Hello Everyone, I have bought a 3" pleco yesterday, but I dont know what kind of pleco he was, he looks great & healthy. He had a beard just like a catfish.I dont think he was a bristle nose pleco. Im just wondering if he is a pleco or a catfish?

Could you please post a pic? That would help us a lot!

all plecos' are catfish, but not all catfish are plecos!

Win wrote:


Uhm, I don't see my post to this thread from last night but I think you read it,Win!
Got any pictures yet?
Love to see your pleco!
This is my beloved Oligancistrus "Xingu-new-polka-dot"L354.
And very rare where I live!
i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv191/noddy1...Xingunewpolkadot.jpg

sounds like it may be a catfish, but a word of warning, I learnt the hard way that oscars sleep at night but pleqs can sneak around at night and bite your O's while they sleep, and they are able to leave quite a nasty large bite on the side of your O', that and they crap far worse than your O' so even one pleq can make you clean your tank 2 or 3 times what it would be without the pleq, I got rid of 2 pleqs for both reasons.

I got 2 large plecos in my main tank, and they clean all algae from the wood, stones and do a good job on the gravel.
Keep your plecos filled well and I don't see them ever to suck on healthy fish.
This can indeed differ from species to species.
And i love to vaccuum anyways.lol

I forgot my pleco's name, but the number is L001, they get to about 12 inches, and even though I fed them well, one of them took a liking to the slime on the side of one of my O's, and still sucked a couple of nasty holes in his side that took about 4-5 weeks to heal!

I cannot post or upload the pic! Try to see my avatar... I will upload it in there!

try to use photobucket... then just post the link...Or email it to someone and have them post it for you...I would do that but Im headed out for a while....

I just hope my plecos never misbehave like that!
I hate nasty holes in my fish.

w66 wrote:

me too W66

i am a bit of a cat/plec lover too. they can be fairly good mates for oscars the biggest drawback is they poo for fish 3times there size, but clean to make up for it. my only worry would be what type you got. some can grow 3ft but look the same as another plec that only grows 9"