What Kind Of Pleco Is This.

[csr mel]

ive had this pleco for about a month now. its 3 inches long. this pleco is NOT shy at all. it feeds all over the tank during daylight. it even swims upside down at the surface eating blood worms. it espically likes the tank walls and will go from top to bottom cleaning all day long. this pleco takes alga discs and carries them around the tank on its mouth. somtimes it will drop them and swim down to pick them back up before the hit the gravel.

it has no bristles on its head, at all. but it looks just like an ordinary bristlenose.

so what kind of pleco is this?

 

[Redshark1]

Looks like a Gibbiceps to me (Sailfin Suckermouth Catfish - Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps L083).

I have a 28cm one in a 6ft aquarium, he started out as a 3cm fish in 1995.

What was it sold to you as?

 

[smithrc]

Its a common plec. not a sailfin or a bristle nose... It'll get to about a foot - quite quickly too

 

[callum_parsons]

when they say they grow quick it is actually silly how fast they grow. i remember my first one tiny when i bought him, and he grew to a great size i still have him because u do get attached to them they pack character

 

[csr mel]

they sold it to me as a "pleco" max size 6 inches. thats all i wanted too, i dont need a foot long pleco. i actually brought along pictures and description of pleco to the store so i could pick out the right one. however now i realise i may have picked the wrong kind.

 

[KathyM]

Its a common plec. not a sailfin or a bristle nose... It'll get to about a foot - quite quickly too

Yep liposarcus pardalis, common plec. Maximum recorded length is 15.75", but some have reported them getting bigger. I'm sorry, he won't stop at 6", so you might want to consider taking him back for another type (eg a bristlenose like you mentionned). The LFS should be more responsible - it's not like they'll have never had a 12" handin.

 

[Ransom]

i have 2 in my tank for the past 2 months an they definetly grow fast altho they seem to fatten up first (or mine have) great to watch also

 

[§tudz]

thats is gorgeous! :lub:

All the 'common' plec round here are awful, but I think they are mostly the other breed, cant remember their name. not Gibbi's

not seen any liposarcus pardalis If I have the tank room I'd like one.

 

[KathyM]

The vast majority of common plecs sold today are liposarcus pardalis. The lovely markings and colourings of the one above make him look very spesh compared to other less colourful ones, but he's the same species. Some have suggested there has been some cross breeding (in the Asian fish farms where they're mass produced) with gibbies producing these reddish colourations, but I don't know how accurate that is.

 

[§tudz]

I've read a little about the hybrids, but when I did research into the different species called common plec I found 3 'true' species, the Gibbi, the liposarcus pardalis and another.

the other I cant remember its name, but it was a darker brown almost black and the head was more rounded at the end, unlike liposarcus pardalis which has a longer pointery face. Or am I getting totally confused?

 

[KathyM]

There are a handful of plecs labelled as "common plecs", the most common being liposarcus pardalis, but then there are the hypostomus species (punctatus, etc). The original "common plec" apparently used to be hypostomus plecostomus, but they're not "common" any more it seems *lol*. Liposarcus pardalis are oten mislabelled as "hypostomus punctatus" or "hypostomus plecostomus" (especially in shops such as Pets at Home, but also on Tropical Fish 4 U, etc), but it's quite easy to rule out hypostomus species when you buy them as liposarcus species have 11-14 dorsal rays and hypostomus species only have 5-8.

 

[§tudz]

hypostomus plecostomus << thats the one we get round here, every where I go they have these

 

[KathyM]

Count the dorsal rays - they're more likely to be liposarcus, as hypostomus plecostomus are rare now and most LFS are no good at IDs.

 

[csr mel]

aye, its got 12 rays on the dorsal.

thanks.

 

[Redshark1]

Hi, guess I was fooled by the excellent markings on this fish, it really is a beauty.

If I really wanted a <6 inch fish though I'd be taking it back to the shop and demanding a bristlenose. I just obtained 2 golden ones from Holland that have red eyes and even at 4cm they look great and are seen out foraging most of the time. The long-finned ones are pretty special too either brown or golden.