L100, L180 or perhaps L325?

Here are some pics of my female Ancistrus sp. can you please help me identify if she's an L100, L180 or L325? I think she's an L100 but I'm not sure, the female in the picture is about 11-12cm and my two males are about 14cm. All full grown I think (I've had them for over five years), sometimes the bristles of the males are yellow and sometimes they show a blue coloration on the fins. That's why I'm so confused.

If it helps I can try to take some pictures of the males as well.

It's hard to tell on the photo's but going by the sizes I would say they are not L325's as far as I know 325's do not usually reach 10cms, for the same reason L100's at 10cms are doubtful even L180's are only described as reaching 12cms.

The size makes me think they are Peppermints.

But aren't the Peppermints L181? If so I have those as well, and they are much darker, pitch black with white spots on them. And as juveniles they look a lot like L183's. I have bead the ones in the picture and the juveniles only have a very small seam on the fins, about the same as the common bristlenose. Could it be that they have grown a bit bigger than usual since they are well fed and live in a fairly large aquarium (450L). Also peppermints do not ever show yellow bristles right? My males sometimes do, and sometimes the bristles are the same color as the body.

AS I said it's hard to tell with the pictures and I was only going by the size, they could well be L100's as I've just found a German site that lists them at 15cms..

It looks in the top picture that there is orange in the fins but I can't see it in the bottom one maybe it's just my screen.

Maybe pics of the males and also of the dorsal and tail fins will help people ID them.

i played this same game not long ago, they look very similar to the ones i was trying to ID,

L100 are still quite rare in the UK and size wise i think you have gone past there mark,

the final list i came up with for mine where the follow 3, don't know it will help you at all....

L071 (L181)
L180
L100

looking at yours and from what you say there too big to be a L100, possibly on the small side to be L181 so going to suggest maybe L180, also having check out this pis there is a hit of blue to this L180 too,

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?species=ancistrus+sp(l180)&image_id=10863

best thing to do would be to ask a couple of the guys on the forum who have fish of the same age and share a few measurements,

Dave

I would like to see some closer pics, its to hard to tell from your pics....

I agree that they probobally are L180, but on the other hand I do not think that they have "round mouth" that the L180 should have. And according to Glaser the L180 should look like the ones on this link:

http://www.aquarium-glaser.de/en/archiv.php?news_id=351

But I think that they look more like L213.

I would love to have some more photos of the males but they are constantly hiding :-(.

true they look on there more of a white rounded spot than a flick of white,

its actually a mine field and i don't think it helps that anyone can add a pic to planet catfish,

the L213 max out about the same size as the l100 though.......

hummmmm,

On the Glaser site it states they are German bred but does not say how big they are, some Bn's do look different at an early stage compared to the adult.

There is another German site HERE with a totally different picture of an L180.

apart from location i've pretty much found that's the only way really to tell the difference in this type fish, cause you never no the age of the fish etc etc,

buy a female of each of the 180 181 etc and see if he breeds with them....hahahahha.....

i breed the L100 mate and im sorry to say the one in the pic is not the L100

Sorta looks like an orangespot to me but a bit hard to tell. :S