Can Anyone Id This Fish For Me?

[Labyrinth]

Hi

I brought two of these catfish ages ago from my lfs, I thought they were orange banded stone catfish, as that is what I think was on the info card on their tanks at the shop (to long ago to remember), I did ask about them at the shop (size food etc.) and they seamed a good addition to my tank. But looking at pics on planetcatfish they look nothing like the OBS Catfish. So, can anyone help?

They are great algae eater (especially off the rocks in my tank, thats why I believe them to be the OBS catfish), the colours in the lfs went from total orange to nearly total black. One (which is the one in the pics) has what I think to be barbles on its head (which look more like spines), but my other one doesnt. They are about 2-3inches long atm

They could be Bristlenose Catfish, but i dont know

Any help is appreciated
Lab

 

[Neal]

Yup, deffinately bristlenose. Make a good addition to any aquarium, but they produce alot of waste, so keep ontop of your water changes and gravel vac's!

Neal

 

[Labyrinth]

Thanks,

 

[Ferris]

Yep, a very nice example of a BN plec.

 

[RESGuy]

Yes that is very much a BristleNose Plecostumus and the black ones were most likely the Common Pleco.

 

[Labyrinth]

Ive Done some looking up

Are they most likey the Piebald Variety of the BN, or something else?
Thx for the help, Im glad it turned out to be BN Ive always wanted to get a plec, and now I find I already have one.

Btw Im pretty sure they werent marked up correctly at my lfs, but never mind, I know now.

 

[smithrc]

Ive Done some looking up

Are they most likey the Piebald Variety of the BN, or something else?
Thx for the help, Im glad it turned out to be BN Ive always wanted to get a plec, and now I find I already have one.

Btw Im pretty sure they werent marked up correctly at my lfs, but never mind, I know now.

Piebalds are a term used to describe a'freak' of nature that is albino but still has some pigmentation...

It more likely that it is a common brustlenose and the lighting is making him look orangy...

can you get a piccy with him in focus?

 

[Labyrinth]

Hi Ill try to get a clear picture of him

 

[Neal]

He doesn't have albino eyes I noticed.

Neal

 

[pica_nuttalli]

i used to have one just like that. he'd be any color from solid brown to blotchy orange depending on how he felt. an amazing example of how plecs can change color to suit their moods.

 

[LisaLQ]

Yes that is very much a BristleNose Plecostumus and the black ones were most likely the Common Pleco.

Actually bristlenoses aren't plecostomus, they're ancistrus - both plecostomus and ancistrus are "plecs" though...erm...if you get me. It's too confusing for me most of the time

Try checking out this site to work out which bristlenose species he is - there's loads of different ones, the most common being ancistrus sp.3, but he looks patchy rather than spotty so he might be something else.
http/www.planetcatfish.com/core/

This is the page for the sp.3
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...p?species_id=49

And the one with the list of all ancistrus
http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=4

Is the darker one the same size and shape roughly? Are there one or two bristles on it's nose but not as many as the other? If so, it might be a female bristlenose

 

[tetras4me]

yeah that is a britslenose. its kinda like a plecostomus

 

[kodiak]

She's right you know. It looks like an ancistrus to me.

The best thing about the bristlenose is that they dont tend to grow anywhere near as much as a plecostomus, so you dont need to take him to lfs for a swap!