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How come at Petsmart and Petco and even small fish stores they only put plecostomus then the size next to it , such as sm med larg?

How can we ever know what kind they are and how big they will get? When I scoped it out on line it just says :

Quick Statistics Temperament: Community
Family: Loricariidae
Native To: South America
Diet: Omnivore
Adult Size: Up to 24"
Temperature: 72° - 82°F
Care Level: Easy
Tank Size: 10+ gallons
Scientific Name: Hypostomus plecostomus
Environment: Freshwater

I am not getting one or anything but there is so many out there and none are marked as to what specifically they are? Even if u go by hypostomus there are like alot of those?

Usually plecs at Petsmart and Petco are Pterygoplichthys species, and they actually get multiple species in. P. pardalis is by far the most common, but I've seen some types without the characteristic chevrons and are likely different species (I say likely only because I don't have all the Pterygoplichtys species memorized). For example, P. disjunctivus is actually very similar to P. pardalis, and they easiest way to differentiate these two species is just the difference in the pattern on their belly. I hardly ever see Hypostomus species anymore, although I was surprised because one LFS here actually did have them for once. Hypostomus species are what common plecs used to be decades ago, but they've been replaced by the Pterygoplichthys more recently.

Hypostomus plecostomus is the scientific name that was used for what used to be the "Common" plec years ago. This is why Loricariidaes are called plecostomus or plecs. Hypostomus plecostomus is a particluar fish not a Hypostomus sp. pleco. Usually Petco & Petsmart & others like them order "Common" plecs off a price list that simply says exactly what they list Pleco, sm or Pleco, md, etc. So, they often don't know anymore than that.

but how would you know how to take care of them properly? what temperature they like what food etc? wow..scary.... and u'd have to get a 100 gal tank just in case they grew huge!!! and thanks to you both for explaining that.

Usually the only way to know which is which is to actually be acquainted with the species. Most Pterygoplichthys and Hypostomus look very similar, but then again most of the known species aren't captive bred or even commonly imported. You will usually see P. pardalis, P. joselimaianus, P. gibbiceps, and H. plecostomus. Any kind of husbandry notes you may wonder about would be found in the Cat-eLog. I've learned first-hand not to buy a fish on impulse... always research (I'm referring to my "Synodontis longirostris" which was an impulse, but I'm kinda glad it's at least a hybrid... thought I'd never say that!!)
Milton, BTW, the LFS I work at only gets in H. plecostomus and not the Pterygoplichthys sp. (unless they are brought in as a trade). Just in case you ever wanted to get your hands on H. plecostomus HAHAHAHAH!!!
Josh

the petsmart by me will give the latin name if they know it and then the minimum tank size (but I find this to usually be too small) example neons 1 gallon tank. but other then that they will say for example small pleco medium pleco and beginer experienced or advanced ownership. I find Petland in my area to be much better in their knowledge. Also their substrate selection is much better. about 4 differant sizes of gravel. Driftwood. And lots of planets. They asked me what size tank I had when I asked about a "common" pleco. Then I tormented the guy w/ a few other questions and after about 10 minutes he stopped in his tracks and looked at me and said i must be testing him cause after the last question he knew I was not a beginner. Thanks you guys for making me smarter, and for helping me find a new fish guy by knowing what questions to ask.

Yup, it is scary. That's one of those problems you often encounter with pets stores. Just need to do your homework & know all you can about what you're looking at. At least with the internet its now easier to get info. Back when I first started it was trial & error or looking at books that may or may not be correct.

Plecofanatic1989 wrote:Usually the only way to know which is which is to actually be acquainted with the species. Most Pterygoplichthys and Hypostomus look very similar, but then again most of the known species aren't captive bred or even commonly imported. You will usually see P. pardalis, P. joselimaianus, P. gibbiceps, and H. plecostomus. Any kind of husbandry notes you may wonder about would be found in the Cat-eLog. I've learned first-hand not to buy a fish on impulse... always research (I'm referring to my "Synodontis longirostris" which was an impulse, but I'm kinda glad it's at least a hybrid... thought I'd never say that!!)
Milton, BTW, the LFS I work at only gets in H. plecostomus and not the Pterygoplichthys sp. (unless they are brought in as a trade). Just in case you ever wanted to get your hands on H. plecostomus HAHAHAHAH!!!

You know, the Syno I impulsively bought thinking it was a decorus turned out to be a hybrid too.

Not sure I'd actually go out of my way to get a "common plec", lol.

Perhaps "luckily" for the common plecs, they are tolerant and the care is pretty much the same across the board. Sizes might be somewhat different, though.

Going on what SOBERKITTY said, there is a really good LFS near me that deals exclusively in fish. About two months ago I noticed a tank labeled "RARE baby Adonis Plecos... Maximum size 6-9"." I was stunned!!! They usually know what they are talking about, but Acanthicus adonis reach 40" 4X the size posted!! So even really good stores will have misinformation, although they may sell very healthy fish.
As said earlier, ALWAYS research before buying a new fish (part of the reason I'm always here. I want to know ALL the cats just in case the occasion were to arise that I might acquire a new fishy )
Oh and Milton, just thought I'd let you know... there may be a NEED for one one day HAHAHAH!!!
Josh

oh yeah I agree def research prior,

but even if they label them hypostomus plecostomus there is still like 50 of those to pick from on the catagory list here. So how do they get away with being so vague?

I do have one good fish store and they label their plecos.

I love the Leporacanthicus cf. galaxias(l007)

I just feel bad for the plecos at the generic pet stores cause i feel like they will die or have a small house to live in cause the owners will have no idea about them. When I was their the other day they had a ton of them, all wee babies floating in bags in the tanks. i wanted to take them all.

is one species. It is like saying or . You're getting comfused because suckermouth catfish are commonly called plecostomus (which came from the name Hypostomus plecostomus). The first "Commons" that were sold were believed to be Hypostomus plecostomus, so that was what they were listed as. When you went to the store to buy a plec, Hypostomus plecostomus was too much to say so you simply asked for a plecostomus. Thus, the common lingo for a suckermouth catfish was a plecostomus. This was before there were Zebras or Royals or Vampires or anything else, there were simply Hypostomus plecostomus or Plecostomus.

See this thread for some history on the "Common" Hypostomus:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =5&t=22283

ohhh I see, thank you very much Lornek8!

I was confused cause I went to the catalog under Loricariidae then went down to Hypostomus and saw all the sp's. I went right over the Hypostomus plecostomus. Thank you very much.

So the ones at the store are Hypostomus plecostomus and he is one specific pleco. Thank you very much.

Well, I can't say it is truely Hypostomus plecostomus. You see this was what was thought to be the "Common" plec & the name has stuck. Whether or not it truely is Hypostomus plecostomus, another Hypostomus sp, or even another family is the real question. When labeling fish, the fish store often goes by what the distributor lists says, in this case it probably says Pleco, sm (for example). So, when they get the fish in as "pleco, sm" they look in their all-knowing aquarium fish atlas from the 1960's or whatever and there it says the "Common pleco is Hypostomus plecostomus" or something similar so that is what they label it. That's why you see so many mislabeled fish - outdated books and unknowing employess/stores.

So the ones at the store are Hypostomus plecostomus and he is one specific pl*co.

Very unlikely. They are 99.9% sure to be (the common pleco seen in the shops today). These are bred very cheaply in huge numbers from Singapore.

You can tell the difference by the number of dorsal (top) fin rays.

Oh. Well the Pterygoplichthys pardalis is tough looking!! thanks.

next time I see them I will count the rays.

next time I see them I will count the rays.

More than 10 usually indicates Pterygoplichthys.

andywoolloo wrote:How come at Petsmart and Petco and even small fish stores they only put plecostomus then the size next to it , such as sm med larg?

How can we ever know what kind they are and how big they will get? When I scoped it out on line it just says :

Quick Statistics Temperament: Community
Family: Loricariidae
Native To: South America
Diet: Omnivore
Adult Size: Up to 24"
Temperature: 72° - 82°F
Care Level: Easy
Tank Size: 10+ gallons
Scientific Name: Hypostomus plecostomus
Environment: Freshwater

I am not getting one or anything but there is so many out there and none are marked as to what specifically they are? Even if u go by hypostomus there are like alot of those?

The reason is because in the trade, small, medium and large are a subset of the juveniles of the commonly traded sizes actually being based on how many can be possibly stuffed into a shipping box rather than referring to the species potential maximum natural size.

Then they leave it to the retailers' to wrongly explain to the customer that "they will only grow to fit the size of your tank."

very interesting. Thank you all for responding. I think before I ever buy a pleco I will post his picture here and see what he really is!

why do people spell pleco, like this!? "pl*co"

see this : http://www.planetcatfish.com/faq/index. ... opular=yes

hahahahahahahaha