Please!!! I need help identifying my pleco. I did some small research, but they almost all look the same (I'm talking about the colors/patterns etc). I am hoping that there are some Pleco Specialists on this site that can help??? Thanks in advance! 
What am I?
- Thread starter wiseiam
- Start date
It's a clown pleco Panaqolus maccus (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog (planetcatfish.com)
Nice little fish, I've a few over the years. They are quite nocturnal so give it a hiding spot for daytime & some food after lights out but room lights still on.
Nice little fish, I've a few over the years. They are quite nocturnal so give it a hiding spot for daytime & some food after lights out but room lights still on.
Wow! Thank you so much! Especially for the link. He was so very tiny when I first got him and now he seems so much larger!
Is there any way to tell the sex of this clown pleco with the current pic? He's never on the glass so I can't see under him...
I can't tell its gender. The link I posted tells how...for adults in breeding season. Maybe I always had females, I don't remember any bristly parts. Plecos can have them on the pectoral spines (usually very fine) sometime coming from the gills or along the "plates" over the body, or like ancistrus, bushy noses (mostly ancistrus species...I think, maybe others). I don't know about genital papillae either...Unless yours is close to 3 inches or so & it feels like breeding (or fighting) you might not see any signs. I didn't with mine but I kept only 1 at a time, no other clown plec to show off to either way. Female plecos & many other fish show a more rounded "tummy" area. That's the best I can do.
Thank you so much for information! I will try to get a better picture. Maybe I'll see something? Lol
Maybe you will!! If you can, try for a pic after tanks lights go off but room lights are still on. Mine often grazed on the front glass for maybe a better view of pectoral bristles, "girly" full rounded tummies or genital papillae. I won't be much help for that last 1, I think I've only seen that in wood cats & maybe a couple others. Planetcatfish & google are your friends...but we'd love to see pics! Maybe someone else here knows...I'm no expert but I am interested.
