45 Gallon Planted Tank Journey, First Timer

[Ninjouzata]

Beautiful! They look so cute and tiny in there
What kind of pleco is that? 

 

[BriansAquarium]

I was told it was a clown pleco, I thought it was a sailfin at the store, but was assured it was a clown pleco and wasn't going to get much bigger, and that it is probably full grown already.

 

[Paradise3]

It's a Sailfin. Not a Clown Pleco.

 

[BriansAquarium]

well I only have a 45 gallon tank, hope I don't have to get rid of him, knew I should have trusted my know how. He is only about 4 inches right now so if he gets too big I'll just sell him, I really, really like him though.

 

[Paradise3]

Definitely not a Clown Pleco(Panaqolus maccus) and I know that because I was going to get one lol. Could possibly be one of the smaller Sailfin species though looking at the dorsal shape and speckling like Pterygoplichthys parnaibae(no common name) which supposedly only get's to 11.5 inch. Probably still too big for you tank depending on length but it's better than a 2ft monster, right?
 
The only problem is... They appear to be pretty rare so there's also a high chance it's not

 

[Shelster]

Lovely pics, tanks really coming on with those plants in.

Great fish photos too, those rams are great

 

[BriansAquarium]

hey guys little update. Sailfin still has that white stuff around its mouth, from all the reading I've done it is a virus that will eventually go away? The rams I bought from a store I've never bought from before and brought in Ich, so I'm treating it with malachite green, salt (always have salt in the tank) and increased temp to 82 degrees. I also bought a UV sterilizer. Will get pics up and running again when fish are doing better. I started treatment as soon as I saw it, so it didn't spread to any other fish thankfully. The rams seem hard to keep. I am 0 ammonia nitrite and nitrate constantly (the plants keep nitrate down all the time). I do 50% wc weekly and maintenance my filter with weekly water changes. So who knows. One of the rams have a touch of fin rot from the Ich. The Ich is all about gone so I'm hoping his fin heals up well. On a side note my 20 gallon is doing Awesome.

 

[greenmumma141]

Great thread! I think your tank looks great!! Way to start off the hobby!!!!!
 
I can say that your pleco is definitely not a sailfin gibbiceps, which is good bc they over 2 ft. I was in the same situation as you, and was told he would only get 5 inches lol. Whatever you've got, he's pretty darn cute. I would just wait it out. If they get really big, they tend to grow pretty fast, so it won't take too long to find out. Or you could always put up an ID post in the pleco section, I'm sure someone there will know what he is!!!!
 
I love your plant choices, looks great! And who wouldn't love a couple teeny tiny rams

 

[BriansAquarium]

I was looking at mega clowns, kinda looks like that. And thanks, can't wait for my fish to get better. All water params are good, ph 7.4 ammonia nitrite and nitrate are all 0. I also have black skirt tetras (added them before I knew about the Ich) and they are fine, as well as my 6 peppered cory's. Hoping the UV sterilizer will help.

 

[Paradise3]

Great thread! I think your tank looks great!! Way to start off the hobby!!!!!
 
I can say that your pleco is definitely not a sailfin gibbiceps, which is good bc they over 2 ft. I was in the same situation as you, and was told he would only get 5 inches lol. Whatever you've got, he's pretty darn cute. I would just wait it out. If they get really big, they tend to grow pretty fast, so it won't take too long to find out. Or you could always put up an ID post in the pleco section, I'm sure someone there will know what he is!!!!
 
I love your plant choices, looks great! And who wouldn't love a couple teeny tiny rams

 
It definitely is a Sailfin pleco of some form..... I have had conformation from my boyfriend who sells them for a living..... Also, looks exactly like my old Sailfin did when I got him.
It might not be a Gibbiceps but there is more than one Sailfin pleco.
 
For example, Pterygoplichthys parnaibae. It's in the same family as the Sailfin(P. gibbiceps) and is sold.
 
You don't just look at the markings, the body shape is all wrong for Hypancistrus which is what Mega Clown pleco's are. Definitely not a Clown Pleco either which is Panaqolus as the body is once again wrong and the markings are slightly off.

 

[greenmumma141]

 

Great thread! I think your tank looks great!! Way to start off the hobby!!!!!
 
I can say that your pleco is definitely not a sailfin gibbiceps, which is good bc they over 2 ft. I was in the same situation as you, and was told he would only get 5 inches lol. Whatever you've got, he's pretty darn cute. I would just wait it out. If they get really big, they tend to grow pretty fast, so it won't take too long to find out. Or you could always put up an ID post in the pleco section, I'm sure someone there will know what he is!!!!
 
I love your plant choices, looks great! And who wouldn't love a couple teeny tiny rams

 
It definitely is a Sailfin pleco of some form..... I have had conformation from my boyfriend who sells them for a living..... Also, looks exactly like my old Sailfin did when I got him.
It might not be a Gibbiceps but there is more than one Sailfin pleco.
 
For example, Pterygoplichthys parnaibae. It's in the same family as the Sailfin(P. gibbiceps) and is sold.
 
You don't just look at the markings, the body shape is all wrong for Hypancistrus which is what Mega Clown pleco's are. Definitely not a Clown Pleco either which is Panaqolus as the body is once again wrong and the markings are slightly off.
 

 
Oh I agree that its a type of sailfin. I was just offering my one teeny bit of information to help He actually looks a lot like the gibbiceps I had, like you said the body shape is very similar. Did your bf have any idea what type he might be
 
I have to admit, last night I was really hoping someone would have made an ID on the little guy by this morning!! hehe

 

[Paradise3]

We're not sure what type he is exactly unfortunately
 
He's definitely a Pterygoplichthys because he has over 10 rays in his dorsal fin(which is how you identify a Pterygoplichthys from other pleco's)

 

[greenmumma141]

Yeah, I remember reading that. Took me ages to finally get a count on mine, he was not very impressed hehe.

 

[Paradise3]

Haha, I had to check a 12 inch one before XD as they were sure it was a large Hypostomus not a Pterygoplichthys so I had to catch, hold and count... Was not easy

 

[greenmumma141]

Ahh!!!!!!!!!! LoL yikes.....