The fish commonly known as plecos or Plecostomus native to mostly South & Central AMerica come from the family Loricariidae, also known as the armored catfish.

They are usually a plain brown color with black splotches covering their bodies. Pleco White Seam or Starlight Bristlenose Catfish L183 Ancistrus Dolichopterus. The preceding number holds precedence over the higher or 'alternative' L-numbers but can sometimes be used to describe the same species or type from another locality. During the daytime, when most fish are out swimming about, Zebra Plecos. The L-numbers are listed below in numerical order. Zebra pleco, l046 pleco, zebra catfish: Ease of keeping: Difficult: Lifespan: 10 years and more: Tank size: 200 liters (52 gallons) and more: Temperament: Peaceful: Tank type: Community of fishes: Diet: Omnivorous: Temperature: 30-31 ☌ (86-87.8 ☏) pH: 6.0-8.0: Water hardness: 920 dGH: Size: Up to 6.4 centimetres (2. To add to the confusion, sometimes a single L-number may be used for multiple species.Īdditionally the aquarium magazine 'Das Aquarium' introduced a similar system using the prefix 'LDA'. When a loricariid receives an official scientific name, the L-number (or numbers) is retired best practice is then to use the scientific name.Ī specific L-number classification does not guarantee a discrete species, multiple L numbers have been given to different populations of the same species. The first L-number was published in 1988.Īn L-number is not a formal scientific designation, but it allows people to identify various loricariid catfish by a ' common name' before the fish is officially described.

The L-number system is a semi- scientific classification system of catfish based on photographs of shipments of tropical catfish of the family Loricariidae published by the German aquarium magazine DATZ (Die Aquarien- und Terrarienzeitschrift (The Aquarium and Terrarium Magazine)). Baryancistrus L-18 is also described as L-85.

Brown zebra pleco