New Plec

[Suzi]

i got a little plec yesterday (only an inch long - for now!) and was told he was a common plec. but he's covered in little spots like a spotted plec so now im confused! cant take a pic coz hes always hiding. could someone post pics of their common and spotted plecs to help identify him please? thanks!

 

[bunjiweb]

Could be any number of plecs as there are hundreds of spotted species. Could well be a common, in which case your tank is far too small to house anything else. Common plecs can grow as large as 18" in tanks, and on this basis they require a MINIMUM 48"x18" tank.

Ben

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Common and sailfin plecs are much more spotty as juveniles, here is some pics of juvenile sailfin and common plecs;

Young sailfin plecs;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...ptope/148_7.PHP

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...ptope/148_1.PHP

Sub adult common plec;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...posarc/88_5.PHP


There are actually 2 main varietys of common plec, the most common being the smaller growing type which only gets to about a foot long thankfully, pedigree sailfin plecs will get to 2ft long though most of the time- the 2 species can crossbreed though making it even more difficult to ID them.
In short though, if you believe you have either a sailfin or a common plec, i would rehome it before you get too attached to it if you dont think you can provide it with a suitable sized tank, as either way they will require a tank much, much larger than your current one .
Common and sailfin plecs can also grow suprisingly fast as well, about an inch+ a month in their first year of life, they are big poop producers as well so you need some hefty filtration to keep them on top of many gallons.

 

[Smithrc_work]

could be a common bristlenose - they are spotty when small and are a lot more likely to be sold to you as they wont be £30 each like other 'spotty plecs' would be.

does it look like this?

 

[PlecMama]

Hang on, weren't there at least three more posts on this thread earlier? I was sure she said she thought they were a bit ugly, someone else said they were ugly/beautiful and I said you'll grow to love them.....

Maybe another plec thread? I thought it was this one.