I have been looking for a sailfin pleco since seeing a pic years ago in a book of fish species. the book claimed this fish is becoming more common in stores but every place I check they dont seem to know what I'm talking about. a few months ago while buying crickets at petsmart I saw what they call a spotted hi-fin pleco, it looked alot like a common hypostimus but lighter tan with bigger spots. I assumed it was just a color variation or that the spots would probably fade as it grew but bought it anyway because my smaller(way more expensive plecos) dont eat much algea. since then the pleco has doubled in size. the spots are just as prominant as before and I swear its starting to get a slight purple tinge to it. the bigger this pleco gets the more it looks like the pic of the sailfin pleco, could this be petsmarts version of a sailfin or even the same fish. I have googled "SPOTTED HI-FIN PLECO" and never found any info. any help?
