Claude - my baby suckermouth or bristlenose!?!?!?!

[xxSarahxx]

I couldn't resist taking these pictures!
This is Claude.....I've had him for two weeks. He was under 2cm when I got him! Only a tiny tiny little abby. He's now almost 4cm so basically he's grown 2cm in 2 weeks!! Bless him!
I haven't seen him for a few hours and was beginning to wonder if he's got lost somehwere...the all of a sudden....he appeared! I just couldn't resist sharing these with you. I love this little guy SO much although.... I have to admit...previous to him I wasn't a catfish girl (sorry - don't kill me!!) This little guy is an amazing cleaner and has actually made friends with my algae eating shrimp - Jean-Bob (yes absolutely all of my fish ahev names!!) They are usually following each other around and where one is the other one is normally very near by! It's very cute!!
Well..... enough rambling! Here are the pictures! Hope they make a few of you giggle, it made me laugh. He's a real cheeky little guy and loves appearing in strange places after making me worry about where he's got to!! Still....he is king of the castle!!

 

[Bloo]

Oh cute ! Is that a baby Bristlenose ?

 

[xxSarahxx]

Bloozoo - not sure!! He was another rescue of mine! Is there a way to tell when they are tiny? He doesn't have any bristles!! He's got a spotty body, stripey fins with white edges if that helps at all. I'm afraid I'm not a pleco expert whatsoever! All I know is this lttle guy is SO cute! I wanted to show u guys when I first got him but he was too tiny to get a decent pic of him!!

 

[Bloo]

mmm it's a tad blurry so I can't really say for sure. He certainly "looks" like a baby BN.

Oh and not all BN's have bristles - the females (even as adult) only ever has tiny litte stubs.

 

[SirMinion]

Yeah that's a bristlenose all right.

Cute as a button!

 

[xxSarahxx]

How do you tell?!?!!?
Do I need to do anything special for him/her then?! Is there a way to sex them? If it's a girl Claude will become Claudina!!! I've been calling him him though so it might have a complex!!!

 

[xxSarahxx]

25 views and only two replies!!
Poor Claude/Claudina!!!!

 

[woodie]

it could be a normal plec as i have two babie plecs that are similar to them, to tell if he is BN, if you can catch him in a net, see if he has bristle that pop out from his gills if he does he is a BN if he dosnt he's not

 

[xxSarahxx]

Will it work if I look when he is 'attached' to the side of the tank? He's sucking on there now!

 

[Bloo]

Unless you can get a much better piccie for us Sarah, it's gonna be hard to say absolutely sure. However..... it does look very very much like a baby bristlenose and not a baby common pleco.
When they are that tiny it's still almost too hard to sex them. Give it a few months and see if bristles develop.
Not sure if you've seen this piccie before, but this is of my fully grown bristlenose female I had - and she had hardly any bristle at all.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Thanks bloozoo! She's gorgeous!
I'll try and take some mopre pictures for you. I've googled baby bristlenose and he/she does look like them....although also looks like a baby common plec!!
I'll grab some pictures if I can. Is there an angle that would be best??

 

[Bloo]

Thanks Sarah - I actually rehomed her to a fellow TFF member a few months ago.
There are loads of tips around on taking pics, but to tell you the truth I'm still struggling. And I know you have a camera phone, so there's only so much you can expect from it quality wise. In your case I'd advise taking the pic during the day with loads of natural sunlight if possible.

 

[xxSarahxx]

How about angles for this little one? For identifying purposes?

 

[Bloo]

Ahh I see what you mean - a lateral (side) view will help as well as a dorsal (from above) view would be great - however I know it's often impossible to get these pics when you are trying to take them.
The other thing I can advise is catching it and putting it in a clear clean glass dish and putting it on a window sill (lots of light) to take the pics.
Good luck.

 

[xxSarahxx]

Bloozoo.... as always you are a star!!
I'll try and re-post after that - if I can get some better pictures!
I don't mind what he/she is as long as he's healthy (and considering the rate of growth........!!) It's nice to know though, for care reasons. He's gorgeous though....and I love him. My Mum comes to visit just to see how big he is getting too so he's very popular!!