[BoomerSub]

Species name: Acanthicus adonis
Common names:Adonis pleco, spotted lyretail pleco, spotted devil pleco
Maximum size:around 36"
pH:6.5-7.5, not particularly important as long as it is stable.
Minimum tank size:At least 8x3x3 for an adult, however they are slow growing and may be kept in a smaller tank for many years.
Native location: South America: Lower Tocantins River basin.
Temperature: 74-82�F, provide extra aeration at higher temperatures.
Diet: omnivore. Algae, alfae wafers, detritus, shrimp, sinking pellets, small slow-moving fish. May consume soft-leaved plants. Requires driftwood to gnaw on as a part of the diet, make sure a piece is available at all times.
Breeding: unknown, supposedly being bred in Europe.
Sexing: unknown, males may have longer odontodes (gill spines).
Notes: Very agressive towards other loricariids and doradids, do not try to keep them together. Mine attacked a
Megalodoras uranoscopus placed in the tank a few seconds after introduction, and did enough damage that I had to seperate them after a few minutes. The creature's inch-long (at 15") odontodes flick out like a switchblade, it then flicks its head back and forth, turning itself into a self-propelled mace. It removed an inch-and-a-half long chunk of skin/armor from the uranoscopus's back and hit it hard enough to propel it halfway across the four-foot tank.

A.adonis should not be kept in acrylic tanks, for they will badly scratch up the inside while gnawing.

Very slow-growing, will take at least ten years to reach full size. Likely very long-lived.


-PK