Please Identify This Plec I Had To Adopt

[fishnovice]

http/i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae163/fishphoto2010/Bath2010092.jpg
Had a bucket of fish literally dumped on me late at night. One of them was this 8inch plec.It's grey with black markings with a sort of herringbone pattern at the sides.Dorsal fin is pointed and much higher at the front, like a shark's fin

What is it and what should I feed it. I was told it's 8 years old and eats algae wafers

 

[bae1994]

looks like a common with gibbiceps markings either way get 2ft and are tropical and you have him/her in with goldfish so will deteriorate slowly and needs a 6x2x2 fott tank atleast and needs to be in a tropical tank

 

[Davo86]

Its a common pleco species, it will eat algae wafers as well as catfish pellets, courgette, cucumber and pretty much anything else offered

 

[fishnovice]

Common plec? But it's 8 years old and barely 8in, smaller than my L001 !!!! Could it be a dwarf version or is it badly stunted? Will it suddenly grow into a huge monster if I transfer it to a larger tank? Goldies will be moving to a large outdoor tank shortly, as soon as the weather settles-still too cold at night. The plec will then have the indoor tank to itself and I can raise the temp. Can this common plec share a tank with my adult L001 or will they fight?

 

[JenCliBee]

http/i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae163/fishphoto2010/Bath2010092.jpg
Had a bucket of fish literally dumped on me late at night. One of them was this 8inch plec.It's grey with black markings with a sort of herringbone pattern at the sides.Dorsal fin is pointed and much higher at the front, like a shark's fin

What is it and what should I feed it. I was told it's 8 years old and eats algae wafers

common as mentioned

looks like a common with gibbiceps markings either way get 2ft and are tropical and you have him/her in with goldfish so will deteriorate slowly and needs a 6x2x2 fott tank atleast and needs to be in a tropical tank

6x2x2 is a little extream, yes it would be ideal but 4x2x2 would surfice but would be very bare minimum.

Common plec? But it's 8 years old and barely 8in, smaller than my L001 !!!! Could it be a dwarf version or is it badly stunted? Will it suddenly grow into a huge monster if I transfer it to a larger tank? Goldies will be moving to a large outdoor tank shortly, as soon as the weather settles-still too cold at night. The plec will then have the indoor tank to itself and I can raise the temp. Can this common plec share a tank with my adult L001 or will they fight?

If it is indeed 8 years old then yes some stunting would probably the reason it's only 8 inches, they should really be reaching bigger than that within the first 12-18 mnths of it's life.

Would it get on with your L01?, well the only way is to try, you may get lucky and be completley fine together, they may fight. An honest answer couldnt really be yes or no becasue each plec can have it's own characteristics and personality.

 

[fishnovice]

http/i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae163/fishphoto2010/Bath2010092.jpg
Had a bucket of fish literally dumped on me late at night. One of them was this 8inch plec.It's grey with black markings with a sort of herringbone pattern at the sides.Dorsal fin is pointed and much higher at the front, like a shark's fin

What is it and what should I feed it. I was told it's 8 years old and eats algae wafers

common as mentioned

looks like a common with gibbiceps markings either way get 2ft and are tropical and you have him/her in with goldfish so will deteriorate slowly and needs a 6x2x2 fott tank atleast and needs to be in a tropical tank

6x2x2 is a little extream, yes it would be ideal but 4x2x2 would surfice but would be very bare minimum.

Common plec? But it's 8 years old and barely 8in, smaller than my L001 !!!! Could it be a dwarf version or is it badly stunted? Will it suddenly grow into a huge monster if I transfer it to a larger tank? Goldies will be moving to a large outdoor tank shortly, as soon as the weather settles-still too cold at night. The plec will then have the indoor tank to itself and I can raise the temp. Can this common plec share a tank with my adult L001 or will they fight?

Since plecs have suckers not normal teeth presumably they can't bite...right? Can big plecs hurt or even kill each other? I'm very fond of Gregory my L001 and would hate him to be injured in a fight. Also, this new common plec has suffered enough already and I don't want it to be bullied by Gregory who is bigger (If it's a common, it's a midget), It was kept in a dirty tank with no water changes which caused finrot and fatal bacterial infections in its former tank mates(I currently have them in heavily medicated hospital tank)

If it is indeed 8 years old then yes some stunting would probably the reason it's only 8 inches, they should really be reaching bigger than that within the first 12-18 mnths of it's life.

Would it get on with your L01?, well the only way is to try, you may get lucky and be completley fine together, they may fight. An honest answer couldnt really be yes or no becasue each plec can have it's own characteristics and personality.

 

[matubula]

Its either a Pterygoplichthys pardalis or multiradiatus, heres a link to the genus. Its possible that if put in a larger tank it will grow some more, I had a 13" P. gibbiceps who was around 15 years old grow to 15" when moved to 5ft 500 litre tank. I wouldnt rush to say the fish is stunted as it doesnt looked deformed and the proportions look right, just because it has the potential to grow large doesnt mean it will.

 

[fishnovice]

Its either a Pterygoplichthys pardalis or multiradiatus, heres a link to the genus. Its possible that if put in a larger tank it will grow some more, I had a 13" P. gibbiceps who was around 15 years old grow to 15" when moved to 5ft 500 litre tank. I wouldnt rush to say the fish is stunted as it doesnt looked deformed and the proportions look right, just because it has the potential to grow large doesnt mean it will.

Thanks everyone who responded for a quick and correct ID. It looks like I've ended up with a common plec, which is the last thing I needed Nevertheless I have no regrets abut saving its life.It's a very friendly and tame fish which deserves a better home than the filthy tank it was kept in. I just hope it stays small and doesn't suddenly grow to 45cms or I'll have to keep it in the bathtub!
Thanks for the link Matubula -it's definitely a paradalis as it has a kind of herringbone pattern on its side. I;ve been feeding it a mixture of algae wafers, catfish pellets and fresh veg like my other plecs, last thing at night before lights out. Not sure how much to feed though. If no additional veg is available, how many plec pellets or 8mm diameter wafers would it eat daily?

 

[morgan]

Hi, it looks just like mine which is a Pardalis. Mine is 5 years old (he might be 6, I can't remember exactly)and is about 16". It reached a foot by one year old so I think yours is probably stunted. He has nice markings. I never see mine eat as he comes out when the tank lights are off . I also give all the fish peas once a week to prevent bloat and they love them. Hope yours does well in his new home.

 

[dave_oddballs]

that fish doesn't look anywhere near 8 years old and its definitely a common plec and will grow and grow until it gets near 2 foot. it doesn't look stunted at all and actually looks quite young, so some one lied to you, i doubt you saved its life as it looks pretty healthy. you should take it to your lfs or any fish shop and let someone have it who has the space and experience to keep a potentially 2 foot fish.
and, by the way, common plecs can and do, do very well in cooler than tropical waters, they will live very healthily in 'sub-tropical' unheated water for a full and long life, given the correct care and space that is