Bristlenose pleco...or not?

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lswartz33

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2010
12
0
1
Maine
I've been lurking around the site for awhile, learning as much as I can and envying the amazing setups on here. I recently bought what was labeled as a bristlenose pleco from our LFS, he was still a little one maybe 2".

He has grown a bit over the last couple weeks, but I was hoping to see some bristles appear as he grew a little but have not yet. We went back to the same LFS and saw that the other bristlenose plecos already have quite a few bristles and they aren't quite as long as ours.

So my question's are -

Is this really a bristlenose or did i get another 'soon-to-be-giant' common?

What would those white bumps be on his lip/nose area? He had something that looked similar when we first got him, one white lump on each fin but they went away after a couple days.

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Thanks for the help! I'm guessing this pleco won't top out around 6" as i had hoped :eek:

probably reach the same size as a common?
 
That looks just like him, only bigger. Thanks for the help guys!

On a side note - I had assumed this was a Common Pleco, which is how it was labeled a few years ago when I got him. Positive ID anyone?

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That is a Pterygoplichthys pardalis which has become the new common (there are 3 plecos sold as commons( Hypostomus Plecostomus being the first)).

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=88

Also there is Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus which is the third 'common' pleco out there.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=703

Going back to the first one... also note the name Hypostomus Plecostomus. It is the only Loricariidae with the name Plecostomus meaning it is truely the only one that is a Pleco. All the rest just got tagged with the word pleco as a nickname.
 
Thanks warborg, the info/pics from those links look to be exactly what I have been looking for!

thanks again everyone! :headbang2
 
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