Talk:Plecostomus

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Plecostomus and Common Pleco were listed on Wikipedia:Duplicate articles. I merged the articles and then decided they were different and unmerged them. As part of the merge I added Nocturnal from Common Pleco to Plecostomus. Need to check if this is generally applicable. RJFJR 05:58, Mar 23, 2005 (UTC)

As the one who created both articles, I ran into the problem where Plecostomus was popularly used as a generic term to describe a rather large number of fish. Although technically Hypostomus plecostomus is the only fish with plecostomus in its genus/species, they all seem to be called Plecos. (On a sidenote, I think that in some older classification systems the genus Hypostomus was referred to as plecostomus, which may be a historical reason for the name being used generically). My second problem was that there is no scientifically defined Common Pleco, but instead many different species are all labeled as such. The Common Pleco article is in some sense a disambiguation page, although since the term is freely used in the aquarium fish trade, it should probably not be a disambiguation page on Wikipedia. I do plan to update these articles with more and/or better information sometime, as I learn more. -- RM 13:55, Mar 23, 2005 (UTC)

I've added disambiguation pages on suckermouth catfish and related terms, as well as Armoured catfish and related terms. I've pretty much deleted the 'common plec' page(redirects here now) - and move unduplicated info to this page. There is a species specific page called Hypostomus plecostomus. 'Plecostomus plecostomus' was an old name for Hypostomus plecostomus and now links there. I've left this page as a general 'plec' page - as it covers well the common plecs found in pet shops.

Contents 1 Aquarium Plecos 2 Armoured catfish 3 nocturnal 4 Same or different species? 5 "Winking"? 6 Plecos can cohabitate with goldfish just fine 7 Too much focus on Aquariums? 8 "Best Pleco Statement"

[edit] Aquarium Plecos

I have just added a small section on aquatium plecos, noting that Bristle nose catfish are a better alternative for those who are looking for 'A glass cleaner'. I hope this is ok. I have also added a side note about l numbers as these are a facinating area of fishkeeping.

Not sure about the glass cleaner bit (obviously must depend on species) but in my experience the 'common plec' sold in pet shops has always been an excellent glass cleaner - ancistrus were also good I think - however Sailfins (Sailfin Plec (L164)? Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps?) were never very good at that? HappyVR 18:37, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

I've created a page for L-numbers (just the basics) and a link - please feel free to add to it.HappyVR 10:10, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Armoured catfish

Armoured catfish are not Loricariidae, but Loricariidae are armourd catfish. There are several types of armourd catfish including Corydoras (Callichthyid armored catfishes), Loricariidae (Suckermouth Armord catfish) and others.

I've added disambiguation page for Armoured catfish. This should solve this problem.HappyVR 10:10, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] nocturnal

Not sure about this - I've removed nocturnal for now - some might be, some might not be.HappyVR 18:37, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Same or different species?

We have two plecos (see the photo) — both about the same age (4-5 years), bought at the same time from the same store. They both have 12 (or maybe 13) dorsal rays, so I've assumed they are both Liposarcus pardalis. However, their heads look different (note the lengths and shapes of their snouts), and their eyes are different too (compare the sizes of the white circles in the middle of their irises). Are these variations within a single species, or are they different species? Any ideas? Richwales 18:19, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Odd, before I start don't forget that Wikipedia:Reference desk/Science can be used to ask questions - increases your chances of getting an expert. For the white circles - these species have an iris see omega eye - not sure why both fish aren't showing the same extent of pupil dilation. To be honest neither looks quite right to me. I've seen examples of plecs and other catfish with 'broken noses' - maybe from bumping into things too many times - were they like this when you got them? My gut reaction is that both are slightly deformed - seeing as you got both together and apparently these fish are captive bred commercially could it be that they are 'inbred'. The pattern on them suggests that they are quite big now so I suppose otherwise they are ok. There's also a possibility that they are hybrids - as you got two 'odd' fish from 'the same batch'. They both look like odd examples of liposarcus pardalis as you say. It'll be interesting to see what other people say.HappyVR 20:42, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Have you got any more photos - from a different angle?HappyVR 21:00, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Sure. Here are some more photos. I didn't really pay that much attention to their noses until fairly recently, so I can't say what they looked like when we first got them. Interestingly, "Algaegon" (the one with the longer snout) bumps into the sides of the tank a lot more often than "Sam" does — you can see a small bruised spot on the tip of Algaegon's snout. They're both about 11-12 inches (28-30 cm) long; Sam (the one with the blunt snout) is a bit shorter than Algaegon. As for their eyes, I can't recall either of them ever looking any different than what you can see in these photos — the white circles in Algaegon's eyes are always noticeably larger than Sam's. I should also say that my interest in the details of their species / breeding is purely one of curiosity; we didn't buy them with the expectation of having purebred fish or breeding them ourselves, and we'll continue to love them, pay attention to them, and take care of them just the same whether they're hybrids, inbred, or whatever. Richwales 04:59, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

They look more normal in these photographs - the white circles on the eye are odd though - the tank looks quite bright and I'd expect the area of the white to increase in bright light (note this change takes minutes - not fast as in the human iris). The difference in the snouts might be due to being kept in a small tank and the inherent bumping involved.HappyVR 10:37, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Oh, and there's Liposarcus anisitsi as well - look similar to L. pardalis.HappyVR 10:59, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Winking"?

The article says, "Plecos can also wink using an eye membrane." Is this really a membrane moving over the eye? That isn't what it looks like to me. When my plecos "wink", it appears to me as if they are rolling their eyeballs down and then back up. Richwales 23:24, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

To me it looks like the skin over the top of the eye moves down, and maybe the eyeball is depressed too. The 'eye membrane' description isn't really clear to me, but the winking happens so rarely and so quickly I've never been able to work out exactly what they do. It's also been suggested the winking is a rapid change in the iris. Maybe the article is wrong - I agree with your description. Can't find any other info. though.HappyVR 13:20, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

I've changed the description - I'd like to add more but can find any more info. on it.HappyVR 09:13, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plecos can cohabitate with goldfish just fine

"Because they are tropical fish, these catfish cannot be kept in coldwater tanks with species like goldfish, Carassius auratus" is an inaccurate staement as I have, not only seen it done many times, have it doing so in my livingroom at this very moment. cheeers ~Km

This is obviously true to anyone who has ever kept either easy fish. The point was that coldwater fish, which can survive in normal warm water cannot live with a plecostomus in very cold water because the pleco would die or if clear what is trying to be said. Ram-Man 11:43, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

The article also needs to cite its sources... --Lethargy 01:13, 18 July 2006 (UTC)

plecos just die slower in goldifsh tanks than other tropical fish do. but that doesnt make it okay, responsible or humane to do so. Antisoapybubbles 00:15, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Too much focus on Aquariums?

I think this articles concentrates too much on aquarium plecos. While this is an important part of an article on the pleco, there is only a mention of behaviour in the wild. What about breeding habits, and are they maternal with their young? What types of water do they they live in i.e. lakes, streams, brackish waters? Also, how big do they grow? If they're omnivorous, as the article says, what non-flora things do they eat, i.e. do they hunt or scavenge?

I'm not claiming to know all these things about the pleco, but when I want to find out about the pleco, these are the things I'd like to know. I think this article could have a stub banner or "expert needed" banner on it, until someone expands the article. IanUK 08:21, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Currently this article most deals with generic 'plecs' as sold in fish shops - you need to look under hypostomus loricariidae or liposarcus maybe. Perhaps the article should be clearer

[edit] "Best Pleco Statement"

I have deleted the statement "the best species of plec is the bulldog plec". i think its arbitrary and besdies that has no place in this article, but im giving the author a chance to justify, back up, or defend their statement. Antisoapybubbles 00:19, 26 September 2006 (UTC)