AquaticRepublic.com - Parancistrus aurantiacus (Loricariidae) All Fishes

Orange colouration of specimens soon after import
Close-up of mouth
Close-up of mouth
Beginning to change to grey colouration
Ventral view
Dorsal view
Half way through colouration change
Eggs
Newly hatched fry
Fry
Six day old fry
Close-up of interopercular and pectoral odontodes

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Parancistrus aurantiacus** (Castelnau, 1855)
Common Names	Chubby Pleco Farveskiftende Sugemalle (Denmark), Goldflossen-Harnischwels (Germany), Rubber Pleco
Type Locality	Río Ucayali, Peru.
Synonym(s)	Hypostomus aurantiacus, Hypostomus nigricans, Hypostomus vicinus, Parancistrus nigricans, Parancistrus vicinus
Pronunciation	parr an SIS truss - awe ran tee ak uss
Etymology	(Greek)Para=The side of + (Greek)agkistron=hook.
Species Information
Size	193mm or 7.6" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Parancistrus is distinguished by having a membranous connection between the dorsal and adipose fins, a large gill opening, and its cephalic and body scutes are not keeled. Additionally, nuptial males have fleshy folds along the dorsal-fin base. Other genera with a membrane connecting the dorsal and adipose fins include Baryancistrus, Oligancistrus, and Spectracanthicus. Parancistrus differs from these genera by the large gill openings. Capable of changing from a dull grey brown colouration into striking golden form. This change appears to be under the fishes control and they can be found in any state of patchwork colouration in between all gold or all grey. This is not a one way process, grey individuals have been recorded returning to gold once acclimatized by this is not the norm.
Sexing	Breeding males have elongated odontodes on the pectoral fin spines.
General Remarks	Fascinating to note that the fish must have been described as a golden fish given the specific name. In her review of the genus, Rapp Py-Daniel (1989) stated that the only time P. aurantiacus was collected was when the river had dried to isolated pools. She suggested that the large gill openings may be an adaptation to low oxygen levels. Rhinelepis similarly has large gill openings but also has a diverticulum hypothesized to act as an accessory respiratory system (Armbruster, 1998). Armbruster has also noted that it is possible the expanded gill openings are not associated with respiration and may be due to some other factor such as feeding.
Habitat Information
Distribution	South America: Ucayali, Tocantins and Xingu rivers. Amazon, Lower Amazon, Tocantins (click on these areas to find other species found there) Amazon, Upper Amazon, Marañón, Ucayali (click on these areas to find other species found there) Amazon, Lower Amazon, Xingu (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Not Evaluated
Temperature	22.0-27.0°C or 71.6-80.6°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	An omnivore that eats most vegetarian foods, tablets and pellets, frozen meaty foods like bloodworm or brineshrimp and will lightly chew on soft wood. User data.
Compatibility	Relatively peaceful as medium sized plecos go.
Breeding	Breeding has been record (2013 in the UK) from adult fish who spawned within a few months of import.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Animaux nouveaux or rares v. 2, pp 43, Pl. 21 (fig. 2).
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 5 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	Look up P. aurantiacus on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up P. aurantiacus on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.4.39.82
Last Update	2025 Jan 02 01:37 (species record created: 2001 May 04 00:00)