitely get to these undesirable elements.

As you've said, the local community is not big, be it for pleco or whatever is the flavor of the month. What ever ID you chose to use will eventually be exposed. Trying to tell me that you and Silane are users of Vbulletin and can circumvent our multi-nick detector does not mean anything in the local context and certainly does not speak well of the intent that both of you harbour. And if you guys are as good as you said, perhaps you are also aware of the custom solutions that some of the more savy administrators deploy in view of the dynamic IP address our local service providers. If you are trying to threaten the administration of AQ, you've failed. *Everything we have, we give freely and willingly.* We don't charge for anything and even advertisements for merchant are free. Information is there if you want it, if not, leave it. You don't even have to be a member to read all these good information.

If you would like to remain in our peaceful community, I'm will be more than happy. You have to decided which of the few nickname you want to keep and we will collapse them into once account for you.

If you think that our approach is too harsh and highhanded, then I'm sorry, perhaps the other forums are better suited to your requirements. Whatever we do, it's in view of a better community (which includes 'u' and 'i'). You are of course still welcome to visit our forum and all the good information as a guest (which you won't have to log in) and won't have to deal with all the nasty AQ members anymore.

Cheers,

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## ironman

Thanks for your reply.

I do not wish to create any more misunderstanding, please remove ryo88 and ironman account.

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## benny

And the other accounts?

Cheers,

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