UPDATE: monster bn pleco

[allaboutfish]

its a COMMON.

[allaboutfish]

and males have beards so yes its a male.

[mr.bigglesworth]

Thanks allaboutfish, although you could have toned that down a bit. heres the planetcatfish thing for common bn
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...?species_id=49

[jpappy789]

I hope hes a common because all of my others are and I want to breed them but he is too big to be a common, right? without fins (SL) he is 5", and planetcatfish says max size 4.9". Whats say you?
Hold on my computer doesnt have the pics lemme get on my phone.
BTW, its a male, right?

I honestly don't know what you're getting at...

.1" away from the "norm" does not suggest it is a different species entirely. Individuals will be larger and smaller than what is expected, that's how genetics works (are all human males in the US 5'10"?).

Also consider that within the Ancistrus genus it's fairly hard to distinguish between actual species and the taxonomy itself is pretty muddled as is already, which can be said for most other genera of plecos. In fact, read the ID section...

The common Bristlenose is commonly captive bred appears impossible to identify to species primarily due to a lack of original locality information but also because tens of undescribed congeners exist. It is not assigned to species here for that reason. It is sometimes thought to be a hybrid, however it is not easy to determine if it is so or not. Several man made variants exist: piebald, albino and long-fin (veiltail) varieties have been bred in a captivity

[AquaticAustin]

couldnt be more common BN pleco-y

[ppetropulo]

Wait, only males have beards?? How interesting!

[excuzzzeme]

Wait, only males have beards?? How interesting!

Not true

Females, though not often, can also have a "beard". However venting will tell you for sure and the males bristles will fork at the top. There is also a different nose shape as well as the female will be slightly smaller and will be more rounded along the sides.

I live on the East Coast. I also managed to find some on AB at a decent price. Thanks anyhow!

[jpappy789]

Yep, more mature females can have bristles although usually they wont be as pronounced.

[ppetropulo]

Hmm... That's pretty cool! I just learned something new Thanks!