Taxonomy & naming
The registry pairs two codes for this fish, L 114 and LDA 7 (LDA007), and names it Pseudacanthicus cf. leopardus; PlanetCatfish files it under the same cf. name. The comparison is tentative. A 2002 article in Das Aquarium by Erwin Schraml, listed in the bibliography, asks in its title whether L114 (= LDA 7) really is Pseudacanthicus leopardus, and another entry words the comparison as aff. leopardus. Further tentative neighbours include the cf. leopardus forms L427 and LDA 73 (queried as identical) and a Río Içana form. Its trade name is leopard cactus pleco (German Leopard-Kaktus-Wels). For the described species, see the Pseudacanthicus leopardus page.
Morphology
Registry data put it at about 15.5 in total length. The leopard name suggests a spotted pattern, but no description of the markings is given, so the diagnostic characters are not on record. Like other Pseudacanthicus it is a suckermouth catfish armoured in bony plates bearing odontodes. The resemblance to P. leopardus is a tentative comparison; it does not establish that the two are the same fish.
Habitat
L114 is recorded from the Rio Demini, within the middle Rio Negro drainage, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil; the registry classes the water as clearwater. Habitat place, substrate, depth and current are not on record. The temperature and pH figures are aquarium keeping ranges, so no field water chemistry is documented for the locality.
Feeding
By the registry's classification this is a predominantly carnivorous fish that does not eat plants. In aquaria that suggests meaty sinking foods such as frozen mussel, prawn and large bloodworm, with sinking carnivore pellets as a base. What L114 eats in the wild is undocumented, so the diet class is the only guide.
Mating
The sexing note is genus-level and not an observation of L114 itself: in Pseudacanthicus, males have a longer, broader head, are often more attractively coloured and often have a larger dorsal fin. Pseudacanthicus typically spawn in caves, the male holding the cave and guarding the eggs and larvae. Courtship details for L114 are not recorded.
Breeding
L114 is recorded as bred repeatedly in aquaria, without clutch sizes, incubation times or details of the fry. As in related Pseudacanthicus, spawning is typically in a cave with the male guarding eggs and larvae, a genus-typical pattern rather than a documented account for this form. The registry lists known hybrids with Pseudacanthicus leopardus and with Pseudacanthicus sp. L320.
In the aquarium
Large, plated and carnivorous, L114 needs a tank at least 59 in long by the registry's recommendation, with a keeping range of 77–84 °F and pH 5–7; this is aquarium guidance, not field data. Small groups are recommended, though a single fish is possible. Clean, well-oxygenated water with current and rock or wood caves is the expected set-up, and territorial behaviour toward other plecos is common.
Conservation
No IUCN rating exists for L114 itself: it is Not Evaluated, and a rating given to a described species does not carry over to a form that is only compared with it. According to the registry, L114 is on Brazil's 2012 positive list of species cleared for ornamental export and not on the 2020 negative list. Its real status is unknown; collection for the trade and river engineering affect some L-number habitats in general.