I got a free pleco. ID it plz

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Well i guess every1 says it is regular. Here is a pic with my Known regular next to the new one. And some shots of the other type of pleco I have in the tank. The new ones colors are just too diff from the regular one

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i was thinking it looks like a sailfin....but the snout does look irregular, some type of deformation?
 
I have your fish's twin. But mine is smaller. Yes the nose is snubbed. It has an odd habit of standing on it's face. I thought it was was a case of self nose abuse.
I think they are sailfin plecos. Mine doesn't seem to clean the glass. It doesn't even try. It's mouth seems misshapen as well. ( maybe part of the squished nose syndrome.) Whatever it is, you are not alone. I love plecos
 
Yes the one on the left is a sailfin. I have 2 of them. The one in the mid is my common pleco. The one on the right is my new one. I have never seen him stand on his nose but he dose clean the glass, but when he dose this his 1/2 his lips curls up into his mouth
 
yes, Mine has the lip problem also. It can't get a good tight seal. It's lips keep giving way to the vacuming?
 
Gr8KarmaSF said:
Looks like a common one to me, thou that redtail cat in the background might call it lunch instead.
I feel the same way common pleco! :D
 
Pterygolichthys gibbiceps
http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/g_gibbiceps.htm

Often mixed in with Common plecos. This pleco is also called a Marble Sailfin Pleco. They are very hard to identify and distinguish between Hypostomus when they are farmed at the 1-2" range. They are nearly as common, but usually demand a higher price because of the ornate pattern. Often people have no idea what it is, and assume it is a common pleco. That is what I have seen it most often labelled.

The snubbed nose is likely because it was grown up in too small of an environment (deformed TSN comes to mind).. It is a growth defect due to lack of space or dietary needs. It may have formed a habbit of leaning on the glass, upside down, face first in the substrate. This was likely because the tank it was grown in had little to no hiding spaces adequate for him, and he was forced to seek shelter behind a filter or in a corner. This might of been a previous scenario, in whatever tank it was in prior.

Larger plecos seldom clean the glass, because it takes more energy then what it is worth. It would be like a full grown human eating a jar of baby formula, as opposed to a baby eating it. Also, large plecos are very intelligent and will soon relate humans to food source, and would much rather await the offerings of prepared food then expend energy 'licking the dinner plate'..
 
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