Can anyone sex my plecos please? Meet Ziggy and Stardust!

I bought these guys as juveniles labelled as L183 Starlight plecos, end of February 2021.

I talked to the breeder since on FB, and he's not totally sure whether they're L183 Starlights, or L182 Peppermints. I don't really mind either way, but would be curious to know which they are. Also would really like to know if they're both females, or just need more time to mature to be sure. Spoke to someone really knowledgeable in another store who said that L183/L182 mature much more slowly than typical Bristlenose (I asked because I was worried they didn't seem to be full size yet, and had been told they're pretty much like typical bristlenose and those mature at about six months) and he warned me that I'd be looking at 18 months before full maturity.

Pic of Ziggy the day I bought him, I then bought Stardust shortly after, hoping I might wind up with a male/female pair. Post quarantine they've been growing out in a 57g/220L.



Moving them to another tank today gave me the chance to get photos of them today, 14 months since I got them. Ziggy is the slightly larger one, has a slight nick in his/her tail. They seem to get along well enough, often near each other at feeding time, no fighting:

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

I bought these guys as juveniles labelled as L183 Starlight plecos, end of February 2021.

I talked to the breeder since on FB, and he's not totally sure whether they're L183 Starlights, or L182 Peppermints. I don't really mind either way, but would be curious to know which they are. Also would really like to know if they're both females, or just need more time to mature to be sure. Spoke to someone really knowledgeable in another store who said that L183/L182 mature much more slowly than typical Bristlenose (I asked because I was worried they didn't seem to be full size yet, and had been told they're pretty much like typical bristlenose and those mature at about six months) and he warned me that I'd be looking at 18 months before full maturity.

Pic of Ziggy the day I bought him, I then bought Stardust shortly after, hoping I might wind up with a male/female pair. Post quarantine they've been growing out in a 57g/220L.
View attachment 161159


Moving them to another tank today gave me the chance to get photos of them today, 14 months since I got them. Ziggy is the slightly larger one, has a slight nick in his/her tail. They seem to get along well enough, often near each other at feeding time, no fighting:
View attachment 161160
View attachment 161161View attachment 161162View attachment 161163View attachment 161164View attachment 161165View attachment 161166

Click to expand...

Could you give a photo of both of their abdomens from side and straight on? That would help too! Looks like there’s a male and female there but it’d be easier to determine with that!

C-Monster said:

Could you give a photo of both of their abdomens from side and straight on? That would help too! Looks like there’s a male and female there but it’d be easier to determine with that!

Click to expand...

Dang, I just released them into their new tank and their hiding under the big piece of driftwood I got for them! I did try to get some side shots of them while I had them contained, but the container they were in isn't very clear and made the photos terrible to see anything. I'll see what I can do once they've settled into the tank and if I can lure them onto the glass/some veggies tomorrow.

Here's their new set up - I got the big curved cave like wood piece specifically for them, and one went and hid under the curve of it immediately, so I'm glad I got it!


Could you tell me what makes you think perhaps male/female pair? Would the larger one on the left be the male? These are my first plecos, and I love them to bits.

I'll be adding their pleco caves and hoping for the best either way! @Naughts and @DoubleDutch would appreciate hearing what you guys think too!

Sorry, I have no experience with plecos.

Ziggy must be lonely, where is Al and Sam? (Sorry if you don't get the reference )

Rocky998 said:

Ziggy must be lonely, where is Al and Sam? (Sorry if you don't get the reference )

Click to expand...

Oh I get it! I grew up watching Quantum Leap, I would have thought you'd be too young to get that reference! But it's cool that you do.

Plecs have both chosen to be under the cave shape in the large central wood piece for now, even though there are three wood pieces and several dragon stone hiding spots. I hope they can figure it out okay where they're sharing it without fighting... it's really hard for me to see what they're doing under there, I can just see both their tails at times when they move. Will add their pleco caves later and hopefully get a good look (and hopefully photos) at them at feeding time, I usually feed them in the evening.

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Oh I get it! I grew up watching Quantum Leap, I would have thought you'd be too young to get that reference! But it's cool that you do.

Plecs have both chosen to be under the cave shape in the large central wood piece for now, even though there are three wood pieces and several dragon stone hiding spots. I hope they can figure it out okay where they're sharing it without fighting... it's really hard for me to see what they're doing under there, I can just see both their tails at times when they move. Will add their pleco caves later and hopefully get a good look (and hopefully photos) at them at feeding time, I usually feed them in the evening.

Click to expand...

My dad is old enough to acrually be my grandfather. (I'm not saying that to be mean I'm saying that cause its true). So he does like a lot of the older shows andd I grew up with a lot of stuff lile the Brady Bunch, M*A*S*H, Adam 12, Leave it to beaver, the Andy Griffith Show... And a lot more

So, found a video explaining how to tell if you have a true Starlight (L183) pleco or not, and it turns out mine are not. Mine have lost the white seams to their tails and dorsals, but kept their white spots, while starlights lose theirs. But they did have them as juveniles, so according to this video, they're L181 Peppermint Plecos. I love them either way, it's just nice to know! Plus if they do turn out to be male/female and I manage to breed them, then can tell new owners what species they are accurately.

Shapewise I'd say two females.
Any bristles on the head (not only on their lips)?

DoubleDutch said:

Shapewise I'd say two females.
Any bristles on the head (not only on their lips)?

Click to expand...

Still just a few around the mouth on both, none climbing above the head. Is it okay for two females to stay together? Or are they likely to fight once fully mature? (if they're not there yet, I don't know!)

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Still just a few around the mouth on both, none climbing above the head. Is it okay for two females to stay together? Or are they likely to fight once fully mature? (if they're not there yet, I don't know!)

Click to expand...

Kept two (or more) females together without any issues.

DoubleDutch said:

Kept two (or more) females together without any issues.

Click to expand...

Aaaww, wook at dem! Love seeing my plecs nomming on veg. is that peppers you're giving them? ETA: Doh, just saw the title of the video says it's pepper!) Haven't tried those with mine! Will have to try that soon.
Well, I had hoped to get lucky and wind up with a pair, but it was a long shot! Now might have to see if the breeder has a male I can get... could a male live with 2 females?

AdoraBelle Dearheart said:

Aaaww, wook at dem! Love seeing my plecs nomming on veg. is that peppers you're giving them? ETA: Doh, just saw the title of the video says it's pepper!) Haven't tried those with mine! Will have to try that soon.
Well, I had hoped to get lucky and wind up with a pair, but it was a long shot! Now might have to see if the breeder has a male I can get... could a male live with 2 females?

Click to expand...

It can but could get worn out breeding with both (the male guards the eggs / fry) constantly. That's why I only kept females No experiences with L183 though.

DoubleDutch said:

It can but could get worn out breeding with both (the male guards the eggs / fry) constantly. That's why I only kept females No experiences with L183 though.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the help and advice!


No problem, I likely won't wind up seeking a male anyway - I'd need another tank for breeding, and I'm not looking to do that right now anyway. I would have tried if I'd wound up with a male/female pair, but not desperate to breed them, and I'd like to get my sterbai cories to spawn first hopefully anyway! Still have a lot of bronze cory babies to finish raising and find homes for too, so that's enough to manage!

I am thinking two females. They get those short bristles on the front like that but rarely up the face the way usually males do. However, I can also see body shape differences that would suggest both sexes are present. You need to have caves for plecos. Males will claim them and that is a good clue to sexing. Females may use them but they normally do not claim them.

Plecos want a tight fit in caves ib terms of height and width, Depth should be a a bit more than the length of the biggest fish. If the plecos get bigger over time you may need to get bigger caves.

You could rename the fish Bowie and David..........