Joe V Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Do I have a common Pleco and do they really grow up to 24 inches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 4 minutes ago, Joe V said: Do I have a common Pleco and do they really grow up to 24 inches? It might take years, but yes they do 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Was it sold to you as a common Pleco? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, BlackLabelCarling said: Was it sold to you as a common Pleco? Me? If so, then no. That photo is from the internet and I don't own any common plecos (for a good reason 😅). Commom plecos are, however, native to where I live, so I have seen them grow to an anormous size Edited October 1, 2020 by gcalberto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe V Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 i asked for a pleco not knowing any better, but he/she is growing pretty quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 1 minute ago, gcalberto said: Me? If so, then no. That photo is from the internet and I don't own any common plecos (for a good reason 😅). Commom plecos are, however, native to where I live, so I have seen them grow to an anormous size Oh sorry I was asking @Joe V I should've used proper forum etiquette! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Just now, Joe V said: i asked for a pleco not knowing any better, but he/she is growing pretty quickly Yours sure look like a common Pleco (Pterygoplichthys pardalis), but then again, it's really hard to correctly identify pleco species Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I'm with @gcalberto although I am not a pleco wizard. Personally, I would return it to wherever you purchased it and not shop there again if it is in fact a common pleco. It's irresponsible of a vendor to sell a fish like that without telling you what to expect. IMHO they shouldn't really be in the hobby especially now that they are an invasive species in certain locations because people offload them in streams and lakes when they get too big. The resident common pleco at my LFS has carved trenches in the acrylic of his 800 gallon tank just sucking on it! I'm in a similar boat I've got 8 plecos right now that are supposed to be a smaller subspecies of the Ranger Pleco (which reaches a foot), however I am beginning to think that I've got half minis and half standard Rangers. Unfortunately fisherman have a hard time distinguishing between the two when they are babies....they are becoming little monsters! That sure is a pretty pleco though! Make sure post updates of what happens with him/her. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Joe, that does look a lot like a baby common or sailfin (both of which get well over 2') but it's difficult to tell from the 1 picture/angle shown. Growth rate is a much bigger indicator. If it doubles in size in a short period of time then it's one of the very large varieties. I don't know of any of the smaller varieties that explode to full adult size and then stop. In my experience, the smaller plecos grow very slowly, I have baby rubber lips that went from 1" to 1.5" in 18 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe V Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) @BlackLabelCarling wow those are nice. He is growing very quickly. The banana plant is cool too and the cory hiding behind it. Next water change I will try to get a better picture. He is growing very quickly. I was reading somewhere that only one pleco can be kept in a tank. Is that true? Edited October 1, 2020 by Joe V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestJenn Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Mr. Ed's Aquatics said: I don't know of any of the smaller varieties that explode to full adult size and then stop. In my experience, the smaller plecos grow very slowly, I have baby rubber lips that went from 1" to 1.5" in 18 months. It's worth mentioning that the ancistrus species of catfish that a lot of people call plecos do grow quickly when young. We bought my little Rio Ucayali bristlenose when she was about a 1.5 inches long in late June / early July. She's easily doubled in size since then but has slowed down recently. Our really little long fin green dragons are growing more slowly but it definitely seems to happen in spurts. Edited October 1, 2020 by ForestJenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Just now, Joe V said: @BlackLabelCarling wow those are nice. Next water change I will try to get a better picture. He is growing very quickly. The banana plant is cool too and the cory hiding behind it. I was reading somewhere that only one pleco can be kept in a tank. Is that true? Depends on what kinds of pleco and what gender. Like 2 male sailfins would battle for territory but a male and female bristlenose would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 3 minutes ago, ForestJenn said: It's worth mentioning that the ancistrus species of catfish that a lot of people call plecos do grow quickly when young. We bought my little Rio Ucayali bristlenose when she was about a 1.5 inches long. She's easily doubled in size since then but has slowed down recently. Our really little long fin green dragons are growing more slowly but it definitely seems to happen in spurts. I mean more like this... sold as a 1.5" clown, 6 months later its 7-8" (fast growth rate) sold as a 1.5" bristlenose, 6 months later its 3" (slow growth rate). In this situation, probably didn't get a clown based on growth rate but you did get a bristlenose. Honestly, if you keep both you should notice a difference. Commons put on size quickly and with out stopping. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Joe V said: @BlackLabelCarling wow those are nice. He is growing very quickly. The banana plant is cool too and the cory hiding behind it. Next water change I will try to get a better picture. He is growing very quickly. I was reading somewhere that only one pleco can be kept in a tank. Is that true? Banana plant brought to you by the Co-Op! I would assume that it depends on the pleco, they can be territorial. I have one (I'm assuming male) who has claimed the coconut as his and nobody is allowed inside. The tank pictured above has 6 juveniles and so far they are cohabitating just fine. My concern for the future is more due to their bio load. The current set-up is not sustainable long-term and my plan is to try to breed the group that I have (there are 4 more in another tank), but that is dependent on where they top out size wise. The New Ranger Pleco which is an unidentified species but is suppose to stay under 7" is predominantly wild caught and if I could breed them and get them into the hobby it could help cutdown on the number of full size Rangers being sold as the smaller New Ranger at LFSs because they are identical as babies....side note: baby plecos are the cutest. Edited October 1, 2020 by BlackLabelCarling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I love the aquarium fork 🙂 I eventually bought a weight with a clip designed for fish tanks.... still like the fork better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 16 minutes ago, Mr. Ed's Aquatics said: I love the aquarium fork 🙂 I eventually bought a weight with a clip designed for fish tanks.... still like the fork better. The fork brings a level of sophistication to the aquarium that a pleco feeder just can't match 🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe V Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 I went ahead and fish'd him out. He is about 5 inchs but looks bigger to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d23perry Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Um, looks like a common plecostomus to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 I'm still not convinced, there are so many plecos that have similar markings as juveniles that pattern is perfect camouflage in shallow waters. How many rays does he have? @Dean’s Fishroom do you have any input on this Pleco puzzle? Plecos are so confusing?! 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 10 hours ago, Joe V said: I went ahead and fish'd him out. He is about 5 inchs but looks bigger to me. Pretty sure that's not a Commom pleco. They don't have dorsal fins nearly as big as that one. I don't know what pleco that is though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackLabelCarling Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 @gcalberto I agree. If not a common, what? We've got a mystery on our hands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 (edited) 51 minutes ago, BlackLabelCarling said: @gcalberto I agree. If not a common, what? We've got a mystery on our hands! Looks a lot like a juvenile Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps. I am by no means a pleco expert, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. This pleco doesn't get as big as the common Pleco, but it's still huge and can get to almost 18 inches. If you want a more experienced view, try posting in the planet catfish forum. They have a session dedicated to pleco identification. That's a photo taken from the internet of a young Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps: Edited October 2, 2020 by gcalberto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted October 7, 2020 Share Posted October 7, 2020 On 10/1/2020 at 9:15 PM, BlackLabelCarling said: I'm still not convinced, there are so many plecos that have similar markings as juveniles that pattern is perfect camouflage in shallow waters. How many rays does he have? @Dean’s Fishroom do you have any input on this Pleco puzzle? Plecos are so confusing?! 🤣 To me that looks like a common Amazon river pleco. When they get to 12-16 inches they are used in pleco soup, a very common meal for folks that live along the Amazon river. With their high dorsal fin they are a pretty striking fish, but they do grow pretty large and eat and poop alot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe V Posted October 7, 2020 Author Share Posted October 7, 2020 Well i dont think i will be making soup 😁. I am planning on making a pond in the future. I am guessing he would be okay in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe V Posted October 7, 2020 Author Share Posted October 7, 2020 Here he is cleaning up a plastic plant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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