Leporacanthicus triactis “L91”

Order: Siluriformes
Suborder: Loricarioidei
Family: Loricariidae
Subfamily: Hypostominae
Genus: Leporacanthicus
Species: Leporacanthicus triactis, Isbrücker & Nijssen & Nico, 1993

The Leporacanthicus triactis "L91" is easily recognized by its orange fins. Its body is usually dark brown to black in color.
In exceptional cases, the entire dorsal, fat and caudal fin is also orange in color. Most fish have a dot pattern in the dorsal fin, but there are also many specimens that have no markings in the fin at all. When stressed, they show a bright grayish color with dark spots.
As the fish gets older it usually darkens in color. Sometimes the orange color even disappears almost completely from the fins.
The adipose fin is not connected to the dorsal fin.
With its adult size of approximately 30 cm, the "L91" is one of the largest in the genus Leporacanthicus.

In the hobby he is also called Three Beacon Pleco or Orange Seam Vampire pleco.

The genus Leporacanthicus is known for medium-sized plecos with rabbit-like teeth. Lepos means rabbit in Greek.

In nature, the Leporacanthicus triactis "L91" lives in rapids and fast flowing streams in the Rio Orinoco. Here it is found in between rock crevices or driftwood. There is a lot of current and therefore oxygen in the water.

Leporacanthicus, and therefore "L91", have teeth which they use to open cracks in stones, wood, snail shells and mussels. They are carnivores (meat eaters) and should therefore be fed a protein-rich diet consisting of shellfish, shrimp, mussels and fish meat. They also scrape on wood, but this is not part of their main diet and is not necessary for thriving of this species.
The L. triactis will also take vegetarian food in between. You can therefore sometimes offer them some green food. It is an easy eater that actually accepts all types of fish food well.

We feed our pair mostly with Snail soft granulate and Mussel soft granulate. Next to that we feed also hard Mussel sticks and Shrimp sticks so that they can gnaw on it.

The minimum length of the aquarium should be 150 cm.

It is a larger L-number for the larger aquariums. Think of an aquarium of 150 - 200 cm for 1 - 4 animals. The "L91" must have enough hiding places in the aquarium.
They are peaceful with most other fish. Males can be territorial and aggressive towards each other, so there should be plenty of hiding places in the aquarium, in addition to space, if you want to keep a group. It is advisable to have more hiding options than the number of fish. The most peaceful way to keep this species, is in pairs of both sexes.
The temperature should be between 26 - 30 °C. High oxygenation should be applied with streaming pumps and airstones.

If you take a closer look at "L91" the differences are quite easy to spot. Let's start with the coloration:

Both male and females show a grey ground tone, which depending on stress, is brighter or darker. Males tend to be a bit more contrasty spotted then the females.
The orange in the fins is really individual from specimen to specimen and there's only a really slight trend, to males showing more orange: for sure not a good feature for sexing!

From the side view both sexes look a like, allthough the male tends to have a higher and more massive snout. Also good visible from this position are the odontodes in the gill area, as on all over the head.
Males are more spiky on the head and show longer odontodes, but !attention! females show also odontodes on the hard rays of the pectoral fins and can be also thorny on the body till the tail.

From above, sexing is the most secure and easiest way with this species. Females show a pointy, triangle shaped head, where as males have broader snouts. Normally females show really early a full belly, since they build up eggs in the body quickly.
On the photos the female seems to be "empty", but nonetheless the more feminine curves of the belly area are visible.
Again males show the broadest body part in the "shoulder" region.
Females have that in the upper belly region.
Also really good visible here: males have huge ventral fins, with which they fan during mating display, mating and taking care for the egg-clutch. Females show them smaller, and the gap between pectorals and ventrals is bigger.

One feature we never witnessed, since we never took a special look to it, surprised us. Females show bright orange-yellow spots around the genital area. The papilla is also here rounder. The papilla of the male on the picture is maybe not the best to compare, since he seems to be out of breeding season. Hence his papilla moved back inside. When males get more active towards breeding, they show a longer, more pointy papilla, which is clear visible.

Breeding in aquariums of Leporacanthicus triactis "L91" is rare and not easy, but with the right conditions it is possible. It is important to find a good couple who fully accepts each other. In addition, rest and no disturbances are necessary. Adults can produce around 200 - 300 eggs. In the wild, they lay eggs in deep burrows (up to 50cm) during the rainy season. Good water quality, low MS and oxygenated water are necessary for the eggs to develop properly.
The young grow, Leporacanthicus typical, quite slowly and always need clean water and a varied, protein rich diet.

Here you can read our breeding experience.