Pleco, but what kind?

ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I got this little guy (or girl) from our lfs. The fish guy told me it won't get any bigger than 3-4". I have tried finding it online browsing through pleco breeds but there are so many and I can't seem to find the right one. Maybe one of you knows what kind it is?

Here are the best pictures I could get. It's super small (as you can tell by my finger) so getting pictures are hard to do. It seems kind of skinny to me but it won't eat algea wafers, even when sitting within an inch of them, or cucumber/zuchinni. I have tried moving the algea wafers next to it to try and get it to eat and it'll sit next to it for a bit then move to somewhere else in the tank to look for algea to clean. I am considering taking it out and putting it into a 5 gallon alone to gain some weight. The tank I have it in currently isn't in any direct sunlight so algea doesn't grow in it. Maybe I am just used to my boyfriends 12+" pleco not having a flat belly because it's a pig and steals the green terror food if it's given the chance. Some advice would be great.





 
Kianna

Kianna

New Member
Its hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like a bristlenose baby (BN) and yes he does look a little thin!

Heres an old pic of some of my babies....does he look like this one?



If its a bristlenose and as tiny as he is you could add him to the 5gal as the sole occupant for a few weeks to give him specialize feedings. I would keep the temp up around 78-80 adding even an airstone and do lots of w/c for a week or two. Good clean, warm water will help his growth and appetite. Bristlenose also need wood to rasp on to aid in their digestion. As far as eating.....you could try some vegetables. The little ones really like green beans (french style-no salt added). It's really easy for them when their little. Zucchini is also really good. Just cut it and stab it with a fork so it'll sink. You'll probably need to microwave it a bit since his so small.





Anyway hope that helps some....good luck with the little guy! :)
 
Betty

Betty

Well-Known Member
Staff member
The pictures are a little dark, but by looking at the markings on the body, I'm going to guess that it's what is called rubber lipped or rubber nose or bulldog pleco. (I've seen them labeled as all three and probably more. :roll: )

Here are a couple of pictures of mine for comparison. I bought mine labeled as rubber lip pleco.

IMG_1483.jpg


rubber1.jpg


http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?species=chaetostoma+sp%28l444%29&image_id=1430

And as I usually say when trying to ID fish, I could be wrong. :tongue: It might be a young bristlenose, but I've kept both and the marks on the body of yours look more like lines than spots.
 
Kianna

Kianna

New Member
How you don't mind ShortyKiloGyrl I lightened your photos a bit to see if we could get a better look.









Its still hard to tell but I'm still thinking its a bristlenose by the tail and dorsel. The nose and mouth does kind of look like a rubberlip though! :scratch:
 
ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Now that I hear bulldog I kinda want to say that is what it was labeled as. And it definitely isn't spotted and it's kind of grey blueish(very slight) color. No light colored dots like yours Kianna. And no it's fine you lightened them up. I know they aren't the best pictures.

I'll have to try and catch it and put it in the 5 gallon to get it healthier. I don't want the little cutie to die. But he has had no interest in the zuchinni or cucumber I put in the tank along with vegetable/algea wafers. So I will have to try the green beans.

It is currently kept at a temp of 79 and acts like he's eating algea off the top of that log in the pictures and off the glass. I also have bogwood in the tank as well. Maybe there is a small amount that doens't turn the glass green but enough it gets SOME food. I have had it for about 2-3 months now and I have NO idea how old it is, just know that it's supposed to stay small.
 
ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I made it back to the store and asked the guy I bought him from, it is a bulldog pleco. Now if I can just get him healthier. He's in a smaller tank and the only bottom cleaner. Still kinda skinny, got him his own plant, won't eat it either. uhg. Stubborn. Still alive and doesn't look any worse. Maybe he just has a fast metabolism like me :)
 
F

Fern

New Member
You need to find and algae wafer with probiotics in it. Most of them are wild caught and are run through so many meds that the bacteria and enzymes in their gut that help them digest their food are pretty well wiped out.
No they do not eat plants at all.
 
ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I'll look and see if the algea wafers I have do have the probiotics in it. It just doesn't show interest in them at all. Even when sitting right next to them. Literally. His fin could be touching them and it not suck on it.
 
ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Thanks Fern, I appreciate it. I don't want the poor thing to die. It'll come out at night and scour the glass for food. I just don't think it's getting enough to eat. I'll look into the plant bulb idea and see what I can do there. But where they are at there really isn't anywhere to mount a bulb. The wafers I bought are vegetable outside and algea inside. My fish absolutely LOVE them. Especially the angels, they will eat on them until they look like they are ready to explode and hog them all to themselves. I try not to give them to them too often because of that I don't want them to over eat. But I also want to keep the pleco's in my tanks healthy.
 
F

Fern

New Member
100W daylight screw in florescent bulb in a desk lamp?
Drop in a wafer just before you turn the lights off, thats a good way to be sure your bottomdwellers are getting food.
 
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