Bristlenose pleco, or not? ID help

[lswartz33]

I've been lurking around this site and MFK for awhile, learning as much as I can and envying the amazing setups on here. I recently bought what was labeled as a bristlenose pleco from our LFS, he was still a little one maybe 2".

He has grown a bit over the last couple weeks, but I was hoping to see some bristles appear as he grew a little but have not yet. We went back to the same LFS and saw that the other bristlenose plecos already have quite a few bristles and they aren't quite as long as ours.

So my question's are -

Is this really a bristlenose or did i get another 'soon-to-be-giant' common?

What would those white bumps be on his lip/nose area? He had something that looked similar when we first got him, one white lump on each fin but they went away after a couple days.

 

[jasonG75]

FYI females dont develope Bristles or maybe its the other way around. However I don't recall the BN fan being so TALL

 

[user_name]

looks like a sailfin pleco, which grows bigger than a common. Female bristlenose pleco's do not have bristles and males do.

 

[aXio]

I agree with both user_name and jason about the fan on the back being too big. As far as waiting for bristles... if it is actually a bristle you'll probably never see any if it's a female although females do sometimes develop the bristle a lot later in their life.

 

[rockhoe14er]

I don't think it's a BN. And from my experience females do develop the bristles later their just much much smaller.

 

[lswartz33]

Thanks for the info! I was worried that might be the case, as he looked kind of similar to my common pleco when it was MUCH smaller. Looks like I've got to figure out what to do now, as he will obviously outgrow the tank he is in.

Any ideas about the white spots around his mouth? They've been there for a couple weeks and don't seem to bother him. He eats a ton and is very active.

 

[user_name]

I have no clue, maybe some kind of deformation? I'm not 100% sure about the bristle growing process of males, but I highly doubt that those are bristles.

 

[user_name]

thats definitely a sailfin.

 

[lswartz33]

I have no clue, maybe some kind of deformation? I'm not 100% sure about the bristle growing process of males, but I highly doubt that those are bristles.

Once we went back to the LFS and saw the other tankmates I knew something was up. They all had tiny bristles and none of them had these white bumps.

 

[rhiannonk]

Well seeing as how this is a mistake on the LFS's part, they would hopefully be flexible in terms of maybe just exchanging him for a REAL bristlenose or another (more suitable for your tank size) fish? I think your best bet would be to just explain that this fish matches the description of a sailfin and not a bristlenose and that you cannot adequately house it and would like an exchange (ask to speak with a manager or whatever is necessary) and hopefully they'll be reasonable.