"New Ranger" or "Mini Ranger" plecos?

[GirlsGotFisshues]

I came across a small, interestingly patterned, "mini ranger" pleco at the 2018 CatCon. I didn't buy them at that time because I didn't know anything about them and had just blown my savings on vet bills for a dog.

I stumbled across a few over the weekend and brought them home. I can't find much (if any) solid information on them. Has anyone else encountered these? I've heard size estimates of 1.5" (which would make them full grown) and up to 4." The only consistent thing I hear is they don't get big like other "ranger" plecos.

[Dave Rinaldo]

Not a juvenile Pterygoplichthys weberi ?

[Acanthicus]

Normally they are P. punctatus, imported from Peru. Beautiful, very underestimated fish!

[bekateen]

Normally they are P. punctatus, imported from Peru. Beautiful, very underestimated fish!

@Acanthicus, doesn't punctatus get much larger than weberi? If so, why would these be called "dwarf rangers?" From a naming perspective, I would expect it the other way around.

Thanks, Eric

[Bas Pels]

I used to have them, and frankly, where any normal pleco would grow too big for any normal tank, Pt punctatus, @ 20 cm, does have a very acceptable size for a 500 + liter tank.

Pt gibbiceps needs 1000 liters. Not many people can provide this

[Dave Rinaldo]

Planet has P. weberi at 7.9" and P. punctatus at 11.2".

[bekateen]

Planet has P. weberi at 7.9" and P. punctatus at 11.2".

Exactly. That was the point of my comment too.

Cheers, Eric

[Narwhal72]

If they are P. weberi, I have been keeping a group of them for several years now. It seems that juveniles get imported sporadically. A large number of them show up on import lists and then they disappear for a while. I think this is likely due to how they are collected. My guess is that at a certain location at a certain time of year a large number of nests with eggs or juveniles are collected and then they don't go back to that location for a few years.

In maintaining them they do top off around 8" SL and are easy to keep and unassuming. My only complaint is that if you want to keep them with cichlids and want the cichlids to breed you can forget it. They either disturb the cichlids or eat the eggs. Nothing ever breeds in a tank they are in.
I have been trying to get them to breed but have not seen any eggs. I have at least 3 males and another 3-4 that are likely females based on how they occupy or don't occupy caves.
Andy

[Bas Pels]

Breeding Pterygoplichthys will not be easy. They need a self excavated tunnel with a breeding hole at the end.

In the wild, a clay substrate can be used, in a tank, clay = turbid water. One could start with a PVC pipe, filled with sand, for the tunnel and something larger for the hole.

Effectively, it is hardly possible to do.

[bekateen]

One could start with a PVC pipe, filled with sand, for the tunnel and something larger for the hole.

That would be my approach if I were to give them a try, unless you're willing to accept turbid water and fill with the PVC with mud or clay. I would also image it might help to surround the PVC entrance with a wall of fired ceramic or other hard material, shaped to resemble a slant/water's edge (allowing the fish to dig into the slope where the PVC is located). But how deep do the caves need to be? That might be another problem entirely.

Cheers, Eric

[Bas Pels]

I´ve read for gibbyceps around 1 meter (1 yard and a bit). P weberi is around half the size of a gibby, so I would try half a meter.

For Acarichthys heckelii, a burrowing cichlid, this did work

[Acanthicus]

Normally they are P. punctatus, imported from Peru. Beautiful, very underestimated fish!

@Acanthicus, doesn't punctatus get much larger than weberi? If so, why would these be called "dwarf rangers?" From a naming perspective, I would expect it the other way around.

Thanks, Eric

Agree with all that, but then again we are talking about a made up common name, they are often missleading. Maybe referring to the fishes shipping size or whatever.

[GirlsGotFisshues]

I guess I'll see what they grow into.

[GirlsGotFisshues]

https://www.aqua-imports.com/shop/produ ... chthys-sp/

That was the only info I could find that looked similar to my distributor's info. That fish looks very similar to mine, but has a different tail (tail is rounded on mine). I have my share of big tanks and can house large plecos if/when they get that large.

[bekateen]

Interesting link. I thought the link might give info to help with ID. They say the new small fish comes out of Peru. Turns out both P. punctatus and P. weberi come out of Peru... no help there in telling them apart.

Cheers, Eric

[Acanthicus]

Heho

The fish in the link looks like a juvenile P. punctatus. But both species are very similar and also variable in pattern and colouration. The only good characteristic is the buccal papilla, which is subdivided in punctatus, but not in weberi.


Edit: correction