New Plecos in tank

[Orion]

Well, goahead, somebody take a shot at me, I need it.

Had to get rid of a spoted pleco that we had in my 45 and the day after my wife decided that she would surprise me with two new plecos to put into my tank. It was a surprise alright! Now I can not find much information on the two thru the web using the names that were given by my LFS.

One is said to be a hypostomus. The other a yellow plec.

If the one is a hypostomus, what little I could find said that it is basicly a common, just a different name. I dissagree, because the coloration is very different than any common I have seen and it has spots all over it, including on its dorsal fin.

The other I cant find squat on. Some of the pics Ive seen look close to several of the albino species.

I will try and post some pics asap. We are going out of town tommarow for thanksgiving to Ohio, so Im not sure if I will get the chance to do so tonight.

I have tried Planetcatfish.com to no avial. Probably because I am looking for the wrong fish. If anyone could help point me into the right direction I would thank you greatly.

Thanks

 

[wayne]

You need pics, but check under planetc under genus photos for hypostomus.

Some common plecs are hypostomus, but most are really Liposarcus. Common is a bucket term

 

[Lotus]

I guess you will have to post pictures when you can

You might want to check the Hong Kong pleco, which I think is sometimes called the Hong Kong Yellow. I think there's something that's sometimes called a Sunshine pleco, too. I guess it could be an albino anything. The only thing I can think of for the other one is a Chaestoma spp., which I think used to be under the Hypostomus label -- otherwise known as a rubber-lipped pleco. Just some ideas... I know plantetcatfish can be overwhelming when you're trying to ID one.

 

[Orion]

Originally posted by Lotus
Just some ideas... I know plantetcatfish can be overwhelming when you're trying to ID one.

LOL, yeah, just a bit!

As soon as I get my good digi cam back I will post some pics.

I will check the ones both of you have mentioned. At least I can rule out some species, better than nothing.

 

[inline_sk8a]

The "Common" or Spotted Pleco - Hypostomus punctatus

 

[Orion]

heres the best pic I could get right now

 

[Orion]

BTW, this is a pic of the hypostomus, LOL, sorry.

 

[Orion]

Alright guys, need some anatomy help here. The little spiny things along the side from about the pec fins back are called what?

EDIT: It apears that he lacks the spines along the side. Also the pec fins are smooth edged.

Whew, tring to ID these guys looks like it is going to take a while! LOL

 

[pablo111]

It took me 3 months to ID my Banded Peckoltia. (I bought it as a clown pleco, and in 3 months I learned what it was) going from Clown plec, to peckoltia, to banded peckoltia, to the candy striped peckoltias, and finally, discovering it is L134.

Striking name that, L134.

Plecos all have an L designation (I think its cuzz their scientific name is Loricaridae)

and different kinds of plecos inhabit different ranges of it from what I can gather.

If you have 6 hours, go on Google image search and start typing in L001 L002 L003, etc.

I think there's atleast several hundred. Im not trying to be sarcastic. Sorry. This is the best tip I can give ya.

An alternative is to look at the fish, and, if its healthy, and well tempered, and ya like it, stop caring

I had to do that with one of mine cuzz I couldnt figure out what it was- Gourami hybrid of some kind. Drove me nuts. Finally I gave up.

Good luck dude.

The fact that you're this interested to know shows you are a good person who takes good care of his fish. Kudos.

 

[catfishmike]

thats funy cause the body shape looks more like a peckoltia,or one of the ancistris variants.

 

[Lotus]

It looks a little like the L137/L077 on this site http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/mall2.htm

 

[Orion]

CFM- Sorry, it does have the spines, they are just near as pronounced as some of the other species. I did manage to check the peckoltia genus on planetcatfish and did not match any of the pictures shown. The biggest difference was the lack of bands on the tail dorsal, as mine has spots. I will check ancistris tommarow.

Lotus- I tried going to the link you provided and all the pics showed up as the infamous 'X' lol

 

[Lotus]

Try this link http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/hypostomus_species_l137.htm

 

[Orion]

Thanks Lotus, Link worked. But its not him.

Happy Turkey Day Everybody!

 

[wayne]

Have you checked the hypostomus images. I could believe it was, go to planetcat, catelog, genus thumbnails and get to it. - Hypostomus sp7 or 9.
Not all Loricaarids have L numbers, but they are useful usually. There is no way these fish are ever going to get meaningful, consistent common names otherwise.

Most common plecs I see know are Liposarcus - 15 plus rays in the dorsal fin compared to less than 10 for hypostomus.

I don't think it's a peckoltia, it's certainly not an ancistrine.

 

[Lotus]

Something I was reading the other day said there were 166 species of Hypostomus, and IDs have become almost impossible I'll keep looking for plecs that look like yours, though You could try posting on the planetcatfish forum, maybe someone there will recognize him.

 

[Orion]

Wayne- I looked under all of the pics under planetc hypostomus and a few were close but no matches. I will check the rays when ever I can see the dude out long enough to count.

Gee, thanks for the boost of confidence Lotus, your super. LOL jk

I really dont mind to much not being able to positively ID the two guys, I just dont want to get burned by them after keeping them for a couple of years and have them out grow the tank after I get to like them too much.

 

[Lotus]

Is there any way you can find out from the store where Mrs. Orion bought them if they have any more information on them? Sometimes the invoices have a Latin name on them.

 

[catfishmike]

this is the hardest part about id'ing wild fish.the only way to truly tell is by a positive fin ray count and even then it's not a gaurentee.when it's all said and done the best bet is to associate the fish with the ones that most closely match the discription.often you can't make an id because the fish are a color or patten that varies from the holotype of the fish.thats not a bad idea lotus but it's very likely that he will end up with the same anwser

 

[wayne]

It's actually pretty unlikely they'll have a scientific name. I usually find importers/exporters pretty good at identifying fish (though they often [deliberately] get the location wrong), but there are so many plec species floating around that most don't have a scientific name that's anything like valid. Most people will stick at genus, but this is the wholereason for L numbers - it's a way to get some kind of consistent naming till they get scientific names.
As well as fin counts, distribution, and teeth counts and pattern are pretty important for identifying plecs. Get someting a bit wierd and it's not easy. There are 70+ species of ancistrus - which one is your 'bristlenose'?