Brown Pleco Ancistrus or Common??

[Fleur]

A student asked me to take in her fish recently. Her family has excessive medical bills for her grandfather, and she had to shut down her tank. I took in her orange platy and a brown plecostomus with a mottled pattern. The store said it wouldn't grow to more than 5" but she couldn't remember what species they mentioned. She told me the fish was about 3", but I was immediately suspicious when she told me how fast it had grown since she first purchased it. When she brought it to me, I saw that it was, in fact, 4" long. I suspect that it was a misidentified common pleco, but I need some more trained eyes to help. It looks like a juvenile common to me. My biggest tank is a 20L, so if it will grow larger than 6", I'll have to re-home it.

Here are the pics I have.














Thanks for your help!

--Fleur

[MatsP]

This picture shows pretty well that it's a

Pterygoplichthys pardalis

(aka common)


--
Mats

[Fleur]

Thanks for the help. I'll set my energy about trying to find a suitable home for this critter. I appreciate the ID help.

--Fleur