Help Me Identify My Plec! (dennis)

[matchstickgeezer]

Hi all.....

Could you please help me identify my new plec DENNIS??

He is only 1" at the minute in size.

They only had the one in the shop, as all of the others were much lighter spotted.

He also has a spotty tail that is quite high when he swims and the spots form strong stripes.

I went to another fish store today but they had none like him they only had ones with smaller less prominent spots.

Any info at all on type, expected size etc would be helpful

 

[nukeonekitty]

Trinidad Pleco maybe?

 

[smithrc]

Looks like a juvinile Gibby to me - Sailfin Plec.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes i agree with smithrc, when i first got my sailfin/gibby, it was rather grey looking in color like matchstickgeezer's juvenile .

 

[smithrc]

just for referance, here is a piccy of out juvinile "Trinidad Plec"

You can spot the differances easily

 

[matchstickgeezer]

So would you say it is a sailfin???

I got it for £2.99 which I thought was excellent but I would like him to have a friend.

Is it a common style sailfin??

Also how big would he be expected to grow, whats a good diet, age expectancy etc...

Also does he have one of those L. numbers other plecs I have read about on here have.

Thank You everyone for your help!

 

[smithrc]

ah.. your looking a an 18" monster.. dont get another.

 

[matchstickgeezer]

ah.. your looking a an 18" monster.. dont get another.

Gah I wish the shop would have told me that, now I may have to give him away when he outgrows the 36" tank he is in

 

[PlecMama]

I love how no matter what it is, smithrc owns one (or several) that he can show you
You are the Plec King.

 

[KathyM]

Yep - he's definitely a gibby

Sometimes it's hard to get a LFS to take them back when they're big - you might want to return him sooner rather than later and see if the LFS can get you something smaller (eg. a biristlenose?).

He'll outgrow the 3ft tank quite quickly anyway. We bought ours when he was about 4" and he's now a good 8" and still growing very fast. He's also a real poo machine.

 

[dylema]

Kathy, how fast did he grow from 4"-8"? I am possibly getting a gibby soon (quite small ie 2"-3") and want to know how soon I will need to upgrade from my 3'.

Thanks

Dylan

 

[matchstickgeezer]

Dennis sadly passed away today.

I have been told by my new LFS that the place I purchased him from is renowned for selling plecos that are not healthy

RIP: Dennis.

 

[smithrc]

small plecs can be very sensative to change...

BUT - now you've found this place you can find info on a great replacement that wont become a monster

 

[matchstickgeezer]

That is my plan... a few small plecs that will really look great.

I would be quite interested in breeding some of the exotic species but I guess I will have to wait until I move into a bigger house... im also guessing its pretty difficult.... I just love it when fish that I am keeping have babies.. its an enormous sense of achievement even if its quite easy with most 'common' species.

Dennis will never be replaced though, he was too beautiful to be replaced... any new plecos will sit alongside him (even though he is no longer with us).

 

[KathyM]

Kathy, how fast did he grow from 4"-8"? I am possibly getting a gibby soon (quite small ie 2"-3") and want to know how soon I will need to upgrade from my 3'.

Thanks

Dylan

Hi Dylan

It's difficult to gain an accurate growth rate from De Niro, because he lived in a tank at the fish shop for way over a year and only made 4", which is very unusual for gibbies. It wasn't a case of too small a tank either, so we think it had another reason with him (food? genetic? water quality?).

We bought him in....oooo....April, May? He's now a lot bigger at approx 7-8", but again that's apparently not a "normal" growth rate for a gibby.

From what I've read (when I was worried about De Niro's growth rate), you can compare it to a common in some ways. A common plec has astounding growth rate for the first say 8-10", then slows down. Apparently with gibbies the rate is high, but not as high as a common, but it's more constant.

I would think that if you got a gibby at 2-3", you would have 5-6 months in a 3 foot tank, but that's if it was based on tank size alone. Obviously you know that it's about water quality and filtration too. If it was me considering buying a gibby though, I think I'd hang on til I had the bigger tank ready and get a 4-5" one instead of a baby (we bought a baby here and it didn't survive). A gibby will need at least 5ft x 2ft x 2ft tank as a bare minimum as an adult, but you prolly already know that.

Hope that helps and doesn't just add more confusion (De Niro's an odd one).

Take care

Kathy