Taxonomy & naming
L397 is a trade code, assigned within the L-number system DATZ began in 1988 for imported loricariids that could not yet be identified. It is not a scientific name, and an undescribed form has no authority and no type specimens. The registry lists the fish as Panaqolus sp. "L 397" and PlanetCatfish as Panaqolus sp. (L397); neither gives another code or a same-fish link. The only trade name on record is the English Tangerine tiger pleco; no German name is recorded. The registry's bibliography is brief: the Miniatlas L-Welse (2005), Tanke's overview of the genus, and DATZ 7/2013.
Morphology
About 6 in total length, according to the registry. Diagnostic characters are not on record. The common name Tangerine tiger pleco hints at orange colouring and a tiger pattern, but that is what the name says, not a description. For comparison the registry lists Panaqolus L2, L169 (LDA 1), claustellifer (L306 / LDA 64), L403 and Panaqolus sp. "Río Galvez" as similar catfishes.
Habitat
The registry gives the Rio Curuá-Una, Pará, Brazil, adding that the fish were imported via Alenquer; no more precise collecting site is on record. The registry enters the river system as the Amazon. Water type, substrate and cover are not recorded, and no fishes are named as found together with L397.
Feeding
Wood-eater (Holzfresser) is the registry's diet class for L397, which makes driftwood part of the food supply and not just furniture. Plant matter is marked as eaten too. In aquaria that supports leaving untreated wood in the tank and offering plant-based sinking foods and vegetables next to it; no feeding detail specific to this form is on record.
Mating
Sexing is given at genus level in the registry: Panaqolus males show stronger odontode growth and a slimmer waist. Spawning is typically in caves, with the male guarding eggs and larvae there, and the registry's genus-level cave note reads "standard". Nothing about courtship or spawning behaviour has been recorded for L397 itself.
Breeding
The registry records L397 as bred repeatedly in aquaria but cites no source for the report. It gives no spawning details, so clutch size, incubation and rearing methods are not on record. It also lists Panaqolus sp. L2 as a known hybrid partner of L397.
In the aquarium
The registry's keeping range is 79–86 °F and pH 6–7, with a recommended tank length of 39.5 in; these are aquarium guidance values, not field measurements. Small groups are recommended, though a single fish can also be kept. Typical for the genus are clean, well-oxygenated water, caves and wood, and territorial behaviour toward other plecos.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List has not evaluated L397; an undescribed form cannot be assessed until it has a name. The registry records it as on neither Brazil's 2012 positive list of species cleared for ornamental export nor the 2020 negative list. Collection for the trade and river engineering affect some L-number habitats in general, though nothing specific is on record for this form.