Name that pleco!!

[bassbonediva]

So, I got a new pleco for the 45gal. It's the tiny one I asked about in the bottomfeeders forum. I took pics of him when I got home so maybe someone on here can help me identify what species I have? *thumbsups His name is Alistar, by the way. And I apologize for these not being great pics...he was a hard little bugger to photograph!

Drumroll, please!! *DRUMMER*
(The last pic is to give you an idea of how absolutely TINY he is! He's about the length of one of the joints on my finger...so about an inch, maybe a tiny bit longer)

 

[Newman]

woah! not a pleco (would be my gut reaction. needs to have a sucker mouth to be a pleco)
maybe a type of synodontis? synodontis decorus? surely thats just a fry though lol. they grow much bigger.

see what others think 'bout this little guy

 

[bassbonediva]

He's got a sucker mouth, you just can't see it very well 'cuz he was such a hard little bugger to take a pic of. And wow, no, definitely not the synodontis decorus. Not even close. His coloring is way different. His spots are more white/cream on brown and smaller (not even quite spots, either, just a spot-ish pattern...I know that doesn't make much sense), and his tank is barred vertically, as is his dorsal fin. I took 18 pics of the guy and those are the only three that even came close to turning out.

 

[kenny1tothe6]

Synodontis Nigriventris???

 

[Newman]

darn with those pics id still say some specie of synodontis lol. upsidedown cat?

sorry cant take a good guess cuz cant see him very well, just an overall body plan. cant even see the sucker mouth, just the two protruding whiskers that look suspiciously anti-pleco (if that makes sense)

Sinodontis multipunctatus? lace synodontis? Synodontis nigriventris ? synodontis petricola?

check this page out, maybe it can give you a match?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/genus.php?genus_id=29#350

 

[bassbonediva]

Okay, that actually looks a lot like him. Except he doesn't have as many barbles (he's just got the two that I can see). But that could be because he's young still? Upside down cats aren't algae eaters, are they?

 

[kenny1tothe6]

No, but they are like Cory Cats...very friendly & peaceful scavengers.

The one in the 55 is really affectionate, since losing his friends, he pays more attention to accidentally stabbing my arm by continuously swimming around it and me moving it quickly. lol

 

[Newman]

unleash him into a tank and see his behaviour. idk if they dont swim upsidedown when theyre young, but eventually this little guy should if hes an upsidedown cat lol.

 

[bassbonediva]

Do they actually swim upside down all the time? 'Cuz he seems to be just swimming normal/hanging on the side of the tank. Oh well, he's cute and they don't grow too huge, so I guess he's staying!

 

[Newman]

lol congrads on your new cat...fish!
as he gets older im guessing he'll be doing it more and more.

 

[bassbonediva]

We shall see. He is absolutely adorable, though. Yeah, I'm a total girl...I say fish are adorable. From what I've seen on the sites I've looked up on them, they don't get much bigger than 3-3.5", which is just barely bigger than my girls, so that'll be good. Kinda irritating that they're so nocturnal (even though I rarely see my otos...but that's probably partially 'cuz they're in such a small group). I wanted something that would be visible. :/ Oh well.

 

[kenny1tothe6]

Mine basically stays under the filter or the driftwood ledge but my now deceased S. Eupterus [which I seriously hope you don't have!] clung to the side of the Green Ozealot Sword's pot...

 

[bassbonediva]

Mine basically stays under the filter or the driftwood ledge but my now deceased S. Eupterus [which I seriously hope you don't have!] clung to the side of the Green Ozealot Sword's pot...

Nope, Alistar looks absolutely NOTHING like that. We're going with S. Nigriventris. I have a big rock cave in the middle of the tank that he'll probably end up hanging out in with my otos, if the girls don't kick him out (which they haven't kicked out the otos so far, so....) And now that I'm pretty sure he's an upside down cat, how much do those usually cost in LFS's? 'Cuz if it's less than $4 then I got SCREWED big time!

 

[Newman]

rofl, id say thats a fair price for one at a big chain lfs. but what they gave you was a fry ... o_o

 

[bassbonediva]

Yeah, they sold him to me as a small pleco (the guy said he ordered small plecos and Alistar and his friends are what came...then again, this is Walmart we're talking about...). I looked it up online and a regular-sized adult is like $7.50 or so ($8.99 at Petco). So I guess it wasn't too bad of a deal.

 

[kenny1tothe6]

I paid $21/3...so they were 7 bucks ea.

Really, I would recommend you get two more! They are quite cute in small groups!

I'm thinking now, about S. Petricola too since they stay @ 4" as well, but a bit more expensive[10$ ea.]...

 

[bassbonediva]

If I had the funds, I would get more. Hopefully something will happen and I'll have some extra money soon.

 

[sparky0413]

Does your pleco have blue fins ??hes beautiful ! and he has his own car? I see it parked inside his tank LOL !! thats a cute shot, it looks like he has a car parked next to him ! *twirlysmi. He looks he should be called ICEMAN.because of his ice blue color.

Anyway, heres a pic of MY Pleco, his name is HOOVER. (because of his obvious suction capabilities )lol !*GOLDFISH* Hes brown and looks like a dinosaur with fins , with a large razor back type fin..and wide fins on the side ! If I uploaded this correctly--heres a pic of him..

 

[Doomhed]

sparky has a BEAUTIFUL sailfin leopard pleco (formerly called a Talbot's Pleco), a male from my guesstimate (shorter, streamlined body). Get him a mate, name her Eureka, throw them in a 55-75 with a buncha driftwood and start a family!

Your little friend is totally an upside down catfish. It is actually one with the wild coloration instead of the more common silvery pet store coloration. I would tell you to go grab another 2-3 at $4 each! When they mature they flip overnight. You might think they all died, sometimes it takes a few minutes for them to wake up when you turn the tank lights on, since their eyes are under their bodies.

 

[bassbonediva]

Does your pleco have blue fins ??hes beautiful ! and he has his own car? I see it parked inside his tank LOL !! thats a cute shot, it looks like he has a car parked next to him ! *twirlysmi. He looks he should be called ICEMAN.because of his ice blue color.

Anyway, heres a pic of MY Pleco, his name is HOOVER. (because of his obvious suction capabilities )lol !*GOLDFISH* Hes brown and looks like a dinosaur with fins , with a large razor back type fin..and wide fins on the side ! If I uploaded this correctly--heres a pic of him..

No, the fish in my profile pic is one of my 15 bettas. His name is Edward and that is his Volvo C30 (yes, he's named after Edward from Twilight). He "posed" in front of his Volvo just for that pic (thought it was hilarious...so much so, in fact, that I could barely take the pic I was laughing so hard *laughingc ).

And as I said, if I had the money, I would go get a couple more of them. They've been there for at least a week, going on two, and the guy said that the one they sold me is the only one they've sold. I'm gonna try to get a couple of more in the next few days...if I can swing it.