Golden nugget L 018 Baryancistrus species
Golden-nuggets have the "bristles."
Another golden pleco
Schneeball (snowball) L 102 Peckoltia species
Schneeballs grow to 6" when alive. This guy ain't gonna make it.
Gold-seam pleco L 099 Peckoltia species
Bristles pop out on these guys.
Hypostomus species "Recife" LDA 24
Lots of very attractive plecos out there. Sailfins are not expensive.
Royal plecostomus Panaque nigrolineatus L 027
Royal pleco almost showing the "stabbers" that come out of his face.
Atabapo plecostomus. Also has "stabbers" in front of pectoral fins.
Albino bristlenose plecostomus. Four-inch male. Also with "stabbers."
Underside of 1.5-inch long fin albino bristlenose plecostomus.
Top side of one of his brothers.
Medusa plecostomus. Short body. Very wide head. Nice stabbers.
You can see his stabbers better here. His front "whiskers" fall down out of water.
In the water, you can see his "whiskers."
Different guy. Same species.
Side view.
Bushynose pleco, adult male. Also called bristlenose.
Closer look at his cute "whiskers."
Alright, here’s the second batch of expensive plecos. Enjoy.
Rhino plecostomus -- one foot long.
Close up of "horn" on rhino pleco.
Four-inch rhino looking good.
Closer look at those horns.
Redfin cactus pleco Psuedoacanthicus serratus L 024
Interesting mouth on him. Nice teeth.
On the job.
Grow star Peckoltia angelicus L 005 just arrived
Much smaller mouth. Bristles on pectorals. Probably a male.
Same guy two weeks later. He's had time to recover.
You can see his tiny teeth here.
Same guy at work at his office.
Better pic of same guy.
Blue panaque with a nice full belly (stuffed with crinums).
He crawled in the floor dust. Tiny stickers on pectoral fins.
Sailfin pleco six inches long.
These next photos were taken at Jim Kutscher's "Iowa Aquaria" in Adel, Iowa. Several members of the Iowa Aquaria Association (me too) adjourned to Adel after one of our meetings. Jim is an enthusiastic supporter of the IAA and welcomed us all. He carries a wide selection of African cichlids and specializes in the L plecos with several on hand at all times. He showed us so many I couldn't remember all the codes.
L-80 pleco in Jim's tank.
Same L-80 pleco in safe hands.
L-200.
Same guy's mouth.
Regular pleco to remind you that plecos like blanched summer squash and zucchini.
Sailfin albino pleco
Same guy about to eat lunch.
Psychedelic Pleco L 066
The working part of this pleco
In the tank after coloring up.
You’ll find many more plecos on the market these days. You need not limit yourself to the plain old regular plecos.
Toothnose Pleco L 007. Just a little guy.
Same guy in the water.
Gold mango pleco. Intriguing bristles on pectoral fins.
Side view of the gold mango. We see different plecos coming in as gold mangoes.
Doing his best to stab me.
Same guy -- after he crawled out of his tank.
Little peppermint pleco L 030
Couldn't figure out how this guy kept biting me.
And this is why they call him a vampire pleco.
He can definitely bite.
Another vampire pleco. Very intriguing mouth.
Queen arabesque L 206
Three-inch emperor pleco. L 204. Fresh out of the bag. Still a little pale.
Ditto showing his teeth.
Ditto.
The next four pix were shot in Jim Johnson's "The Fish Store," Atlantic, Iowa 10.05.04. These were all in the same large display tank.
We couldn't pick these guys up like our own fish. He looked better with his dorsal up.
His markings Giúp him blend into the substrate.
Beautiful and strikingly marked pleco.
12-inch Adonis pleco at Wet Pet Outlet, Eldora, Iowa.
His mouth opened to 150% of this size. Strong raspers.
This guy moved around a lot and showed us his belly most of the time.
Brown zebra pleco.
Not a very large brown zebra.
Brown zebra at work.
Tiger pleco Probably L 002, Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus.
Tiger pleco Probably L 002, Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus.
Tiger pleco Probably L 002, Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus.
Flathead leopard zebra. L241 Note the side stabbers.
Flathead leopard pleco -- another little guy.
Same guy a couple weeks later.
Flathead leopard pleco relaxing.
Under two inches -- they look better when kept in groups.
Royal farlowella.
Gold seam.
Gold Seam.
Para Pleco L075
Neat looking para.
Royal pleco.
Same royal.
Royal pleco at work.
Smaller royals pop up these days. DOA ones are cheaper
Green phantom L 200
Same guy at work.
Green phantom loafing.
Better looking with his dorsal erect.
Plain ol' Plecostomus hypostomus.
Gold nugget at work on front and side.
Gold nugget pleco mouth.
And this is why everyone seeks the gold nugget pleco.
Of course, they don't all look great.
10-inch gold nugget at Iowa Aquaria in Adel.
