New To Catfish!

[Betta_Shark5678]

Hello!

I was just given 12 free fish, and one of them is some kind of Pleco. I looked up "Pleco" on planet catfish, and this is the one that looks most like him.



What do you think, because I'm not sure, and not all of the pictures on Planet Catfish would load.

 

[onidrase]

it looks like a rubberlip pleco to me, but its hard to tell by the picture.

 

[Betta_Shark5678]

Do these help at all? The white spot on the first picture is just a glare.

 

[simonas]

it is hard to tell but the second picture shows a rubber plec

 

[Betta_Shark5678]

Okay thanks! So he's a rubber lip Pleco. Good to know!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Okay thanks! So he's a rubber lip Pleco. Good to know!

I agree, something from the Chaetostoma spp. genus ("Rubbernose Plecs) is my best guess with the provided photos (better ones would be ideal), of which there are at least 25+ species and counting.

With a few exceptions, most need excellent water quality (no/little organic material with zero ammonia/nitrite); superb surface water agitation to maximise the potential oxygen saturation levels; cool temps in the 20-22C region to maximise the theoretical oxygen saturation level >8mg/l (just like "hillstream loach"). Quarantining a new specimen is recommended, they tend not to cope well with the famine period often associated with transporting from Central/South America, this will give you a chance to ensure it is eating well and is harbouring no nasty disease from being wild caught.

They are carnivores that feed on aufwuchs (micro organisms that live in and around algae) in shallow streams tumbling down the hillside. Sometimes "painting" a good sized pebble with crushed food and egg white can help a new Cheatostoma adapt to aquarium live (and give them a good source of guaranteed food in a community, as they can only feed off surfaces because of having a mouth on the underside of their body, unlike many fish that can grab food mid water).

Once they settle in appropriate copnditions, they are supposed to be "hard as nails." My second attempt at keeping one is going much better than the one I lost ~17 months ago after six weeks, I have had "martinS"' old ~5cm Chaetostoma milesi since late February, she(?) is full of character, albeit she sometimes spends too long keeping her territory free of tankmates rather than searching out food!

 

[Betta_Shark5678]

Thanks for the tips! I've never had a catfish before, my sister had a Cory, but he died after a month or so, so all of those tips were helpful! I read the Plecos were wild-caught, then I felt bad for taking him from the wild until I realized that it wasn't me, and I was given him by somebody else I am going to try the "painting", and add the rock tomorrow morning when I do another water change. (No test kit yet, and better safe than sorry! Might be able to get a test kit tomorrow...) I also stuck some of the little "spirulina discs" to the rock using the egg so he can get used to eating those, too.

 

[Betta_Shark5678]

I am pretty sure that he's an Striped Rubbernose Pleco! He looks like these pictures! Thank you for helping me identify that he is a Rubbernose Pleco. According to that I need to bring the temperature way down! I had it pretty high to get rid of any possible parasites on the platys, and didn't realize that they needed such cool water comparatively! The pH levels in my tap water are around 7.0-7.4 so good for them, just by reading the Planet Catfish article. I thought that pH was the most important thing to test for when I first started with Bettas, so I bought a pH test kit, and nothing else...

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Chaetostoma formosae, previously known as L444, is a very common Rubbernose found in the fish stores... This is the one I had 18 months ago. Lovely fish, used to come and "greet" me every time I went down to the garage 5x2x2, but then suddendly this stopped ater six weeks and next thing I found her dead a few days later (in hindsight I now think through starvation, I never saw her eat and she was so small she could have easily been bullied away from food by my Synodontis).

Good luck with yours and let me know how the "rock painting" trick goes. I was ready to do this for my C. milesi this time round having read more about their requirements, but she quickly reassureed me that she would eat Tetra Prima and other foodstuffs that loosely fell to the tank floor.

 

[Betta_Shark5678]

Sorry about yours!

He tried to eat one of the discs I was given for him, but it was too big for his mouth, and he spit it out. He was kind of nibbling on the lettuce I put in the tank. Last night he was chasing my Platys away from the disc, they'd swim away, and then dart back when he turned away. So far he seems fine except I think one of his eyes was damaged. It doesn't look like it's gone, it just looks like it was injured somehow. Other than that he's fine, he swims fine, and he was really active after I turned off the tank light last night.

If I hadn't been given him I never would have gotten a Pleco of any kind, and I am very happy with him so far. Another water change, and feeding him in a few minutes!