Hi, I recently acquired an aquarium from some family members. The only fish in it is a black and brown spotted fish, is about 10 inches long, and sucks on the glass all day. What type of fish is it? I also want to get some other fish for the tank. What type of fish go well with this fish?
Pictures of fish:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c337/-pyro-squirrel-/may19006.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c337/-pyro-squirrel-/may19007.jpg
2007-05-20 04:55:38 · 14 answers · asked by Steph [♥] 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
It is a plecostomus, commonly known as a pleco. It will eat the algae on your tank walls, however you need to keep in mind that they also produce A LOT of waste. You need to have a good filter and can mix any community fish (all fish stores have tanks labled community (they tent to not be agressive) with them. Remember that you want no more that one inch of fish per gallon of water (unless you have 2-3 times the filter rating for your tank. Count on this guys adult size at least double what it is now. So you really need more than a 20 gallon tank if you want to add anything to it. Many pet stores will take this guy back when he outgrows your tank (I don't know for sure what they do with them then though...) Unless you have a big tank you might want to try to rehome him. He will live to be 7-15 years old. Here's a great website all about him!
2007-05-20 06:59:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
that is definatly a pleco. how many gal. is your aquarium because plecos can/will get HUGE! if you have a fairly large tank or dont mind an upgrade in the future, pretty much any fish can go in with plecos. the only thing you want to watch for when chosing a fish for your tank is size and PH. With size, it is a general rule that you only want to have about one inch of fish for every gallon of water in your tank. so if it is a 20 gal you can get a few smaller fish, like tetras, mollies etc.. and with ph, you dont really want to put chiclids in with the pleco because while they are really really pretty, they need slightly more acidic water and so you would have to make the water more acidic and chances are the pleco isnt used to that kind of water and would not do too well. anyway, plecos eat algae, that is why he sucks on the walls all day. i would suggest getting fish because the waste that they make is what the plecos eat so they would all live happily together! good luck!
2007-05-20 08:24:10 · answer #2 · answered by Kendra N 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
What you have there is a Pleco (Hypostomus Plecostomus). It is a suckermouth catfish that is great at cleaning algae out of the tank. They are peaceful and can be kept with all kinds of different fish. You will want to provide algae wafers for food for that fish.
2007-05-20 14:28:40 · answer #3 · answered by Dustinius 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fish is a Plecostomus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plecostomus
At that size keep it away from large slow peaceful fish. They have a tendency of trying to eat the slime off them I.E Angel fish, discus etc.
Other then that they are very hardy fish and peaceful and can be keep with almost anything. Tetras to Chiclids.
2007-05-21 19:46:26 · answer #4 · answered by Lamb 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a plecostomus. It is a well-known algae eater and uses its sucker mouth to suck off algae. Be aware that this type of fish can grow up to 2 feet long (no kidding). Any type of freshwater community fish would go well with this fish. Male bettas can't, though.
~ZTM
2007-05-20 06:23:30 · answer #5 · answered by ZooTycoonMaster 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, the above website is very informative indeed.
Note that some sub-species of this pleco fish does not grow even close to 2 feet.So yours might be safe for tank space.
However, also know that these fishes are often kept for the mere sake of cleaning the tank meant for another more celebrated fish and is often overlooked for its beauty as a catfish.
I'm glad that you keep it for what it is and not as a servant for another fish!
2007-05-20 20:36:03 · answer #6 · answered by Laurenzo O 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Looks like a Suckermouth Catfish (Hypostomus punctatus).
This fish is pretty friendly so I think nearly any fish can be put int he tank with it.
Just to be sure ask the Aquarium people you're going to buy fish off. Atleast you know what fish it is now =]
2007-05-20 05:01:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
that is a type of plecoctomus, with out other fish in the tank they don't get enough food, so you should go to a local pet store and get some sinking wafers for it. they do have a special food for them to eat, they can grow to be 2 ft long, but will not out grow their tank, they will just grow to a certain size and stay there, untill put in a larger tank, then they can grow some more
2007-05-20 05:33:29 · answer #8 · answered by Jason D 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
plecostimus ,don't know if that's spelled right do a sea ch on pleco and you'll find it.it primarily eats algae but keep it with smaller fish because sometimes it will feed on the slime and scales of bigger fish.other than that it gets along with most fish,feed it some lettuce or spinach most well kept aquariums don't have enough algae to support one of that size
2007-05-20 05:13:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Looks like Hypostomus punctatus, pretty common feeds on algae or algae wafers, cucumber, lettuce spinach that sort of stuff.
2007-05-20 06:54:16 · answer #10 · answered by andyjh_uk 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋