Identify this Pleco please

[chamy]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/FishLover/pleco.jpg

[DarkShade14]

looks like a normal pleco....

[Grahamandkim]

I agree...looks like a regular Hypostomus plecostomus

[chamy]

thanks, but "Normal" isnt thier many different types of plecos, and by normal do you mean common, someone else has identified it as the commmon pleoc and has informed me that it can grow to be 24 inches in length, Which is NOT good =(

[Deiwos]

Yeah, looks like a common. And they really do get that big, fish store around here had a full grown one, it was MASSIVE.

[chamy]

great just great, do you get a joy out of being the bearer of bad news, (just kidding)

[lg5000]

OH.. you wanted bad news? I have just been told (last night while discussing plant eating fish) by someone that his pleco is into destroying tank environments, uprooting plants, and generally not being a nice companion for other fish... but.. you're lucky, I have no experience with them and can't tell you if that's true or not.

[shev]

plecostomus have rasping lips used to get algae off of stuff. which ends up destroying leaves of plants when it is eating the algae off of them. Not all plecos are vegitarian, some are stricly carnivores. I'd say the common is a very good companion for a community tank that is the right size to house it. they are also great for very mean tankmates, because they are so armored.

but some plecos like the clown pleco, will be extremely territorial to their driftwood. luckily they are only a couple inches long, and not 24 like the common.

[gizmo pig]

I just got a picture of a 3" pleco growling over a piece of driftwood. heh heh

But commons can hit 24" easily and require a 75 to 100 gallon fish tank. In case you don't know, his companion fish is an opaline gourami.

Just wondering, how big is the current tank?

[chamy]

Only 30 gallons, and i have already made arrangemenst to take him back, im currently looking at LFS for a l107 hopefully i can find him. and thats a blue gourami

[gizmo pig]

Ouch 30Gs. At least the plec. will get a good home. In the meantime, you should look at some species that will fit in a 30. to name a few: clown, pitbull, bristlenose, and zebra($$$). Of course ottos are similar looking to plecos and are perfect for small tanks.

And that is a blue gourami, your right. However, the blue gourami comes in several color phases: albino (know as gold), 2 spot, 3 spot, and the opaline. I was just trying to be more specific.

[chamy]

ahhh thanks, for the info, didnt know that the "BLUE" in blue gourami, was a generalization, thanks for narrowing that down

As for the common pleco, yeah don't be surprised if you hear on the local news about a Disgruntled man stuffing the sales clerk at his LFS into a TANK. haha cause he knew i had a 30gal and still sold me that. Don't know if you've seen the L107 but its awesome, and only grows to be 6 inches, i so hope i can find him here

[FemaleCheetah]

they will grow as large as your tank

[kjkeller]

they will grow as large as your tank

that is a myth and a truth. fish will grow to their full size given the propper environment. however, if they are not give the proper environment, then their growth will be stunted b/c the pollution in the tank, and the build up of waste and nitrates will cause them to not be able to grow properly. sure, they will grow to the size of the tank, but at what price. would you keep an oscar in a 10 gallon tank because he would grow to the size of the tank? most people would say no. plecos are no different. good call on taking the pleco back and getting one that will naturally grow to a proper size.

[gizmo pig]

To add on to that, the internal organs do not stop growing. This results in a 5" oscar with the heart/brain/etc. the size of a 12" oscar. Actually, I lie to you - the fish would have been dead long before this could happen.

[kjkeller]

good point

[shev]

uuuuh, actually they wont grow to the size of the tank unless you do plenty of water changes. then their organs wont scrunch up either. fish will produce GIH (growth inhibiting hormones) as a natural defense against wrong conditions, its a way to sense how populated their body of water is in the wild, and reduce their need of nutrients properly by reducing their size depending on how many other fish there are.