Hypancistrus sp. L136C

Dark body, a scatter of pearl-white spots running large and irregular rather than fine and numerous - the trait that separates this form from its closest relatives. L136 comes in three recognized color forms: L136a (also LDA05) carries the smallest, most numerous spots; L136b (LDA06) sits in the middle; L136c runs the fewest, largest spots, sometimes not even circular, and has always been the scarcer of the three. Sold in the trade as the Demini Angelicus Pleco. Runs to about three and a half inches at full size.

Still fully undescribed - there's no species name to give you, just the L-number. L136 first appeared in DATZ in August 1993 out of the Rio Demini system, with all three color forms noted from the start. The C pattern has stayed the scarcer of the three ever since, and clean individuals with genuinely large, well-defined spots are worth more than the fine-spotted A form most of the trade actually moves.

Bred here out of a breeding group acquired from Marcel Wuethrich, a longtime hobbyist breeder recognized in the L136c community specifically for working with this line. The parents aren't for sale - these are their offspring. Photo shows one of my breeding males, not stock a stock image.