Few Plec Questions

[treelo]

hello there, after finding a home for my common plec which i knew i wouldnt be able to keep forever, i have been in search of a smaller breed of plec that i can keep in my 15G

anyway, regardless of what i cant and can keep, i went looking today and have a few questions:

1. One store had what they described as 'dwarf plecs', they had them in with otto's which he was also trying to tell me was a 'random dwarf species'. Is there such thing as a dwarf plec, or does the shop merely not have a clue about what they are selling. to me they looked like baby bristlenoses.

2. I found a L200 which was approx 3 1/2 inches. absolutely goergous but at £35 would that be a good price?(PS. i do know i would need to purchase a new tank to keep this fish)

3. How big do bristlenoses get before you see the 'bristles'?. I have come across a lot of very small ones today in a different LFS and none of them have noticeable bristles, and what is the smallest sized tank i could keep them in?

4. Peppermint plecs, is this a common name, and are there variations or different types?

 

[xingumike]

1) See LDA25 and the rest of that genus for pretty much the smallest sp. of pleco

2) £35 is a pretty fair price for that size, especially if its a 'hi-fin'

3) About 1-1.5 inch ime, absolute smallest imo would be 24x12x12 (inches) but a bit bigger would be preferable

4) Yes a typically a common name for Ancistrus dolichopterus L183 another sp. of bristlenose, did they have the white seam? If L182 which is another possibility then these reach a larger adult size.

hth

edit peppermint pleco could also be L176 according to PC but i think its more commonly applied to L183.

 

[treelo]

cheers mate

i have a 24x12x12 and was debating whether to get a bristlenose or not, but decided against it until id taken more advice on the matter

as for the L200, i may need a bigger tank so i can house this fish as it was superb

as for the peppermint, it didnt have the white line on its fins

 

[xingumike]

Agreed, L200 was one of my favourite species that i have ever kept, stunning fish.

see if they will let you take a photo of the peppermint or study them on PC, you may be able to tell them apart as Parancistrus have a flatter more squashed appearance then Ancistrus although its less noticeable in juvis.

No probs.

 

[treelo]

TBH, the peppermint is out of the question if it grows as big as ive read, regardless of species, it was for the tank above

any new tank that i may purchase will have a few L200 right in there unless i go superbig and then its stingrays