Does my pleco have ick?

[andy36yr19]

Hey there so recently I realized my pleco has white specs on it and I dont know if its ick or not. I don't know its species either btw.

 

[FrancineJ]

Does not appear to be ich... hard to tell from picture even when zoomed in... but I don’t see it.... if you are talking about those dotty lines down his back then no... that’s just how they look....
ich will appear on the fins first before the body (usually) and it’s not in any kind of a pattern... just random spots that look like a grain of salt...
and it looks like a common pleco... again hard to tell from the pics but that’s what I see... so be prepared unless you have a HUGE tank in the next few years ready to dedicate to it and it alone... maybe try and return him for a brittle nose pleco which are much smaller.... that guy (if in fact is a common) can grow to like 2 ft long lol he will need a tank with a HUGE foot print and you will not be able to keep anything else with him.... they do grow slowly so it’s up to you what to do... but just be aware that he will get HUGE and then what do you do.... easier to solve the problem now then before it’s too late

 

[SeaAngel]

I can’t see any ich. Are the white spots you’re referring to the line of spots on his back and side? Those aren’t ich. Those are normal for a pleco. Hope this helps.

 

[andy36yr19]

I can’t see any ich. Are the white spots you’re referring to the line of spots on his back and side? Those aren’t ich. Those are normal for a pleco. Hope this helps.

Ok thank you so much

 

[Alliesten]

I don’t see what looks like ich. It looks like normal markings. Ich will look like you dipped your fish in table salt. They are raised square crystal like cysts.


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[fluttermoth]

and it looks like a common pleco... again hard to tell from the pics but that’s what I see... so be prepared unless you have a HUGE tank in the next few years ready to dedicate to it and it alone... maybe try and return him for a brittle nose pleco which are much smaller.... that guy (if in fact is a common) can grow to like 2 ft long lol he will need a tank with a HUGE foot print and you will not be able to keep anything else with him.... they do grow slowly so it’s up to you what to do... but just be aware that he will get HUGE and then what do you do.... easier to solve the problem now then before it’s too late

Well spotted!

I think it might be a gibbiceps, rather than a common, but you are 100% right that this is a potentially two foot long fish, and will need a tank that's a minimum of 5'x2'x2'. You can keep other fish with them; just not other plecs, as they do get territorial as they mature

 

[FrancineJ]

What I meant was in a tank that size it would be jusg big enough for the pleco... not that plecos can’t be kept with other fish.... I should have been more clear on that one lol

 

[Sarah73]

No ich, as for pleco, that "little one" is going to get around 2 feet long. Depending on how big your tank is, maybe you could get a smaller pleco like a bristle nose pleco.