What kind of pleco?

[jaylach]

I love Plecos but really don't know the different types. I just think he/she is REALLY well formed and pretty. I imagine that it is just what would be considered a 'common pleco' but would appreciate if any can give specifics. Sorry as the full image is much larger than needed but as I REALLY like the danged thing. You should see this thing in full 'glory'! The following shot is with the critter at rest,


LOL! I have a wood spit with a leaf of spinach planted in the tank. I've seen the thing chewing on the spit but it has not touched the spinach. I guess it just does not yet realize it is food.


<edit>
I stand corrected! Pleco has just seemed to discove that spinach is yummt!

[Aiken Drum]

Ive never kept plecos, so caveat and hopefully someone with pleco first hand experience chips in.

It does look like a common pleco. Have you bought it? If the fish wasnt identified as a specific type of pleco, safe assumption its a common.

These fish get huge, maybe 2 feet. Much too big to keep in your 20 gallon tank. Unless you are planning on an upgrade to 100g + in the near future might be best to return it and get a smaller species of pleco. Problem with them when they get bigger is that so many people run into issues with housing them its difficult to find somewhere to rehome them.

[jaylach]

Sigh, I inherited the danged thing along with a tiny albino cory and a tetra. When I got them they were in a plant vase without any sort of air flow or filtration. I wasn't just going to let them die in the vase so picked up a 2 gallon mini tank to keep them alive for a while. Then the original owner decided that he didn't want them back. Along with my missing water this is what led to the 20 gallon cube.


I know that the pleco can easily outgrow the tank but already have plans for the possibility of at least a 50 gallon tank. May sound funny but I'd get 500 pounds of sand bags (or more if I went larger as to a tank) first and then bounce on them. I live in a third floor apartment and would want to proof that the floor would handle the ~500 pounds of a 50 gallon tank.


I have plenty of time to figure all this out as the danged pleco won't outgrow the 20 gallon tank for a while even though it eats like a pig.


LOL! Then I have to deal with my 'demon cockatiel' which is totally fascinated by the tank. Here is a pic that shows his interest when I first had the tiny tank. He sat there for over an hour just watching.

[shramp]

A tiger pleco maybe? It seems too pretty to be a common one. Tiger plecos are still chonky but are a much more manageable size than common plecos that need flipping 125 gallon tanks.

I love plecos they are one of my favorite fish.

[jake37]

There are 100's of pleco and even worse the exact pattern changes on them as they age. I'm not convince it is a common pleco. A few better pictures might help. Also if it is one of the wood eating pleco (such as tiger); it is imperative that you have wood in the aquarium. Malaysian wood is particularly good since it is fairly soft.