Stingray Pleco??

[Vincenia]

I went to my LFS to give them my 4 Rosy Barbs and I picked up something they called a "StingRay Pleco". To me it looked like a Hillstream Loach, just very tiny. I got it as a trade for the barbs. I'm putting him in my 10g. Would he be fine in the 10? The tank is heated to 76-78. While my 37g is kept at 76-80.

Here's a pic of the little guy.

 

[Brian Anderson]

Looks like a hill stream to me. Without googling it I would have to assume they, like other loaches, enjoy company of their own. And I'd have to say 10g is too small.

http://www.loaches.com/articles/hillstream-loaches-the-specialists-at-life-in-the-fast-lane


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[Vincenia]

It gets up to 2" and the person said it'll be fine in the 10g. I did have a Clown Pleco in the tank, but I moved it to my other tank.

 

[sora1600]

Make sure to have plenty of algae because if you do not, it will most likely not survive. Might want to lower the temperature too as they tend to prefer the low 70s. They're not as active in high temperatures and do not last long. Plus they are more picky to feed than other hillstream fish, will hide a lot of the time, and prefer to be in groups.

 

[Vincenia]

The tank is full of algae. The snails eat it up and so do my two ghost shrimp. I just checked the temp of the tank and its at 74 right now. I have a better pic of the fish. I may buy another in a week or two, after I see how this little guy is. I'm upgrading my filter soon so the flow should be stronger.

 

[Rbishop]

They also like a river style hi flow tank....sora gives good advice on them...

 

[f1sleepy]

Water movenment and high Oxygen content is key. They really like fast, cool, oxygen rich water. 74-76 degrees is a great temperature for them but do your fish a favor and pick up a couple more!

 

[Vincenia]

Right now he seems to eating the algae off the glass.


Munching on the algae, he started to eat it right after he got out of the bag.
This little guy was a solid brown and now has spots which are light brown/tan. I can't seem to i.d the type of hillstream loach he is.

 

[sora1600]

Probably a gastromyzon scitulus as the ctenocephalus has smaller spots on the top. For sure a gastromyzon though.

 

[Vincenia]

How big would he/she get?