Mountain Stream Pleco

[JDogg]

I was in my lfs the other day and saw a very interesting pleco. it was a greeny-gray color and looked like a prehistoric armored fish! the sign on the tank said it was a mountain stream pleco.

has anyone ever seen this fish? i did a internet search and did not find anything, does anyone know of a different name or even its scientific name?

might it be suitable for my 28 gal? my common pleco is getting to large!

 

[donttaptheglass]

I believe the fish you are referring to is actually a loach. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is what you saw:

It's called a Hillstream Loach.

 

[JDogg]

I believe the fish you are referring to is actually a loach. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is what you saw:


It's called a Hillstream Loach.

nope
basic body shape the same as a common pleco, but it had "armor plates"

like the plates on an indian rhino!

 

[tropicfishman]

could be a Pseudoras niger, they are considered an armored pleco, they get very large, www.thatpetplace.com carrys them, just look under there live fish sec tion, then catfish, and its on page #2

 

[JDogg]

could be a Pseudoras niger, they are considered an armored pleco, they get very large, www.thatpetplace.com carrys them, just look under there live fish sec tion, then catfish, and its on page #2

nope, to dark, more of a light gray-green, no whiskers, it had a sucker mouth. think of a common pleco, only with thick armor plates... 8O

 

[toddnbecka]

Try www.planetcatfish.com, it's almost certainly listed in the cat-e-log somewhere there.

 

[tropicfishman]

It could have been a mislabled tank, happens all the time in my area's pet shops, you'll seea bunch of bubble head goldfish in tanks labeled as angelfish lol

 

[JDogg]

could be a Pseudoras niger, they are considered an armored pleco, they get very large, www.thatpetplace.com carrys them, just look under there live fish sec tion, then catfish, and its on page #2

nope, to dark, more of a light gray-green, no whiskers, it had a sucker mouth. think of a common pleco, only with thick armor plates... 8O

MEET THE MOUNTAIN STREAM PLECO!
I talked to the LFS lady and she said they grow to about 4 inch. I think she said they were in the genus Ancistrus or Ancistrini. Can anyone confirm any of this?

 

[krap101]

looks to me like a rubbernosed pleco. (thats what its called at petsmart) (also rubberlipped)

 

[JDogg]

looks to me like a rubbernosed pleco. (thats what its called at petsmart) (also rubberlipped)

although the genus the LFS lady said it belongs to does not matchup I agree that my fish look like the pics of the rubbernose.

thanks!

 

[UTcolorchangn]

That looks exactly like my Rubbernose Pleco. It might be something else, but I'd put my money on it being a mislabeled Rubbernose. They are a nice looking pleco regardless though!

 

[tbonem91]

another vote for rubbernose - I have one too

 

[JDogg]

another vote for rubbernose - I have one too

How is it? any special requirements i should know about?

 

[tbonem91]

another vote for rubbernose - I have one too

How is it? any special requirements i should know about?

I dont know of any personally - mine is happy and I don't do anything special to my tank really. Mine doesnt seem to hang onto driftwood much at all and is mostly seen on the gravel or glass.

 

[jibboo]

yup ... my rubbernose looks like that also ... I don't do anything special for mine. He seems to ignore the algae wafers (even before I had cichlids in with him). The only probs I ever had with him is he every once in a while would bump my hillstreams loaches and my gold nugget. But other than that he just hangs out and eats algae. Doesn't seem to eat my driftwood.

 

[megladonsharky]

rubberlip .... they arent picky

 

[Claire Q]

They are 'Stream Pleco' and live in cold water tanks. I have 2 (look identical to your picture). They live alongside my goldfish very happily. They eat algae wafers and grow to about 4" (mine are tiny - in my 160 llitre tanks - but are full grown already. Hope this helps x

 

[Mebbid]

They are hillstream loaches otherwise known as a hong kong pleco. They inhabit very fast flowing rivers and actually need a tank with tons of flow (probably 20x volume per hour or more) sadly, they usually suffocate in most tropical tanks as they need the high flow and cold water to stay oxygenated.

They are really only suited to a species river tank as there are very few fish that mesh well with them.

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