Name this pleco

randigirl29 · Post by **randigirl29** » 22 Feb 2005, 09:33

Hello, my name is Randi, and Im pretty new to the fish hobby thing. Can anyone please tell me what type of Pleco this is?? I have two of them in a 21 gallon tank thanks to advice from my lfs. If they stay small I will keep them, but if they are the ones that get huge, then I have to take them back

Thanks in advance!!

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24-7 fish · Post by **24-7 fish** » 22 Feb 2005, 09:43

If i am right i have got 2 of these and i think they are called suckermouth catfish if it is not then i dont know but i will have a look in my big fish book(lol)

i think this might help

Louis

NewFishKeeper · Post by **NewFishKeeper** » 22 Feb 2005, 09:47

looks just like mine, its a common isnt it?

i maybe wrong of course!

if it is then they can get pretty big

mine will go back when he gets to be a monster

check the cat-elog!!

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 09:56

It looks like a common pleco. They are nice fish, but they do grow quite large, about 12 inches (30 cm) or so. A 21 gallon tank will defintely be too small for their full-size potential. Your LFS is not giving very good advice, in my opinion. I'd recommend having a 150 gallon tank for them.

For a 21 gallon tank, I'd recommend a Peckoltia or Ancistrus species, or perhaps a small group of Otocinclus. These three groups have hundreds of members, so you have a pretty large selection. Ancistrus (Bristlenose) is the easiest to get hold of, and shouldn't cost much more than five dollars each. Males have bristles on the nose, females don't, so they are easy to tell gender too. The Peckoltia species have a fair number of variations in colour, so you can get some pretty coloured ones. A bit more expensive and harder to find, but far from impossible.

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Mats

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:02

24-7 fish wrote:If i am right i have got 2 of these and i think they are called suckermouth catfish if it is not then i dont know but i will have a look in my big fish book(lol)

i think this might help

Louis

I'm pretty sure you're just trying to help, but it's not much of a help to tell someone that it's a "Suckermouth catfish", as this is only eliminates about half of all catfish species. The Suckermouth catfish (Loricariid's) consists of about 600 to 1000 species in several different groups (genus), and their size, behaviour and care vary quite dramatically in those. The smallest ones reach about 35mm (1.25") in length, whilst the largest ones grow to over a meter in length (three feet and a bit).

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Mats

randigirl29 · Post by **randigirl29** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:35

Well I guess I will have to take them back. I should have done more research I guess, but I had no intention of getting tropicals when hubby proposed getting an aquarium. My biggest mistake was letting him take care of the details. I didnt even know it had a heater till we went to buy the fish, so thats how I got stuck relying on advice from my lfs, and ended up with a pair of Dwarf Gouramis, a a pair of guppies, two albino Corys, a clown loach, a yo-yo and the two plecos.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:51

randigirl29 wrote:Well I guess I will have to take them back. I should have done more research I guess, but I had no intention of getting tropicals when hubby proposed getting an aquarium. My biggest mistake was letting him take care of the details. I didnt even know it had a heater till we went to buy the fish, so thats how I got stuck relying on advice from my lfs, and ended up with a pair of Dwarf Gouramis, a a pair of guppies, two albino Corys, a clown loach, a yo-yo and the two pl*cos.

Well, some fish shops are better than others, and some are slightly worse than used car dealers.

Yours is probably somewhere in the lower middle of that range...

Can certainly say that you got an eclectic bunch of fish...

A clown-loach is also potentially growing to 10+", which would not fit that well into a 21g tank. But they grow fairly slow, so you may have more time with getting a bigger tank for that one. Not sure if the Yo-yo loach is another bigger one or not. [Also, clown loaches like to have company of other clowns, so you're supposed to have several of them... But that would be entirely stupid suggestion from me to suggest that you actually get MORE of them.]

You'd want to get another couple (or so) of the cory's (either same kind or different ones, they don't mind too much), as they like to be in a group of at the very least three, and probably more.

--
Mats

24-7 fish · Post by **24-7 fish** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:51

I'm pretty sure you're just trying to help, but it's not much of a help to tell someone that it's a "Suckermouth catfish", as this is only eliminates about half of all catfish species. The Suckermouth catfish (Loricariid's) consists of about 600 to 1000 species in several different groups (genus), and their size, behaviour and care vary quite dramatically in those. The smallest ones reach about 35mm (1.25") in length, whilst the largest ones grow to over a meter in length (three feet and a bit).

welli am so sorry if i am wrong but i am new to this catfish site and to catfish infact

24-7 fish · Post by **24-7 fish** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:52

I'm pretty sure you're just trying to help, but it's not much of a help to tell someone that it's a "Suckermouth catfish", as this is only eliminates about half of all catfish species. The Suckermouth catfish (Loricariid's) consists of about 600 to 1000 species in several different groups (genus), and their size, behaviour and care vary quite dramatically in those. The smallest ones reach about 35mm (1.25") in length, whilst the largest ones grow to over a meter in length (three feet and a bit).

welli am so sorry if i am wrong but i am new to this catfish site and to catfish infact

NewFishKeeper · Post by **NewFishKeeper** » 22 Feb 2005, 10:57

dont think it was meant as a crack at you 24-7, He was just letting you know that suckermouths are a large species thats all.

Dont take it to heart and welcome to the site

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 11:19

24-7 fish wrote:
I'm pretty sure you're just trying to help, but it's not much of a help to tell someone that it's a "Suckermouth catfish", as this is only eliminates about half of all catfish species. The Suckermouth catfish (Loricariid's) consists of about 600 to 1000 species in several different groups (genus), and their size, behaviour and care vary quite dramatically in those. The smallest ones reach about 35mm (1.25") in length, whilst the largest ones grow to over a meter in length (three feet and a bit).

welli am so sorry if i am wrong but i am new to this catfish site and to catfish infact

You're not wrong as such, just not very specific, and as I said, "I'm sure you're trying to help".

--
Mats

24-7 fish · Post by **24-7 fish** » 22 Feb 2005, 11:22

You're not wrong as such, just not very specific, and as I said, "I'm sure you're trying to help".

well obviously i am trying to help or i would not been on here

randigirl29 · Post by **randigirl29** » 22 Feb 2005, 11:41

Well I lost my yo-yo ..apparantly they dont do so well in new tanks....lovely fact I found out AFTER I got him. I was actually considering getting two more clowns, or two more corys...that was, until my guppy got preggo!!

NewFishKeeper · Post by **NewFishKeeper** » 22 Feb 2005, 11:45

sorry to hear about your yo-yo

Guppys have a tendancy to do that ALOT! lol

Good luck with getting your tank sorted

I'm new to fish keeping too

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 22 Feb 2005, 11:55

randigirl29 wrote:Well I lost my yo-yo ..apparantly they dont do so well in new tanks....lovely fact I found out AFTER I got him. I was actually considering getting two more clowns, or two more corys...that was, until my guppy got preggo!!

I wouldn't getting ANY new fish until the tank has matured properly. Once you get the "good bacteria" that clean up after the fish, you don't really need to "risk" any more fish.

I'd stay away from the clowns, unless you seriously have plans for a bigger tank. They grow to quite substantial size, and will need a bigger tank than what you've got. Something like 100g or so.

Guppy pregnancies are common... Don't worry, unless you get another tank, the babies will be eaten by the other tank occupants, so overcrowding will not be a problem

. [You can get a little net-basket that hangs over the edge to keep the babies in until they grow bigger].

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Mats

randigirl29 · Post by **randigirl29** » 22 Feb 2005, 14:02

NewFishKeeper wrote:sorry to hear about your yo-yo

Guppys have a tendancy to do that ALOT! lol

Good luck with getting your tank sorted

I'm new to fish keeping too

Thanks, I felt really bad poor lil guy. Then right after he died my Clown came down with ich! Its been hair raising for the past few weeks but the good news is that my tank has finished cycling finally.

My mom has had fish for years, but she always only had live bearers, or goldfish and the one pleco she did have never got very big...she has a 30 gallon. Inever knew they grew so huge lol!!

randigirl29 · Post by **randigirl29** » 22 Feb 2005, 14:10

MatsP wrote:
randigirl29 wrote:Well I lost my yo-yo ..apparantly they dont do so well in new tanks....lovely fact I found out AFTER I got him. I was actually considering getting two more clowns, or two more corys...that was, until my guppy got preggo!!
I wouldn't getting ANY new fish until the tank has matured properly. Once you get the "good bacteria" that clean up after the fish, you don't really need to "risk" any more fish.

I'd stay away from the clowns, unless you seriously have plans for a bigger tank. They grow to quite substantial size, and will need a bigger tank than what you've got. Something like 100g or so.

Guppy pregnancies are common... Don't worry, unless you get another tank, the babies will be eaten by the other tank occupants, so overcrowding will not be a problem . [You can get a little net-basket that hangs over the edge to keep the babies in until they grow bigger].

--
Mats

My tank has finished cycling, but since Im just getting over Ich Im not planning on getting anything new just yet.

I really dont want to watch the babies get eaten one by one

Ive asked my lfs if he would take any babies she had and he said sure, so Im not worried as much about that. I do have one of those nursery things, and I got a few more plants so the babies should do ok.

Fishy411 · Post by **Fishy411** » 24 Feb 2005, 23:06

can u make that picture bigger? I think i have the same kind as u but it doesnt look like any pictures o nthis site