Question About A Hard To Find Pleco

[elad]

Hi all  and good evening to all.

I was wondering if anyone in this form has come across or know were to get a hard to find pleco.

Panaque Suttoni ( AKA Blue Eyed Pleco )

I am just curious check my avatar sorry it is small.

but it is the best I can do cause I don't know how to make it larger or even add images to the gallery cause I have alot of cool picsI would like to share that is why my avatar changes so much.



Cheers
elad

[BigDaddy]

Check with Pet Circus.. they probably carry or can order the widest variety of plecos in Ottawa

[mseguin]

They're really hard to come by for some reason. I have seen them occasionally on lists, but VERY exoensive.

[PoisonJello]

I think BA in point clarie had some last time i was there for around $60 but i could be wrong

[zapisto]

sorry i a mistaken , but to my knownledgement who can be wrong  far away,
blue eyed Panaque (an undescriped Panaque sp., not Panaque suttonorum, or Suttoni) come from Colombie, and this fish even if i already see it on list rarely come when ordered

again i can be wrong but Panaque suttonorum nevr get exported from venezuela.

[elad]

Yeah I know they are hard to come by.

and the reason I have been told is that the lake they were fished from has got alot deeper in recent years and  it used to be a shallow mouth of the lake were they were collected and now it is very deep so I guess the collectors are having a hard time collecting them that is why they are expensive.

they used to sell for between $15 and $30 at one time I think at most 10 years ago at least 5 years ago I have only seen them once.
and that is how I got that pic in my avatar.

Thanks to all that have replied I thank you for your help and I will keep on digging till I find some more info on these wonderful and hard to find cichlids.

but keep the comments coming

cheers

elad

[elad]

for all of you helping me track down this hard to find pleco here is a bit more info.

Panaque suttoni
(Schultz 1944, Bi:338 Panaque suttonorum, B2:510, Bu:396, AxB:252, Sa:96, Sf:58, ABE:448, Vv:172, TF:28 9/92, ADI:54 47/48, FM:18 3/87, TF:94 4/98 Panaque suttonorum, TF:30 8/98 Panaque sp 'suttonorum', AF:20 2/02 Panaque suttonorum) "Blue-Eyed Plecostomus" `Blauaugen-Harnischwels`
Panaque suttonorum See Panaque suttoni

The main river that the blue eyes were coming from is the Meta. A chemical spill killed off nearly all plecos in the region.

The other problem has to do with Columbia's ongoing Civil war. The best other spot to get the blue eye is the Rio Magdalena (do a search on CNN and you will know why no one is collecting fish there).
There is one third, other problem. Our beloved blue eye is not Panaque suttoni - it is P.cochliodon. The type and paratype localities of the P.suttoni (a similar fish) are the Rio Yassa and Motatan ( I visited both this year) - where the fish is now extinct to the best of my finding. I tried to get to the Rio Catatumbo but like the Rio Yassa my guides were too afraid to coninue further upriver and guaranteed me a kidnapping so we did not get a chance to see if the fish are further up in the mountains.

Hope this helps



hope this helps

cheers elad

[zapisto]

hmm contradictory :

The recently photographed dead fish above are identified based on the point of collection and not on morphological observations or comparisons to other Panaque spp. The scientific name commonly applied to the blue-eyed pleco in the aquarium hobby appears to be an incorrect identification. Schultz described live specimens of P. suttonorum as, ''Uniformly greyish ... basal two-thirds of the paired fins black, and the tips of these fins white; the posterior margin of dorsal is white, a narrow white bar across caudal peduncle, middle of caudal fin white then some black blotches; the tips of the rays are white.'' While P. suttonorum sounds like a very attractive fish, this is clearly not a description of the blue-eyed pleco found in the hobby. P. suttonorum is restricted to the Lake Maracaibo basin and no aquarium fishes have ever been exported from there. The fishes from that basin are very unique and if we had a shipment from there we would know it immediately. We also know that blue-eyed pleco shipments come from Colombia and P. suttonorum is restricted to Venezuela.

from : http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=887
and i already listen to somedy at NEC convention talking about that also

[zapisto]

what you have on your avatar is :     Panaque cochliodon

sorry
for ref :
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=41