Pleco ID - 10/22/2006
Please help! About a week ago I went into my local fish store to get a Pleco
for my 7.5 gallon freshwater tank. The guy at the store pointed out these cute
little algae eaters that he called butterfly Plecos. He said they would be good
for a small tank because they are a dwarf species. My little fish does not seem
to be very interested in algae so, I went online to do some research. All of the
pictures I found of butterfly Plecos look nothing like my little guy! Can you
please tell me what kind of fish this is so I can take care of him properly?
Thank you so much for your help!
Jennifer
<Hard to say from that picture. But it looks like a Peppermint Pleco. It could
also be a female Bristlenose. For a better ID we would need a good profile shot
of him/her flat on the bottom. A raised dorsal fin would also help. Don>
Re: butterfly Pleco? Now a Hillstream Loach 10/24/06
> Please help! About a week ago I went into my local fish store to get a
Pleco for my 7.5 gallon freshwater tank. The guy at the store pointed out
these cute little algae eaters that he called butterfly pleco's. He said
they would be good for a small tank because they are a dwarf species. My
little fish does not seem to be very interested in algae so,
> I went online to do some research. All of the pictures I found of
butterfly pleco's look nothing like my little guy! Can you please tell me
what kind of fish this is so I can take care of him properly? Thank you so
much for your help!
> Jennifer
> <Hard to say from that picture. But it looks like a Peppermint Pleco. It
could also be a female Bristlenose. For a better ID we would need a good
profile shot of him/her flat on the bottom. A raised dorsal fin would also
help. Don>
...Thank you for your response! I continued looking for information online
yesterday and I came across a page about loaches. I'm 98% sure that my fish
is a spotted hillstream loach.
<Ahh!>
I have him in with two Bala sharks and a dwarf gouramis. Temp is about 80
which I think might be a little high for him
<Yes>
but, I don't want to go to cool for my other fish.
<An example of/for the need to research before purchasing...>
I put an airstone in the tank and added a medium sized rock. Do you think
that will be sufficient for him? (or her) Thank you!
Jennifer
<Mmm... Homalopterids need cool, highly oxygenated water... they are further
very often lost due to not being able to compete in tropical fish aquarium
settings. Bob Fenner>
Corydoras Breeding and Pleco Info - 02/16/2006
Hi to all the crew at WWM. Thank you especially Mr. Bob Fenner for your
advice on the swimming behaviour of my Mochokids. I just have a few other
questions please. One of my bronze Corydoras has deposited about 70 eggs on
the aquarium glass, will they be safe in the community tank or should I
transfer them to the smaller quarantine tank that we have on permanent
standby. If so how do I go about moving them safely?
< The eggs are best in their own tank. Scape them off the glass with a
single edged razor blade. Be sure to use water from the original tank. Add
an antifungicide too.>
Also I would like to acquire a lemon spotted green Pleco but am not sure if
my tank is big enough (4ft) as I have heard some Pleco can grow to approx 18
inches is this the case with the lemon spotted green Pleco. Thank you. Ann
< Go to planetcatfish.com and find the Pleco you are looking for. Common
names sometimes mean different fish in different parts of the country. This
is a great website that can tell you everything you need to know about your
Pleco. The trick will be to match up the photos with the exact Pleco you
have in mind.-Chuck>
Gold Nugget of Info 9/26/05
Thanks for all the information you've given me. I would have gone crazy with
out you guys.
Ok here's the question. Actually my Pleco is not a common Pleco. Is it a Gold
Nugget Pleco. And they say they get up to only 6 inches not 12 like you said.
Could I keep it in a tank with a Green Terror and a pair of Convicts. (55 Gallon
Tank) And could I add a Snowflake eel to the tank?
Thanks a LOT
<There are at least two, maybe three, species of Gold Nugget Pleco. The smaller
does max out around five or six inches. The largest, and most common, can go
about a foot. The problem is they are very hard to tell apart when young.
Collection location is needed to be sure. These plecs are aggressive towards
other bottom fish. No problem with him attacking the cichlids. But I'm not so
sure about housing anything with a pair of Convicts. They are very aggressive
when they spawn. Don>
Un-identified Pleco
I have recently gone to my LFS. I saw a charming little Pleco called a
"candy stripe Pleco". I thought this would be a charming specimen for 30 gallon
tank. Though I have not found any matches for the name and I think the name is
false. Also how big does this fish get, and will he get along with my 3 inch red
tail.....
Also I only have those 2 fish in that aquarium. I want to add Anubias and
java ferns and make it a "Amazon tank." I was wondering what type of Amazonian
fish would you recommend for my aquarium. i.e. Neons tetras, maybe also making
this plant heavily planted...maybe adding a co2 injector for it. please help my
set this aquarium up
>> First off, try to check
http://www.planetcatfish.com to see what type of Pleco you have seen.
Common names are so varied, it is better if you find a scientific name or if
there is none the L-number (check that website for the L-number resource, it has
tons of pictures). You write red tail. If you mean shark, yes, no problem. If
you mean red tail catfish it is a problem as he will eat anything he finds - and
eventually your cat. You can make it a planted tank without too much trouble.
The Amazon itself has few plants in it, and Anubias is from Africa, while Java
Ferns are from Indonesia as the name implies. For those plants you will not
need CO2 injection. Assuming you have a red tail shark you could add larger
tetras (*even a shark may go after Neons), dwarf cichlids and perhaps some
Corydoras. Good Luck, Oliver
Which Plec have I got?
Many thanks for your advice regarding medications. However, I'm now a little
confused about the Plec that I thought I had bought, the Aquarian centre I
bought my fish from had them listed as Ruby Plecostomus, I don't have a picture
but he was around 2" long & a very attractive black leopard type marking on a
rosy gold background. I was informed that he would be quite
happy in a tropical or coldwater tank, providing he was floated to acclimatize.
I can't seem to find any information on the particular Plec I had if he was a
Plec but just wondered if there were any that were coldwater or have I been
misinformed?
>> Some Plecos can handle cooler temperatures, but without knowing what kind of
Pleco you have it is impossible to tell - there are well over 400 species of
Loricariids (commonly called Plecos). Try
http://www.planetcatfish.com to Identify your species. I have never heard
the name ruby Pleco. Good Luck, Oliver
