Help Me Id This Pleco

[diopio]

I wanted to add a pleco to my tank and i saw this guy in the shop and just knew i had to have him, he was labeled as 'gold zebra pleco'. I found out later on that zebra pleco cost £200 plus and this guy cost £45 so cant be a gold zebra pleco so does anyone know what he is ? so i can take proper care of him
Many thanks

Sorry for the rubbish picture i'll try and get a better picture if needed.

 

[jacko32]

L333 yellow king tiger
hypancystrus

 

[diopio]

thanks thats seems right so do i get ripped off at £45 ?

 

[jacko32]

thanks thats seems right so do i get ripped off at £45 ?

depends how big is it ?
the going rate in most fish stores is around £45 for 1 3" but on most pleco forums you can pick them up for less i know that from sweetknowle aquatics there £45 for 1 6-8cm

 

[Curiosity101]

And at the end of the day you saw it and were happy to pay 45 so tbh if you think about it that way you weren't ripped off.

 

[diopio]

oh im happy plus my 3 yo daugther loves him too, just wanted to know cause of the incorrect name on the tank

 

[Carlovel1]

Its def L333, the price you paid for it is just a tiny but above the average (£40)price, but these plecos are well worth it.

 

[diopio]

Anyone got any care advice for him or is pretty easy to look after ?

 

[JenCliBee]

Anyone got any care advice for him or is pretty easy to look after ?

It's definitely a hypancistrus species but how big is he/she?

My first thought was 333 but if it's still small/young you have a few species it could turn out as.... possible L66 and even perhaps 260. Lovely looking plec you have there either way whatever it turns out to be.

Looking after is pretty easily tbh, it is primarily a carnivorous species so a good high protein based food is essential..ie... bloodworm and many other frozen or live foods and a good staple diet of something like tetra prima or carnivore sinking pellets, veg should also be offered aswell, as it gets older it may not eat much but it really still should be offered to give variation to there diet.

Tank should be laid out so it has plenty of hiding places, so wood and caves should be added and the temp should ideally be mid to low 80's for it to truly thrive.

Out of curiosity, how big is the tank?, what filtration are you using and how long has the tank been setup?

 

[diopio]

The tank it's in now is 100 litres but got another tank which isn't ready yet which it's going to b moved to, the tank it's currently in been setup for 3 weeks. Just moved home that why I've got many new tanks. He's about 2/3 inches from memory, only had him a day and he's in a cave don't wanna disturb him this time of day so no exact size right now sorry

 

[jacko32]

The tank it's in now is 100 litres but got another tank which isn't ready yet which it's going to b moved to, the tank it's currently in been setup for 3 weeks. Just moved home that why I've got many new tanks. He's about 2/3 inches from memory, only had him a day and he's in a cave don't wanna disturb him this time of day so no exact size right now sorry

just out of interest what was it labelled as in the store ?

 

[JenCliBee]

The tank it's in now is 100 litres but got another tank which isn't ready yet which it's going to b moved to, the tank it's currently in been setup for 3 weeks. Just moved home that why I've got many new tanks. He's about 2/3 inches from memory, only had him a day and he's in a cave don't wanna disturb him this time of day so no exact size right now sorry

If it's about 3 inches then i would stick with the 333 ID but 2 inch still could turn out to be a few species tbh, you say tanks been setup 3 weeks?, is this a mature tank or freshly started 3 weeks ago..ie, new filters, media etc etc?

If it is freshly started without been mature then adding a plec may not have been the best idea, even though at that size and that species wont produce huge amounts of waste, it will still be very noticeable in regards to levels of ammonia and nitrite building up potential causing serious damage to the fish within the tank.

I know alot of questions and apologies for that but it really is only been asked becasue it can potential cause long term damage to fish and even lead to death, and £45 isn't cheap for a fish to lose due to bad water conditions.

Whats you tank maintenance regime.. ie.. water changes etc and what filtration is been used.

Again sorry for the questions

 

[diopio]

Gold zebra pleco, jacko

when I meant setup the tank had fish in for 3 weeks and added the plec on the 3rd week it was empty 4 weeks before hand doing a fishless cycle I've had my neighbour help me setup it up cause he's had fish before and I haven't but wanted too. I'll answer more of your questions when I get home from work. Thanks for the helpand advice guys I'm a novice and glad of any help

 

[jacko32]

never heard them called gold zebra's before lol fish stores do come up with there own names. though i think yellow king tiger still sounds better.
anyway enjoy

 

[JenCliBee]

Gold zebra pleco, jacko

when I meant setup the tank had fish in for 3 weeks and added the plec on the 3rd week it was empty 4 weeks before hand doing a fishless cycle I've had my neighbour help me setup it up cause he's had fish before and I haven't but wanted too. I'll answer more of your questions when I get home from work. Thanks for the helpand advice guys I'm a novice and glad of any help

Sounds perfect then, all bases seem to be covered , in that case it sounds like he/she has a lovely home . Feeding regime/diet is pretty much what i put in the earlier post. A good varied diet with more focused on the protein/meatier side and you cant really go wrong.

never heard them called gold zebra's before lol fish stores do come up with there own names. though i think yellow king tiger still sounds better.

LOL, LFS do it again, own names for there obvious lack of knowledge.

The plecs official name would be ..hypancistrus sp. but often named as a yellow king tiger as jacko has mentioned, L number is 333 so going by size and shape (at the moment) i would probably stick to that ID until it matures a little more.

As i mentioned though, really is a stunning looking plec