Now here is a real gem! This impressive species has no impressive colours to show off, and no interesting pattern either. Still, with its long caudal filaments, tiny eyes and pure black body it’s got a strange hold on us…and it still hasn’t been bred in captivity! It’s a rare and expensive species, usually offered to the marked once or twice per year when they can be collected in season. L350 is still somewhat shrouded in mystery, and should be of interest to those looking for something unusual.
Facts:
Name: Peckoltia pankimpuju (Lujan & Chamon, 2008)
Trade names: Coal Pleco, Peruvian Lyretail Pleco, L350
Origin: Tingo Maria, Rio Huallaga, Peru
Maximum TL: 40 cm / 16” (without caudal filaments)
Hemiancistrus or Peckoltia are surely not the correct genuses for this species, but it has been placed in both genuses by scientists. Currently, it rests in the Peckoltia-bucket (according to Armbruster, 2015) until further work has been done. Specimens collected in deep water come up pale pink, but under aquarium conditions they rather quickly turn dark. This rare species is quite unknown in the hobby, and not very often exported – usually in very limited numbers. It’s collected in murky white-water in the area of Tingo Maria, Rio Huallaga in Peru, but the true distribution of the species is not well known (and hard to determine, due to its prefered type of habitat). It may be that their deep-water dwellings make them challenging to collect. The maximum size is reported to be around 40 cm, but finding material or evidence supporting this information is hard. It may be that this species stays quite a bit smaller. They prefer meaty food, and should of course be given lots of space and suitable caves to hide in. Good water quality and filtration is necessary for the well-being of this species.
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