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Hi all. I'm new but I was hoping that you could help me identify my catfish!

This is my latest addition and was sold simply as "Gibbiceps", but looking at him, I am not so sure. I had a suggestion of L001 - Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus, but wondered if you would be good enough to confirm this for me? If he is, then his name is going to be either Jose or Jota!

This the first cat I bought simply as "Pleco". Again I have had a couple of suggestions on the actual species as Pterygoplichthys punctatus/disjunctivus, but confirmation would be nice!!
Many thanks in advance

First fish is indeed - the "cross" on the eyes is a distinctive feature.

The second I'd say is probably or . is much rarer, and unlikely to be the fish in this case.

Both of these will grow very large - 35-40cm minimum (14-16")

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Mats

The joselimaianus looks severely thin- is it eating OK? I've found "common" plecs (Petrygoplichthys/Hypostomus) to have one of the poorest survival rates in the first week of any tropical fish- if they make the first week they live for many years, but of all the (not very many- five or six during my life) commons I've bought, I've lost two very early on. I suspect they're a bit over-starved prior to shipment as they're a very cheap fish to import, as they're usually captive bred.

kungfuteacher wrote:I had a suggestion of L001 - Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus, but wondered if you would be good enough to confirm this for me? If he is, then his name is going to be either Jose or Jota!

Fun fact: P. joselimaianus was named after a guy named Jose Lima de Figueiredo. ;)

Carp37 wrote:The joselimaianus looks severely thin- is it eating OK? I've found "common" plecs (Petrygoplichthys/Hypostomus) to have one of the poorest survival rates in the first week of any tropical fish- if they make the first week they live for many years, but of all the (not very many- five or six during my life) commons I've bought, I've lost two very early on. I suspect they're a bit over-starved prior to shipment as they're a very cheap fish to import, as they're usually captive bred.

He is brand new, only got him from P@H a couple of days ago. Im keeping a close eye on him, making sure he's getting enough food. If he looks to be struggling at all Im going to move him to a seperate tank for a while until he is bigger and more able to fend for himself! Would you consider this to be a wise move?

P@H, eh? No wonder it looks starved...

[I did write a bit more about them, but I think I'd rather keep my thoughts on Pets at Home to myself...]

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Mats

MatsP wrote:P@H, eh? No wonder it looks starved...

[I did write a bit more about them, but I think I'd rather keep my thoughts on Pets at Home to myself...]

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Mats

We've apparently got a P@H in Sheffield, but I've never even seen it, let alone been in.

Regarding the joselimaianus, the important thing is to get it eating- even flake food or bloodworm. Obviously, long-term it needs a vegetable-based/high-fibre diet, but in my experience it can take over a week for them to "learn" that vegetables are suitable substitutes for algae.

I couldn't leave him there though...he's so handsome and I just had to bring him home knowing that I would probably do better by him than just any P@H customer who would probably dump him in a 20l tank and be done with it!

And yes I do agree that some P@H are questionable! The one I got him from had a poor dead molly in a tank one time I went in, covered in fungus, with another barely alive Molly also covered in fungus and apparently not being treated. Lord only knows whether the rest of that rack survived!

Well I was really pleased last night!

Jose managed to come out at feeding time, and actually stuck up for himself and got quite a good proportion of the food offered!

I've got some cucumber and lettuce to offer, but could you recommend some other veggies that I can offer?

Have a look at my "Feeding plecos" article (link to the right of this post, where it says "Articles(2)").

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Mats

cucumber, zuchinni, mushrooms, sweet bell pepper strips, romaine lettuce (all raw) , mango, papaya. all favs of my common.do not leave the fruit in as long as you do the other. altho mine eats the fruit first always but i am always sure to feed the fruit when i am home at night and can remove when he is done.

omnivore with a bit of protein. sinking hikari algae wafers, sinking spirulina tabs, sinking carnivore and shrimp sticks, sinking earthworm and spirulina sticks. sinking NLS for large fish.

Mostly vegetarian tho with a hint of carnivore is how i do my pardalis

also Mats feeding articles are where i learned how to feed all of mine.

Cheers all!!