Unidentified Pleco sold as L437

[thefredpit]

My LFS had a pleco listed as an L437 but admitted they couldn't find any info on it and all I could find on the L437 number was this page without a picture

https://www.suedamerikafans.de/en/wels- ... t/?art=980

here are in bag pictures he is floating now so when he is unbagged I'll try to get some pictures

[pleco_breeder]

The page you linked says that L437 is a Pseudancistrus. I'm not familiar with the number, or whether the page is accurate of the genus, but this fish is DEFINITELY not a Pseudancistrus. The fish in the pic looks like a Pterygoplichthys, and was probably received by the shop as a "common pleco".

Larry Vires

[thefredpit]

here is an in tank shot you can't tell because of the incredibly cheap lights($25 for a 40-60") but the tail and dorsal fins are a little red

[thefredpit]

I've had commons before and I know there are several different types I've also had a Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps before and don't believe this to be one but I will admit I'm no expert. I'm also friends with the purchaser for the store so I believe him when he says it came in as an L437. This store also does a lot of fancy plecos so I would be surprised if it was a common pleco and they didn't know that's what it was

[bekateen]

The body shape looks like

Pterygoplichthys

to me also.

Certainly not a

Pseudancistrus

. Although I'm inclined to think it's a common with an atypical pattern, there is L472 to consider. No pictures of it here on PlanetCatfish, but compare your fish to these photos on L-Welse.com: http://www.l-welse.com/reviewpost/showp ... oduct/1942

Maybe the wholesaler was dyslexic and off by 1.

Sorry,
Eric

[thefredpit]

I couldn't remember what common name was on the tank next to L437 so I sent my buddy a text and he said it was Red Tip Pleco.

Looking through the Pterygoplichthys pictures I'm thinking it could be Pterygoplichthys parnaibae or maybe even Pterygoplichthys sp. (L164) what do you guys think?

[Dave Rinaldo]

To me it looks like P. pardalis. There is an L347, though.

[bekateen]

pardalis was my thought too when I said common. They are somewhat variable in exact pattern, so I don't think your fish is too different to fall into that category. I missed L347. Thanks Dave.

[thefredpit]

I don't think it's pardalis when you look at this link from Auburn about Pterygoplichthys identification it describes pardalis as "Spots on abdomen mostly discrete, usually no more than five spots coalescing to form short vermiculations." If you look at the belly it shows a lot more than 5 spots unless I'm misunderstanding what vermiculations are

[bekateen]

Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus

is your other option, if you get that low in the key.

Cheers, Eric

[Acanthicus]

Hi,

it's most likely P. pardalis or possibly even a hybrid with disjunctivus. The abdominal pattern can vary from spotted over vermiculated to entirely brownish. These fishes are being bred in thousands and the variation is huge.

L 472 is not in the hobby.
L 164 is, but it has a different bodyshape and resembles more a P. gibbiceps.
L 347 is also not found in the trade and has the same bodyshape as L 164.
Same for P. parnaibae. All these 4 are sometimes called Glyptoperichthys, and are easy to distinguish only by the slightly higher head and the different shape of the dorsal fin.

cheers
Daniel

[thefredpit]

I was able to get a good photo of his underside where you can see the red tips on his fins

[thefredpit]

Here is an update I verified with the store which importer the fish came from. It is definitely wild caught and I'm waiting to hear back from the importer (through the store) to see if I can get country of origin if not catch location. I had an email conversation with Dr. Armbruster at Auburn he said "It doesn’t seem to fit any of the described Pterygoplichthys well. Maybe P. lituratus, but I don’t have a great familiarity with that one." Personally I do think it looks alot like P. lituratus except for the red tips on it's fins but I don't know if maybe the young ones have that and lose it later in life.

[Acanthicus]

Its definitely not P. lituratus, which also belongs to the group sometimes considered as Glyptoperichthys. The bodyshape is totally different.

[thefredpit]

ok also it has grown probably 2" in length and a decent amount in width I'll try to get updated photos

[nvcichlids]

It's grown 2" in length in a month?

[thefredpit]

yes and I'd say 1.5" of that was in the last 2 weeks it reminds me of the growth I had with my teugelsi bichir(.75-1" a week). The 1st 2 weeks the pleco was out all the time but the last 2 weeks it's been hiding and it happened to be out and I saw it's outline when walking by the tank and was shocked to see a pleco outline that big in the tank so I turned on the light and saw it was him.

[thefredpit]

oh that tank is fed
tilapia(was mixed with cod last week) every other day
cichlid gold pellets or hikari carnivore pellets(alternating daily)
always has at least one vegetable cucumber, sweet potato, potato, green beans, and carrots

[thefredpit]

here is an updated picture for scale those are 2" pvc and the tube behind it is 3/4"

I'll try for better ones but he likes to hide when I'm near

[thefredpit]

It has grown another inch and is at a TL of 8" here is a pic I was able to get a minute ago the pipe in the background is 4"