ID my pleco?

[mumrah]

Anyone? Was purchased as a common pleco. It's grown from 4 to 6" in ~6 months.

Thanks,
David

 

[Fluff]

Hmm. It's kind of dark but it looks like it might be a sailfin (gibbiceps). Any chance of getting a light pic with his dorsal fin flared?

 

[Jchillin]

ditto...also, what are the arrangement of the spots/color?

 

[mumrah]

k, there's a different pic with slightly better lighting. He's very camera shy, so i have to be pretty far off the tank to catch him.

His dorsal fin gets pretty high when it flares, not as high as a sailfin though.

Just browsing through google images, the closest match i see is a 'stardust pleco'

 

[mumrah]

sorry 56kers

Better ?

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Looks like a common to me. They can vary a lot in pattern and color.

 

[Guest]

The name "common" pleco is used for a lot of pleco's. Most of the common ones are actually sailfin pleco's. Look at the pleco's on www.liveaquaria.com

 

[Menagerie]

"Common" is over used, but basically is anything that gets BIG and they may or may not have a "sailfin." Enjoy him, he's got great markings!

 

[Jchillin]

Looks very much like the gibbiceps...some coloration and markings. Have you seen the dorsal fin fully extended...resembling a "sail"?

 

[Fluff]

I'm gonna change my mind with the better pic and say it does look like a common pleco (perhaps a hypostomus punctatus). So, you looking at around 12" as opposed to 18" of a gibbiceps.

 

[rubysoho]

I don't know all the types of plecos so I won't give any opinion on what he is, but what I wanted to say is that your pleco looks really nice

 

[mumrah]

aww, thanks guys. yea, he's certainly the best $3 i ever spent on a fish. from Pet Supermarket nonetheless.

I plan on using him and my 5 loaches in that 55g as a reason to eventually get a bigger tank .

 

[mumrah]

hah, i just realized he's taking a crap in that second picture.

that's just nasty

 

[mr86mister]

well we know he is well fed!

 

[Fluff]

lol That's typical pleco. They are poopin' machines.

 

[RoK]

Looks like one of the commons to me.

 

[krap101]

what kind of plant is he on top of? that grassy thing

 

[mumrah]

what kind of plant is he on top of? that grassy thing

No clue. It was listed as "misc" at Petsmart. It's been in there for ~5 months now with no growth. Has a very small root system. Honestly, i'm suprised it's alive at all. I think it might be some dwarf species in the Echinodorus genus.