Pleco >.<

[SryImABiologist]

so i went to this store in San Francisco that had a huge variety of rare fish that were all super healthy ect. Older husband and wife ran it been going for 35 years according to them. kinda barely spoke english but enough to get the gist. i said i wanted a sucker fish to eat excess food clean the aquarium along with my apple snail (which i know creates a f**kton of sh*t) and ghost shrimp. she took me over to the plecos and said this is great for that. I asked her how big this species gets; cause i know plecos get massive and are really creepy looking, she said they max out at 3 inches and i thought "oh thats perfect" 12 bucks later i was driving home with my pleco. i started googling plecos and reading more about them and realized that otocinclus stay around 3 inches.....mine looks like a normal pleco.... i also have shrimp and an apple snail which are pretty delicate and docile sooo im kinda wondering if i just screwed myself over royally? also their tanks were immaculate and well planted clean water everything but they were bragging that they dont do water changes and said just have thick gravel and top off (which they all had thick gravel and the husband was topping off the water). im just super confused >.<

 

[V227]

Chances are mom and pop sold you a Bristlenose Pleco, which do stay small and do quite well eating algae and excess food. 12 bucks is an outrageous amount to pay for a BN in my area. They go for about $3 here.
I believe mom and pop were feeding you a line regarding "no water changes". It's likely that substantial colonies of beneficial bacteria have developed in the substrate and filter media of their power filters, but nobody functioning on a commercial level could deal with the fluctuating bioload of their stock, not to mention the required medication applications, without regular WC's. If you want, post a pic of your Pleco. Most are fairly easy to ID.

 

[Brookster123]

They could have sold you a dwarf loch Ness monster for all we know. Post a picture

 

[smallfry53]

Chances are mom and pop sold you a Bristlenose Pleco, which do stay small and do quite well eating algae and excess food. 12 bucks is an outrageous amount to pay for a BN in my area. They go for about $3 here.
I believe mom and pop were feeding you a line regarding "no water changes". It's likely that substantial colonies of beneficial bacteria have developed in the substrate and filter media of their power filters, but nobody functioning on a commercial level could deal with the fluctuating bioload of their stock, not to mention the required medication applications, without regular WC's. If you want, post a pic of your Pleco. Most are fairly easy to ID.

it might not be "a line"

 

[V227]

Great post Small Fry. That's got to be the same store. Mom and Pop definitely got it going on regarding advanced aquagardening. I guess I got to eat a piece of humble pie.
On the other hand it looks like the majority of the stock were small plant friendly fish, likely bred and raised in the pictured tanks. Probably not many imported fish, requiring preventative med treatments, or water adjustments due to acclimation.
I failed to notice any plant eating fish other than the Dafadil cichlids, and to a lesser degree the Plecos.
My favorite shops sell fish that grow over 3 inches, eat plants and can even bite you if you're not careful. Lol.
Im still a non believer that mom and pop have gone a quarter of a century without any WC's but I will concede that their tanks are spectacular and they are obviously Master Aqua gardeners.

 

[smallfry53]

I have no idea if that is the same place, however it wouldn't surprise me if it was. I just remembered stumbling upon that video somewhere recently and it sounded like it could be a winner.

 

[SryImABiologist]

omg it is the store XD yeah as you can see everything was healthy ill upload a pic of the pleco things already creeping me out >.<

 

[SryImABiologist]

here is the pleco if anyone can identify it

 

[SryImABiologist]

also need to get an aquarium light for plants my friend gave me her old tank and its light isnt making my plants photosynthesize

 

[V227]

Small Fry really came through with the video. The pics not too great, but my guess is a Bristlenose. The two white tips on the tail are very similar to the markings on my BN' s. One way or another, mom and pop know their stuff regarding everything aquarium. I would totally trust them regarding their Pleco information.

 

[smallfry53]

^^ yeah you can tell they know a thing or two about a thing or two... and judging by the video I'd say it's definitely a BN. It seems as though they wouldn't be ignorant enough to sell a common....

 

[smallfry53]

In regards to the price... I'd pay $12 for a BN from them before I'd take a free BN from a chain store...

 

[SryImABiologist]

it was San Francisco everything is super expensive because of the extreme cost of living in the city. water bottles in vending machines are 3.50-5 bucks its filled with people who work for tech companies and biotech firms