# Please help me identify my Mystery Plecostomus



## AquariumRox (Sep 29, 2010)

Hello. I'm new to Fish Forums and I like what I've seen of it so far. Seems to be a nice community of helpful, knowledgeable people. So, I thought I'd see if you guys can help me. I got this guy (or gal... not sure yet...) a couple weeks ago from my local fish store. I saw it in the bottom of one of the tanks and asked what it was and how much. The owner said it came in with the Clown Plecos but he knew it wasn't a Clown, but wasn't sure what it was. He sold it to me for the price of a Clown Pleco, so it was inexpensive, but I'm curious none the less. I only have pictures of it while he was in the bag, but I think they'll do. If not, I can try to get better pics. Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

thats really wierd i actually have no idea. im on my phone so its a bit harder to see the pics but honestly the back half with stripes look like a clown. and the head with the spots looks like a common.... clowns have banding all the way through there body if i remember correctly. they also have a different body shape more short and tall while that one has a more traditional shape like a common. maybe check out planetcatfish.com i see ur really into plecos like me but sadly i only have bristle nose and a gold nugget. they are hard to find around here for a fare price. there was a vampire available through our destributor last week on sale. the store it would have been sold for was $50 which is awesome then with employee discount i could have got it for $35 but i just didnt have the money to spend. typically they are around $100 if we were to get them. there was a zebra on there to $250 but that would have been what we bought it at... imagine what we would have to sell it for to make it worth while. should check out queen arabesque plecos and sultans two of my other favorites there was a guy on here for a while breeding them for a greet price but idk if he is still around i really want some. also how does your emperor do with your other plecos ive always known them to be pretty mean to other plecs? we have never had any success keeping them with others. we tried putting one in our discus tank with a gold nugget and royal he started chewing them up so we seperated.


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## AquariumRox (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for the reply! I looked on planetcatfish.com with no success. When I first put the Emperor in, he fought with everything in the tank. I unsuccessfully chased him for 2 hours trying to catch him and decided to ride out the storm. I would have removed plants and decorations, but my Dwarf Bristle-nose are breeding in there and I didn't want to disturb that process any more than I already had. After a couple days, he chilled out. I give the credit to the Snowball Pleco for that. He seems to rule the tank and keep everyone in check.


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## FishMatt (May 12, 2010)

Welcome To FishForums. Hmmmm... Kinda looks like an L-147.... I think lol.


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

Could be a crossbreed between clown and something with a similar pattern to a common. Good to see you joined the forums! I like people who take pride in their catfish and know what they are doing!

Best of luck on your ID AquariumRox!


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## AquariumRox (Sep 29, 2010)

Thanks for the reply. I can see where you're coming from with the L147... Probably the closest I've found so far. Just seems to be a little off though. The ones I found in pictures when searching for L147 seem to have more of a definite pattern whereas mine seems to be more muttled with the pattern. Any other ideas or suggestions?


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

It may simply be the juvie pattern of something that will be easier to ID when it matures. Pleco's are quite variable in their color/pattern display according to the background and other factors like mood. Give it some time to settle in and grow.


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

toddnbecka said:


> It may simply be the juvie pattern of something that will be easier to ID when it matures. Pleco's are quite variable in their color/pattern display according to the background and other factors like mood. Give it some time to settle in and grow.


Very true. How old is he? Month or so?


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## AquariumRox (Sep 29, 2010)

I'm not sure how old it is, but I am sure it older than a couple months. Its about 3 1/2 inches long...


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

Okay, good size already. Cool little guy!


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## AquariumRox (Sep 29, 2010)

Cam said:


> Could be a crossbreed between clown and something with a similar pattern to a common. Good to see you joined the forums! I like people who take pride in their catfish and know what they are doing!
> 
> Best of luck on your ID AquariumRox!


Yeah, I considered that to be a possibility. I just wanted to throw it around on here in case someone might have just _known_ what it was. Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. I appreciate it.


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