Pleco with weird light patch, just above dorsal fin

[excuzzzeme]

Hypostomous Plecostomus and the term "common Pleco" are used by the people that cannot identify a pleco correctly and lump it into a general name. There are many ways to correctly identify one and the link I gave you should help tremendously. It takes a little time and a lot of reading but is very doable.

LOL, even a 20 is far too small due to the amount of waste they generate. So save up and try to get a 55 gallon tank for him as soon as possible. You will need to double up on your filters as well. This is something else the LFS "forgets" to tell you. Contrary to popular chain-store belief, they are not ideal algae eaters. There are some snails that do a far better job at it with less waste. That's a topic for another time.

If anything, the correct genera is likely to be " Pterygoplichthys"

 

[Dangerdoll]

I have to agree with excuzzzeme, a 20 gallon is not going to make much more difference than the 17 that you have him in now. Keep in mind that this fish can grow into a size 12" to 18" pretty quickly and dangers on the edge of being stunted. The footprint of a 55 gallon isn't even truly big enough for them to turn around comfortably if spec-ing out the footprint of the tank.

My first guess was to ask if you've ever used salt in your tank to remedy anything, salt is pretty toxic to plecos and other scaleless fish. Most catfish are scaleless fish, often having an armored plated body instead and are extremely sensitive to salt long term. Other than that, I would say something else might not be fine with your water, have you checked ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels to know they are fine? How often do you do water changed on the tank? Do you stir the gravel at all when changing your water?

 

[Semilla]

I figured as much! With the naming. That sure is definitely..comprehensive! It will take me a while to middle through.
I am most definitely still a newb, but I'm getting to be a pretty well informed one. I do not think that a 20 is a permanent home, but it will buy me a little time. Plus, all of my tanks are filtered to at least double the manufacturers ratings, and I do a lot of water changes. Which I actually don't mind as I'm a pretty avid gardener. Overall, my tanks are pretty darn clean, and I really only have issues with my nitrates (usually 20 to 40 ppm before WC every other day ish. 20% to 50% depending on which tank and test results). I totally get that I'm a little overstocked (in that tank) for the long run, but I'm sure this MTS I seem to have contacted will take care off that. Been watching vids on building custom acrylic aquariums.. I do own my house..
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[Semilla]

I should say.. My tap water comes with a bit of nitrates. Maybe 10 ppm. I've recently added plants, so.. We'll see. The pleco seems his normal happy self. munching down on some cucumber. It's actually time for a WC, but I suppose I'll let him be for a little while.
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[excuzzzeme]

I fault most of the stores with pleco issues about size. I have one that should get to 20" and have others that only get to 4-6". I knew before getting them. I even told the one store they need to quit selling them as algae eaters and they had the size labeled wrong. After 2 years they finally corrected it. I have one of the so-called "common plecos that eat algae", and so far is about 13". It's a Pterogoplycthys Disjunctivus. I keep him in a 90. I have a royal I keep in a 100 and some bristlenose and clown plecs I keep in a 75 and 40BR. Don't know how I got hooked on keeping them.

 

[Dangerdoll]

Agreed, excuzzzeme, in fact whenever I am at the book store I usually go to the index to see where the H. Pleco is to see the size listed. If the size does not say 12"-18", I usually put it back. Most books, I have placed back on the rack. I do the same with petstores. If they have the pleco's right, my next item to look at is SAE's. More often than not, places have flying foxes listed as SAE's. The differences are subtle, but they are there.

 

[Semilla]

I'm really NOT trying to be argumentative.. and for some reason my phone gave me these responses out off order, but.. Three footprint difference between a 17 bow and a 20 long is pretty significant. this plecostemus has grown about 4 inches in well over a year, being well feed on Hikari wafers and fresh veggies, to supplement algae cleaning he does. I do lots of water changes, and vacuum with each one, to a variable degree depending on general gunk. Most of the pleco poo ends up on the sponge filter, and it's real easy to scoop out on the days that I don't do a WC.

As for salt, I stopped using it about three weeks into my first tank. I believe it was when I found the skepticalAquarist.com article on salt in freshwater tanks. That is also when I realized not to listen to the nice young ladies at the pet store... Lol

At any rate, I just tested the water in the pleco's too small tank, and all is well. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate actually looks more like 10 than 20, which is good for me. Yay. Did a wc (with gravel cleaning) anyways, cause it's that day.
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[Semilla]

Could definitely be P. pardalis. Not P. dysjunctivus though, the mouth does not fit at all, while the mouth on mine fits the picture of p. Pardalis perfectly. Also has a spotted underside. Not terrible news! P. Pardalis only grows to 13.8 inches! According to planetcatfish. Better than two feet! also noticed that the picture of p. multiradiatus has a pretty much identical light patch in the exact same spot. Would they use a picture of an unhealthy fish? It was not labeled as a wild caught specimen.
I have a few more questions about plecos that I would love to ask, if anyone if interested in answering them..
And excuzzzeme, thanks for the pointer on the site! And even more for the help narrowing down the genus. Helped tremendously.