Guess My Fish?

[Jodielee54]

Hi all

Im having a bit of a problem with keeping fish, we have tryed & tryed but they always seem to die (but we have done a bit of research & we think we know whats we've been doing wrong) , only one fish lives, we havent got a clue what he is, i know he's a cat fish but im not sure what sort, so i googled cat fish and i found this picture that looks exactly like our fish:

Any ideas what he is??
My next question is, what type of fish can we keep with him? cause as i mentioned above he is on his own in his 30L biorb tank. Any advice for this kind of fish would be great.

Thank you.

 

[chibi]

You have one in a 30L?! That's a pleco of some kind. They need really big tanks; the smallest ones can't even live in 30L. You should really give it away to someone who has a larger tank. I can't tell you how big because I'm not sure what kind of pleco it is, but it would have to be a big tank.

 

[my fat fish]

at a gess i would say he is a L075 Hypostomuspleco

it will def need a bigger tank that a 30lt biorb if you cant give him a bigger tank then give him to someone who can

tho i could be wrong on the acual name but he will need a bigger tank

 

[chibi]

If you are just starting out, I reccomend tetras or better yet livebearers like platys or guppies. They do well in Biorbs.

 

[my fat fish]

yeah unless you get a pic of your own pleco then we wont be able to say for sure but we cann tell you that will outgrow your tank very fast and inevitably die

 

[rdd1952]

I would take him back to the LFS as soon as possible while they might still give you a refund or credit and swap for 4 or 5 tetras. Your tank is only about 8 gallons so 4 or 5 tetras is about all you can put in it.

 

[Jodielee54]

Thanks for the advice peeps, we are looking into getting a larger tank very soon, we're gonna price some tomorow.
As for the fish being too big for the tank, we was really small when we bought him about 6 months ago, but he soon grew to about 4 inches long and he hasnt really got any bigger. Any suggestions on what type of fish we can keep with him?

 

[my fat fish]

well most fish really but like we say you will need a massive tank for plecs as they get to about 6"-14" depends on the fish how much did you pay for him?

 

[Jodielee54]

well most fish really but like we say you will need a massive tank for plecs as they get to about 6"-14" depends on the fish how much did you pay for him?

I think we only paid about £3.00 for him.

 

[Jodielee54]

Ive just been informed by my fiance that our biorb is actually a 60L and not a 30L , I know we're still gonna need a bigger tank for him, and as i mentioned above, we are looking at new tanks tomorow.

 

[Jodielee54]

Just managed to snap a pic of him!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

it's probably a common plec; definitely not a sailfin or sailfin hybrid.

you'll want a tank that's at least 12" wide, 15"+ would be better. the length is really up to you, but i suggest going for as long a tank as you can accomodate/afford.

a standard 75g will probably be your best bet. these can be a bit pricey, so check around to see if you can't purchase a used set-up. good places to look include the classifieds section of your local newspaper, craigslist.com, aquabid.com and ebay.

 

[three-fingers]

Looks like a gibbiceps, see here for more info.
Basically, they need a very big tank that is very over filtered.

Well I was a bit slow to post and pica beat me to it, but I still think its a gibbiceps, thats exactly what mine looked like when I got him . How big is he at the moment?

 

[Jodielee54]

Thanks for all the help peeps.

i have a few more questions, He only comes out at night (or when the tanks lights are set to night mode), does this sound normal? He's not very fussed on my finace either, when im by the tank he'll come out but when my fince goes anywhere near his tank, he hides under the log orniment we've put in the tank for him & Is there any sort of food we should be feeding him? At the moment we give him catfish pellet food (its sinks straight to the bottom for him), is this ok?

Thanks again.

 

[three-fingers]

Looking at him, and looking around on the internet, I now think he looks more like a Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus than a Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps....
Either way it's the same story tank wise, but you may have to wait for him to mature until you can tell.

You should feed your plec algae wafers and some cucumber or other vegetables as well as the catfish pellets, a varied diet is best and plecs needs some greens .