[Emlou81]

Evening all. As per title not only am i new to the site but also new to fish keeping. Have inherited a 60l tank primarily for sons birthday present (he's 2 and loves them.) i was told than the pleco was bristle nose but am now doubting this, having looked at images and also the lack of bristle. . . . If i upload an image albeit not a great quality one, is there some one who could perhaps help me out? Thanks in advance. Emma
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[Emlou81]

pics of unknown pleco

 

[Emlou81]

can anyone help?

 

[willow]

hello and warm welcome to you :-D
...he's not a bristle nose...looks more to me like the potential
to be a large plec ..in which case he's going to get very big,
you could ask you LFS(local fish store) if they will take him for you,
they may give you a credit note. i think you have some good stores in Essex
don't you ?

 

[Emlou81]

hello and warm welcome to you :-D
...he's not a bristle nose...looks more to me like the potential
to be a large plec ..in which case he's going to get very big,
you could ask you LFS(local fish store) if they will take him for you,
they may give you a credit note. i think you , some good stores in Essex
don't you ?

Thank you for this, that was my fear the poor fella, I already gave the LFS 10 mollies as the tank was heavily overstocked (in my opinion and I am certainly no expert) My son loves the plecs, will a brstlenose be ok in 60l, there is also 2 neon tetras, 3 corys, 3 cherry barbs and 3 mollies. What a shame. Really appreciate the reply as need all the help I can get!

 

[Emlou81]

Forgot to say he's currently appx 4" and appx 18months old

 

[willow]

hi
you're very welcome.
bristle nose would be fine,and wouldn't grow much bigger i think 5 in max,
the females can have bristles,but not as many,mine never did,the one i have now
is to young yet to tell,i would love a pair:-D

welcome to your son too :wave:

under my name you should see aquariums..click on that,and you'll see the plec i had lol
infact i had two..shrek and fiona lol

 

[Emlou81]

They are lovely! Seriously wish I had the space for a larger tank then i'd keep the pleco as think he's great, he doesn't look dissimilar to yours. It's so frustrating that he was sold in the first place although I imagine the fish shop assume you know your tank limits?

We were going to get my son goldfish, but after many hours and late nights researching we went for the tropical and really glad we did. We sit for ages just watching them, far better than hours of reality tv!

 

[willow]

i'm rebuilding,my newest tank (i have a post somewhere)
bought this one off ebay,so starting a fresh almost.
:squint: are you sure you need a sofa ? :lol:

 

[Emlou81]

funny you should say that, we removed one of our sofa's to make room for the tank, we don't get many visitors anyway!

 

[willow]

how big is your tank ? i don't think you did a full tank shot ?

 

[Emlou81]

how big is your tank ? i don't think you did a full tank shot ?

Hi willow, only just seen this message, am still getting used to the navigation of the website . . .

My tank is only 60 litres, have spoken to a friend who has a much bigger tank I think it's 200+ and he's going to take the plec for me.

 

[Captain Jim Dandy]

Greetings from America..I must say..you show a very good sense of good fishkeeping already. Many insist on bad decision no matter what people tell them..stick with Willow..she has respect for keeping and in general.

 

[willow]

thank you,what a lovely thing to say. :-D

 

[Emlou81]

Greetings from America..I must say..you show a very good sense of good fishkeeping already. Many insist on bad decision no matter what people tell them..stick with Willow..she has respect for keeping and in general.

Thank you and yes Willow has already been a great help. Common Plec due to be moved on Monday will enq re a Bristle nose soon as I love the pleco's!

 

[keepsmiling]

I don't think that is a common pleco. I have a site to look him up and get an idea what he may be.I will go take a look. And welcome to the site. I second Willow's advice!

 

[keepsmiling]

He looks somewhat like an L083, common name-sailfin pleco, it depends on the number of rays in his dorsal. Still looking to be sure. There are many many, and the difference is subtle between some.
Here is an excerpt
Pterygoplichthys can be identified by the number of rays in the dorsal fin. More than 10 indicates that it's a Pterygoplichthys. Most other plecos have 8 or fewer rays (in particular the larger Hypostomus species that are most likely to be confused with Pterygoplichthys).

 

[keepsmiling]

Can you get a clearer photo, a side shot maybe? I still agree he will get too big for this tank. A better option is some corydoras, or otocinclus cats. I love the albino long finned bristle noses, they are awesome and become quite beautiful.

 

[Romad]

Just want to say hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

I had to give up a common pleco that was sold to me as part of my first setup. He quickly outgrew the tank and I hated to hand him off but he went to a much larger more suitable tank just like yours will.

A pat on the back to you for doing the right thing :thumbsup:

 

[keepsmiling]

I posted and asked the question, and got a reply. I guessed right.
The scientific name is: Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps
Common name:L083,L165,Sailfin Pleco
AKA Ancistrus Gibbiceps
Size..ready for this...wow a whopping 17-22"
This fish is an omnivore, so make sure he is getting some meaty preparations as well as algae foods.