Baby pleco care

[TheManichaean]

I stocked my new tank two weeks ago, and among my initial fish I purchased a really small baby pleco. He seems to be doing well, since he's almost doubled in size from 1/2" to 1" over the last couple of weeks, but is there anything else I can do to help him along?

Quick info on the rest of my tank:
65 gal tank, 3 plant bunches + rocks and driftwood for decor
100 gal rated Marineland canister filter
Undergravel filter, two power heads
Tankmates: 3 angelfish, 2 3" bala sharks, 8 tetras, one 5" pleco
7.3 pH, 0 ppm ammonium and nitrite, 25 ppm nitrate
80 degrees Fahrenheit
Mixed gravel sizes

There's another larger 5" pleco in the tank, and I drop one algae disc/pellet in per day.

Tony

 

[BrianNY]

Sounds like you're doing just fine Tony. Do you know what kind of baby pleco you have?

 

[TheManichaean]

Thanks for the encouragement. I don't know what type of pleco he is--the store had him labeled under a contrived common name of "rocksucker."

He's dark brown with light tan spots, and active mostly during the daytime. His pectoral and anal fins are somewhat rounded (almost like a freshwater ray), and I can't see a pronounced dorsal fin yet. He sticks to surfaces in the tank, occasionally zipping through the water to reach another surface. I've never seen him eat any of the food that I drop in (brine, bloodworms, flakes, or algae pellets), but he's active and growing.

Tony

 

[BrianNY]

There are literally hundreds of pleco species. Glad yours is doing fine. If you could post a pic maybe one of our species experts like Furitbat, Toirtis, or madasafish can ID it for you. Be nice to know which one you have.

 

[webmoose]

could be a clown pleco that diets on the driftwood.....

 

[FishLover14]

Hmmm might be a coommon pleco.

Dan

post a pic!

 

[TheManichaean]

Ok, here's a pic of the little spaz---any help with ID is appreciated.

I'm thinking Snow King (aka common?) pleco. Though his being a clown would be nice!

ed. Oops--sorry for duplicate picture.

 

[webmoose]

not what i was expecting.. don't think that is a clown..

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I am fairly sure it is a DBN, Ancistrus sp(3) is my bet.

 

[TheManichaean]

Ok, through pure luck I have ID'd him as a loach.

Thanks, guys, for your help! (sorry if I was misleading on the Pleco idea) I discovered the info while trying to ID another of my fish.

Hillstream Loach - Beaufortia kweichowensis.

The coloring is inverted, but his stomach is exactly the same, so I'm at least in the ballpark.

Check out the link if you're interested:

http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/beaufortia_kweichowensis.html

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I was going entirely on the coloring, and didn't even notice the figure 8 shape in the picture at the angle he is sitting. Oops.