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I am new to having an aquarium and having any fish at all and I recently bought a new pleco from the LPS and it was sold under the name Flash Pleco, but I am pretty sure it isn't a Flash Pleco. Could someone please let me know what they actually sold me is? Pictures aren't that great, but better than nothing.

Def not a flash pleco!! L204 flash pleco looks like so

*** not my picture .... Picture belongs to a friend of mine***

It is not uncommon for these to be mislabeled by local LFS. This one looks like a Hypan, an L129 I believe.

I know for sure it's not a l-129. I think we should give it some time since it was probably wild cuaght and hasn't completely adjusted to tank life.

How much time should we give it to get used to the tank? I know my tank is cycled with Ammonia=0 Nitrite=0 Nitrate=0. I put the pleco in long after the huge ammonia spike then the Nitrite spike and then the Nitrate spike. After plenty of 20% to 25% water changes for a few weeks, the water is great. Like I mentioned earlier though, I am very new to this gig. If it isn't the L129, what are the various other species that it could be? Also, I have had the tank for almost four months, it has driftwood, rocks, and live plants. I put algae wafers, shrimp wafers, cucumber and all, but this unknown pleco is not eating anything and its stomach is concave. I am worried about it on top of wondering what type of species it is. My other fish are doing great. 6 long-fin zebra danios, 4 albino cories, and then the unidentified pleco in a 29 gallon tank. Fish are not even close to full grown yet. Thank you for everyone's feedback and please send some more.

*could it be a clown pleco?

I think it looks more like (=L129) than a clown pleco (). The size of the eyes and the pattern make me think this. @FishnFins, could you explain why you are certain it is not L129?
If it is indeed a Hypancistrus, then it will require a meaty diet: frozen bloodworms, sinking pellets, that kind of thing. It won't touch veggies. Click on the purple name above to read more on care requirements. Feed it at night when the lights are off. It'll feel most at ease in the dark and will have the least competition from other fish. You can try to get it used to feeding during the day once it is in better condition. Be careful not to overfeed.

"@FishnFins, could you explain why you are certain it is not L129?"

After looking closer at my stock and other pictures online, I came to the conclusion that this is most likely a L129. Now I just hope the OP knows its needs. Also in the future try to do some research instead of just going to the lfs and buying a pleco. Sorry if that came off rude it wasn't intended to be.

I have l129 columbian zebras , 5 of them and this is definitly not a L129 .... Do you have any other more clear pictures ? And do you have a length from head to start of tail?

Unfortunately I can't take a clearer picture. Here are a few more however. It is roughly 2.5 inches from head to tail. Definitely should have researched first.

Couple pics of my l129 for reference.....yours has white lines mine has yellowish ones

@idahospud22
The Hypan in question doesn't look too well. It looks really stressed and frail. Normally, it won't be this easy to photograph this Hypan. Are there hiding places? I'd closely monitor if its been eating and breathing pretty fast. Is the belly sunken? Eyes look a bit sunken to me. Regardless of which specie it is, I hope your Hypan does well in your tank.

I agree, it doesn't matter at this point the species, which I think is l454. I have plenty of places for the pleco to hide, such as caves. I know he is sick and stressed and has been since the day after I got him. The other fish ( 5 zebra danios and 4 Cory.s) are doing great. Water levels are normal and safe according to three LFS checking and when I check. I have tried every kind of food possible for him to eat and he won't touch them. And yes I understand he mostly likes meat and I have tried feeding various shrimp, blood worms meaty pellets and so on. I know some are upset with me for buying it without researching, but I can tell you I haven't bought any fish yet without knowing or feeling that my tank is safe. So I did not purposefully buy it knowing it would end up struggling. Anyway, harm is done, how can I fix it.

What ever he is, he's cute !!, I just hope he's going to be okay....good luck


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Do you have the Repashy gel in 'meat pie' flavour? even my pickiest fish who need a meaty diet couldn't resist that and they've taken to it more than other foods I've offered. I've also seen them grazing on the 'soilent green' flavour as well on occasion.

The fish in question is Hypancistrus debilittera (L129) or Columbian zebra.

I agree that the fish is not looking too happy and that is resulting in the washed out color. If it survives and starts to regain it's health it will begin to look more like the L129 reference photos. White vs. yellow only works if you are looking at the fish under the same lighting. A different fluorescent lamp or a change in the white balance of the camera can make the coloration very different.

Columbian zebras are fairly commonly sold in retail stores (you can find them in Petsmart) and are exported by the thousands. L454 looks very similar but is a smaller and fairly rare fish. It would not be likely to be found in a pet store.

Andy

I think your best bet may be an H tank and the right med. If this is a wild caught fish which is not all that long in country, I would bet on internal parasites and or worms. It looked a bit sunken in the pic but I have old eyes. But if it looks obviously underweight and even worse, I would suggest trying Fludendazole or another good internal parasite med that need not be fed. There is no guarantee that I am right in this suggestion nor that, if I am, it will cure what ails the fish. usually the sooner one catches this sort of problem the easier it is to effect a cure. Have a read here: http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/FlubendazoleTreatment.pdf
Dr. Harrison, the author of that article, sells Flubendazole here, which is where I buy mine:http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/

The other likely option is some type of bacterial issue and it needs antibiotics. But I have found that is less likely in wild fish. If going this route and not being sure of what you are up against, I would suggest look for a broad spectrum antibiotic that does not need to be ingested.

Good luck with it. And anybody out there who can answer on a firmer footing. please do so as I am making my best guess here.