Help with Pleco ID

[Perry]

Good evening all,

Anyone able to help me identify the type of pleco in the attached photo? In case it's helpful, what I know about the fish is that it's 3 - 5 years old and is currently 6 inches long. It enjoys algae wafers and veggies and is also happy to clean up pellets, flakes and frozen foods that make it to the bottom. Additionally it very much enjoys chewing on the driftwood and leaf litter in the tank.

The fish was sold to someone else at a small town fish/pet store (that has since closed) as an algae eater for a 10 gal tank. It now lives in my 29 gallon planted tank with 18 neon tetras and a bunch of cherry shrimp. I am curious to know what type it is but my main interest is to know whether I can assume it's full grown. I know there are some plecos that get huge and obviously if this one gets any bigger it won't be comfortable in my tank. It's been with me for a little over 2 years and has roughly doubled in size. 

Based on the information I've found on the internet I think I understand that a common pleco would have grown very quickly and would already be bigger than this (fingers crossed that's true). However, I see that there are other types that might end up being 10 or 12 inches long and I haven't been able to find definite information as to how quickly they grow. Most of the time I feel confident that this one has finished growing but I'd feel better if I knew for sure.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any input you folks might have for me. 

Thank you!

 

[CorydorasEthan]

11 minutes ago, Perry said:

Good evening all,

Anyone able to help me identify the type of pleco in the attached photo? In case it's helpful, what I know about the fish is that it's 3 - 5 years old and is currently 6 inches long. It enjoys algae wafers and veggies and is also happy to clean up pellets, flakes and frozen foods that make it to the bottom. Additionally it very much enjoys chewing on the driftwood and leaf litter in the tank.

The fish was sold to someone else at a small town fish/pet store (that has since closed) as an algae eater for a 10 gal tank. It now lives in my 29 gallon planted tank with 18 neon tetras and a bunch of cherry shrimp. I am curious to know what type it is but my main interest is to know whether I can assume it's full grown. I know there are some plecos that get huge and obviously if this one gets any bigger it won't be comfortable in my tank. It's been with me for a little over 2 years and has roughly doubled in size. 

Based on the information I've found on the internet I think I understand that a common pleco would have grown very quickly and would already be bigger than this (fingers crossed that's true). However, I see that there are other types that might end up being 10 or 12 inches long and I haven't been able to find definite information as to how quickly they grow. Most of the time I feel confident that this one has finished growing but I'd feel better if I knew for sure.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any input you folks might have for me. 

Thank you!

 

Unfortunately, I think that this may be a common pleco (Hypostomus plecostomus). It could be another fish within the genus Hypostomus or possibly Pterygoplichthys (like the sailfin pleco), but I think it is the common pleco.

[Colu]

10 minutes ago, CorydorasEthan said:

Unfortunately, I think that this may be a common pleco (Hypostomus plecostomus). It could be another fish within the genus Hypostomus or possibly Pterygoplichthys (like the sailfin pleco), but I think it is the common pleco.

I agree looks like a common pleco

[Perry]

Thank you. Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear but I appreciate the feedback.