pleco identity

[andruboz]

i picked up a pleco today and the name on the tank looked like albino but it wasnt -[ they are brown and have slight vertical stripes and a rounder nose than a common ]. like albinulis or something. its driving me nuts that i cant remember. but planet catfish doesnt have a record of it and the store is closed till tomorrow.

i'll try to get a pic but its either hiding or giving me the belly view which isnt great for identification purposes.

they also had some bushy nose at the store with 'gold dust' marking's on them. is this a cross breed? or is it just the juvenile colors and the gold dots fade with age?

[OrionGirl]

There are a variety of ancistrus species. The color pattern can change as they age, and most will cross breed, so the gold speckling may change, may not. I have 3 distinctly different specimen right now--some are orangey-brown, with faded yellow spots, the others are soolid brown with gold spots of varying size, and a third that is a dark, velvety brown with clearly defined, evenly shaped and spaced gold dots. Without knowing where yours came from, identification will be hit or miss.

[BK]

my lfs sells chaestoma as albinus