Tropical Fish Forums

[mohammad.j.ideis]

I'm not shure if this is fool proof but if u look at the adipose fin (the smaller fin just after the prominent dorsal fin) and I've noticed that one pleco had a squared off fin (wich I'm guessing is the male) and the other had a rounded off fin (wich I'm guessing is the female) but what do I know it could be bitten off or it could be genetic variation where as it could be a mutation u know theres a lot of what if's

p.s. the ones I'm refering to are commons for the refrence idk about others

p.p.s let me know what u think

http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/09/fish-anatomy.html
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-mohammad

[diademhill]

The adipose fin is the same in both genders.

There are way of telling the sexes apart with adult fish but often when people think they have two plecos of opposite sexes they often turn out to have two different species.

[mohammad.j.ideis]

So common plecostomus is just a broad generalization of hypostomas ssp. Like "assorted cichlids"
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-mohammad

[diademhill]

there are seversl species that get sold under that name - not all are genus Hypostomus.

[Marcos Avila]

In our Gallery section we've packaged Hypostomus spp. and Liposarcus spp. under the generic name Common Plecos (plural), but there are certainly other genera that could be included. Many fishkeepers, even the more experienced ones, don't really care exactly what species of pleco they have...
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Success with a fish/tank is measured in YEARS, not months or weeks...

[mohammad.j.ideis]

So for all I know its possibly a hypostomads how can I differenciate from one to the next much abliged
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-mohammad

[Marcos Avila]

As I said, most hobbyists don't really bother to go that deep into learning how to into distinguish these species of common plecos, a task which often involves counting fin rays and other such subtle characteristics, or figuring out from which river the fish was collected.

If you really want to go deep into the topic, I'd suggest you explore www.planetcatfish.com and www.fishbase.org
_________________

Success with a fish/tank is measured in YEARS, not months or weeks...

[mohammad.j.ideis]

thanks mark I apreciate that
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-mohammad