Can Someone Please Id My Plec?

[Katlee]

Hi Guys,

Could someone please ID my little man for me? He's only about 3-4 inches at the mo and have had him since april time.

Thanks

Katie

 

[Davo86]

Its just your average 'common pleco' P.Pardalis

 

[helterskelter]

Yes it's a common, these can easily grow to 18 inches in size so hope u got a large tank

 

[Katlee]

really? someone mentioned butterfly plec to me the other day? my other halfs dad has one we bought from the same shop at the same time and it's over twice the size in length and width now as ours. needless to say im slightly jealous but also confused. theirs is in a smaller tank than ours and yet has obviously not had its growth stunted. our tank is twice the size of theirs easily. so why is mine so small? we feed algae wafers. they dont. what breed could there's be? looks almost identical apart from size and the dorsal fin looks smaller?

 

[Davo86]

really? someone mentioned butterfly plec to me the other day? my other halfs dad has one we bought from the same shop at the same time and it's over twice the size in length and width now as ours. needless to say im slightly jealous but also confused. theirs is in a smaller tank than ours and yet has obviously not had its growth stunted. our tank is twice the size of theirs easily. so why is mine so small? we feed algae wafers. they dont. what breed could there's be? looks almost identical apart from size and the dorsal fin looks smaller?

His is most likely to be the same species,

what are your water stats? maintenance and feeding regimes etc?
The growth rate of any species is greatly effected by the number of water changes done on the tank, the types of foods given to the fish, and the stocking levels of the tank in question

 

[star4]

Hiya, yours is deffo a common pleco, the butterfly plec will grow roughly 4-6" in length where yours can reach upto 24" if you have the space they are a fantastic fish, this is what yours will grow into.

 

[raptorrex]

as, already, stated. Its a common. only real problem there is, your tank aint big enough. and by a long way. sorry guy, there is no easy way to say this. "TAKE IT BACK".

 

[three-fingers]

Yup, unless you plan on a 4x2x2 tank or bigger in the next 6 months or so, take it back. Big, messy and clumsy fish that need a lot of room and good filtration.

They are very commonly sold, but very rarely looked after properly, leading to stunted fish, not being fed enough and/or kept in bad water conditions.

Do the responsible thing and upgrade or re-home the fish.

 

[Katlee]

really? someone mentioned butterfly plec to me the other day? my other halfs dad has one we bought from the same shop at the same time and it's over twice the size in length and width now as ours. needless to say im slightly jealous but also confused. theirs is in a smaller tank than ours and yet has obviously not had its growth stunted. our tank is twice the size of theirs easily. so why is mine so small? we feed algae wafers. they dont. what breed could there's be? looks almost identical apart from size and the dorsal fin looks smaller?

His is most likely to be the same species,

what are your water stats? maintenance and feeding regimes etc?
The growth rate of any species is greatly effected by the number of water changes done on the tank, the types of foods given to the fish, and the stocking levels of the tank in question

Maintanence: 10% Water change every weekend. gravel vac. Feeding: Once per day, 3 Algae Wafers in, 1 for plec, 1 for clown loach and 1 for the sucking loach. Stocking is in my signature. As is tank size. We will be upgrading when we get our new place after christmas.

p.s boboboy im a girl!

 

[raptorrex]

p.s boboboy im a girl!

ohh oops. guie then .

 

[Davo86]

Maintanence: 10% Water change every weekend. gravel vac. Feeding: Once per day, 3 Algae Wafers in, 1 for plec, 1 for clown loach and 1 for the sucking loach. Stocking is in my signature. As is tank size. We will be upgrading when we get our new place after christmas.

tbh from this I'd say the lack of growth is definitely going to be down to water changes and feeding,

10% simply isn't enough considering your stocking and the amount of waste that will be produced by the plec, 3 clowns and so on,
I would personally be doing 25-30% water changes per week, What are the water parameters btw?

Also is algae wafers all you feed? both the clowns and plec are Omnivorous species and therefore require a wider range of foods, courgette, bloodworms etc..

 

[Katlee]

tbh its always a minimum of 10%. most of the time i get a bit carried away with the gravel vac and it ends up being between 25-50 sometimes "/
we feed with bloodworm daphnia and brine shrimp occasionally and sometimes peas and i do wana try them on more veg just didnt know where to start.

 

[stonecoloured]

tbh its always a minimum of 10%. most of the time i get a bit carried away with the gravel vac and it ends up being between 25-50 sometimes "/
we feed with bloodworm daphnia and brine shrimp occasionally and sometimes peas and i do wana try them on more veg just didnt know where to start.

I was just re-reading through some threads and came across this one.

With regards to the Veg - courgette and cucumber are the best. Just put a chunk of either in the tank weighed down with something (I usually put a teaspoon through it). Dependent on your plecs personality you may want to do this before bedtime, as then he can munch throughout the night.

Hope this helps.

 

[raptorrex]

tbh its always a minimum of 10%. most of the time i get a bit carried away with the gravel vac and it ends up being between 25-50 sometimes "/
we feed with bloodworm daphnia and brine shrimp occasionally and sometimes peas and i do wana try them on more veg just didnt know where to start.

I was just re-reading through some threads and came across this one.

With regards to the Veg - courgette and cucumber are the best. Just put a chunk of either in the tank weighed down with something (I usually put a teaspoon through it). Dependent on your plecs personality you may want to do this before bedtime, as then he can munch throughout the night.

Hope this helps.

strictly speaking. Courgette and Cucumber are amongst the most useless you can put in. though i agree they are popular. both are, mostly, water and sugar. neither are much good to fish. as many peel them, they are of even less use.

almost any, fruit and veg, can be used. the only, real, restriction is the quality of your filtration. as filtration is the one thing, many, have too little of. tinned veg is the thing. indeed it may well be better then fresh!!!!!!!!!!! only thing to watch there is salt.

for those who felt the wind blow over their heads. canning makes the, vital, fibre available to, fish, without the need for the veg to degrade. as they are cooked, and stored, in their own juices. they are also very nutritious. recent studies have shown, contrary to popular belief, tinned food offers more nutrition than fresh. as the body can process it far more easily.

 

[matubula]

Thats very interesting to hear boboboy. Could you point me in the direction of where you heard this?