please help id our pleco

[fishfreaks]

we got this pleco from our lfs, and it is supposedly a gibicpts pleco, only i cannot find any info on such a thing. (our lfs is known for doing this on plenty of occasions) we were in need of a pleco, so we picked him up anyways, he did a really good job at cleaning up most of the algae for us but i would like to know more specifics about him. i hope that you can help id him, to me it looks like a clown pleco kinda, except that his colors are backwards. hes black with little squirly lines. the pleco is only going on two inches now. i have a few pics, but hes still shy yet. a trusted person at the lfs told us that when its bigger, its colors are very bright.

[toked]

hmm hard to really see the markings in those pics. any clearer pics? maybe someone else will have a keen eye

[fishfreaks]

here are a few more pictures, he came out last night long enough for me to get a few clicks in with the cam

[clayt101]

To me, it looks like a common. It may be one of the ones that are sometimes named gibbies, but really aren't.

[bowes813]

Its common, I bet if you put him in a tank with a darker background and substrate he'll turn black.

[Laylah]

:hi: He's a common took me a while to ID mine because mine like yours is brown and tan not black like in 99.99% of the pictures. Not quite a tank buster you're looking at a 10"-20" fish (most max out at about 18" in aquariums so I'm told) but still pretty big :)

[FishBait]

I believe it's a gold flake (Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus). L001 or L022, which basically look like just juvie vs. adult to me.

[cohazard]

I agree with FishBait. I've been trying to identify the same fish, only mine looks less brown and more grey. Could've been the lighting at the store?

I just got him yesterday and when you compare him to my common plec, you can clearly see the difference.


Serg

[TONO]

Its Common, they sell more than one species of plec under the name common.

[cohazard]

Its Common, they sell more than one species of plec under the name common.

I only call plecostomus common, because you will find them at any fish store. L001, however readily available, is not as common as a pleco. But in my research of the L001, I was surprised to find that many people do call it a common plec.

I think it's easier to tag only one lorricade as a 'common plec' that way it helps the noobs understand exactly what they have, but to each his own.



Serg

[cohazard]

Here are some pics of my lorricades, I hope you enjoy.

Here's a couple of pics of my new 3" L001
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/SoCalSunset/L0012.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/SoCalSunset/L001.jpg

This is my 7" Gibbiceps
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/SoCalSunset/gibbychowdown.jpg

And this is my 4-5" Common
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/SoCalSunset/commonplec.jpg

You can clearly see the difference between the three.

HTH,
Serg

[chrisinha]

this is a common pleco. Compare.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/hypostom/87_f.php

[chrisinha]

this is L001, L022

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loricari/pterygop/177_f.php

[cohazard]

fishfreaks deffinitely has an L001/L022 (same thing). If you look at the second group of photos posted by fishfreaks, you can see the characteristic pattern of an L001/L022.



Serg

[bowes813]

Its a common. I see those EVERY time i go to petsmart. Anyhting i can find at petsmart for teh basic $1.99 price is a common small pleco. The one in that picture looks EXACTLY like the ones at petsmart. Like i said, put it on black gravel and a black background and it will turn black like all the other commons.

[cohazard]

I bet that if that fish were put over black gravel, it would turn brown/dark brown.


Serg

[chrisinha]

To make sure i would go here: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/index.php

whatever Silurus says, that's it. ;)

[FishBait]

Not that I'm proud of it, I worked at Petsmart for a bit over a year and when we got in L001/L022 we sold them as marbled sailfins.

[bowes813]

Down here in florida, i have 2 of those plecos in a couple of my tanks right now, and i paid $2 at petsmart. They look exactly like the one in those pictures.

[TONO]

yeah but how much did ya pay for him I know there are tons of l#s sold under the name as coomon if ya got him at petco for 4.99 it's common.

[bowes813]

Like I said before, I paid $1.99 per pleco at petsmart. They look exactly like the fish in teh pictures posted here. So, I would have to guess that its a common pleco also.

[FishBait]

If "common" pleco refers to all species sold for cheap prices as regluar plecos, then all the ones I've regularly seen in my years in pet shops includes:

Hypostomus plecostomus
H. punctatus
Glyptoperichthys multiradiatus
G. punctatus
G. joseleiaimanus
G. anisitsi
and on a somewhat less common occurrance G. gibbiceps

So I guess some people could call all of these "common plecs" ;)