Help with care and ID

[corylover5]

I had been wanting to get a pleco for some time now. I don't think I have the room for one in my 29 gallon so I was going to wait until I had a larger tank. I had gone to a pet store today to get some food for my rabbit. While I was there I stopped to check out live plants in the fish section. One of the tanks I saw was a bare bottom tank that had rotting food along the bottom and one plastic plant. I saw one small pleco hiding in the back of the tank in a corner. I felt really bad for it because it had no real Driftwood which I'm pretty sure is a requirement for plecos, it had no algae or biofilm in the tank, it was completely alone, and the water quality looked really bad in the tank. I felt really bad and I couldn't leave it there so I ended up getting the pleco and I plan on trying my best to find a good home for it. If anyone could help identify the pleco for me and tell me any extra care requirements it'll be very appreciated. Right now I have a 29 gallon planted tank with biofilm and algae on the sides for the pleco to eat and I also have shrimp and algae Wafers but I'm not sure if it will eat those. I keep the temperature at about 75 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. I have three mollies, one platy, 10 cories, 3 upside down cats, and some snails.( I recently found out I have soft water when I thought I had hard water so I'm not getting anymore livebearers) I do weekly 75% water changes. My water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 6 nitrate. I have driftwood, lots of live plants, and a few river stones. I know I can't keep the pleco but I felt awful leaving it there. I am trying to find him/her a good home by asking around neighborhood websites and if no one on there responds I will give it to a LFS where it will receive better care. I am slowly acclimating him currently and I will dim the lights for him/her. I also have an airstone and a filter that creates a good bit of surface agitation. Thanks in advance!

 

[Gypsum]

It looks like a clown pleco, or Panaque maccus. I'm not 100% sure. Maybe 90%. Someone else will back that up, or not! If I'm right, it will only get to 4" long. I have one living in a 29g tank, along with cherry barbs, some corys, and a Bolivian ram. So there's no need for you to rehome it. It's not an algae eater -- it mainly eats wood and the biofilm that forms on wood, but it should be supplemented with algae wafers specifically designed for wood-eating loricariids, and it will pick off a wee bit of protein from whatever you're feeding the other fish.

PlanetCatfish.com - Panaqolus maccus (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

 

[Metalhead88]

Clown pleco. They stay small. Sounds like you have a good setup going on. He'll chew on all the algae in the tank and wood. You can supplement his diet with some algae wafers at night.

 

[Metalhead88]

It looks like a clown pleco, or Panaque maccus. I'm not 100% sure. Maybe 90%. Someone else will back that up, or not! If I'm right, it will only get to 4" long. I have one living in a 29g tank, along with cherry barbs, some corys, and a Bolivian ram. So there's no need for you to rehome it. It's not an algae eater -- it mainly eats wood and the biofilm that forms on wood, but it should be supplemented with algae wafers specifically designed for wood-eating loricariids, and it will pick off a wee bit of protein from whatever you're feeding the other fish.

PlanetCatfish.com - Panaqolus maccus (Loricariidae) Cat-eLog

Images are copyright and may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

www.planetcatfish.com

Beat me to it. lol we pretty much said the same thing.

 

[corylover5]

Thanks for the responses! I have 1 medium and 1 small piece of Mopani driftwood and 3 long skinny branches of spiderwood. Is that enough for him? I just want to make sure I'm not overstocking my tank if I do keep him.

 

[corylover5]

I finished acclimating him/her a few minutes ago. I let him go free in my tank but I can't see him anywhere. Is that normal?

 

[Metalhead88]

I finished acclimating him/her a few minutes ago. I let him go free in my tank but I can't see him anywhere. Is that normal?

Yep. They are nocturnal so they will mostly hide during the day.

 

[corylover5]

Ah ok thanks!

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Really nice of you to rescue him (or her). Lucky little fishy. Can't wait to hear more about how he (or she) does in your tank.

 

[corylover5]

I'm not sure why but I'm so nervous that somethings going to happen to him/her. I had gotten a pleco from my LFS about a year ago they had it labeled as a chocolate ancistrus. It sadly passed away overnight the first day I had him with blood coming out of its mouth Based off feedback from members on here it sounds like it was from trauma of them catching it as they squished it in a corner while netting it. I think I'm just over thinking it but I'm so nervous and I don't want anything to happen to this pleco. Also, name suggestions are welcome

 

[corylover5]

Yep. They are nocturnal so they will mostly hide during the day.

Haha! I found where he's hiding. I turned on the blacklight for my tank so it was dark for him. I saw his tail move and he's in a small cave under my driftwood

 

[Gypsum]

They're super shy, especially if they have plenty of wood to hide in while eating. I can go days without seeing her. Now that I've had her for over a year, she'll briefly pop into view, but mostly stays out of sight. Clown plecs are not as active and sociable in daylight as Ancistrus.

I would buy some more driftwood. The pleco won't be able to eat the mopani because it's too hard. Mine used live in a tank with a mopani log (among other things) and she never showed any interest in it. Might as well have been a rock. They really need soft wood. Spider wood is soft, so it's fine. But having another bit of driftwood along with it would be even better.

My fish is called Nicola. Originally, she was called Nick, after a friend of mine...for reasons.... but then someone on a Facebook pleco group sexed it as a female, so it became Nicola. I know it sounds like I named the fish after the Scottish First Minister. I really didn't.

 

[corylover5]

They're super shy, especially if they have plenty of wood to hide in while eating. I can go days without seeing her. Now that I've had her for over a year, she'll briefly pop into view, but mostly stays out of sight. Clown plecs are not as active and sociable in daylight as Ancistrus.

I would buy some more driftwood. The pleco won't be able to eat the mopani because it's too hard. Mine used live in a tank with a mopani log (among other things) and she never showed any interest in it. Might as well have been a rock. They really need soft wood. Spider wood is soft, so it's fine. But having another bit of driftwood along with it would be even better.

Ok! I can go out to get some more driftwood in 2 days. Would the pleco be ok until then? I have a piece of Malaysian driftwood I can give him. If 2 days is too long I can move some spiderwood from my Betta tank to the pleco's tank.

 

[Gypsum]

It will be fine for a couple days if it has spider wood.

 

[corylover5]

Thanks! What are some other types of soft driftwood for him/her? I'm not a huge fan of spiderwood. It always seems to get this weird fungus on it

Nicola is a cute name!