12 replies to this topic

[sleepycod]

was sold as sailfin pleco...have been told is a gibbiceps...any help would be appreciated

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[Ronny]

Not a pleco expert but I'm pretty sure sailfins are a type of gibby (pterygoplichthys gibbiceps)?

[sleepycod]

Not a pleco expert but I'm pretty sure gibby is the nickname for gibbicep which is scientific name for a sailfin (pterygoplichthys gibbiceps)?

me either ronny lol...am confused with them scientific names ....but he/she has been with us for a few years ...

[CICH-BRO]

Someone correct me if Im wrong but I believe Sailfin Pleco and Gibbiceps are one and the same.

Yours on the other hand looks exactly like my Pleco, which is a Liposarcus Multiradiatus or common Pleco.

This Pleco is very similar in appearance to a Hypostomus Pleco but having 13 rays on its dorsal fin rather than 8.

[sleepycod]

thnx cich you have just confsed me even more lol....how do u sex them ??

[CICH-BRO]

No idea on how to sex these guys, Iv heard things like the Male has different looking barbels on its mouth compared to Female but so far have not come across a definate answer. Not that I would want 2 of these in my tank with the amount of Pleco turds I see when vacuming the gravel.

[sleepycod]

No idea on how to sex these guys, Iv heard things like the Male has different looking barbels on its mouth compared to Female but so far have not come across a definate answer. Not that I would want 2 of these in my tank with the amount of Pleco turds I see when vacuming the gravel.

ahhh yes the never ending quest to clean up the pleco turds ...thanx for your help fellas much appreciated

[rwillox]

Even if you could sex them (May be possible but not that I know of - upon more research it is possible but not easy to distinguish even for the expert) you need ponds to breed them in.

And yes the sailfin is a gibbicep. However giving it an exact scientific name is not easy as there are more than one variety of gibbiceps.

The picture you have provided is not the best for giving an accurate scientific name.

> Would say not a Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps but that could be wrong just due to the photo and environment it is in.
> Could be Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps - but yet again not exactly close.

> Does look a bit close to being a Pterygoplichthys sp. `Rio Callaru` - but just a guess

If you can get a better picture/s one of the entire fish and a close up of head and body I will see if I can be more specific as to what it could be. But like I said before the patterning differs so much (yet so little) it is hard to pin point an exact species.

[werdna]

If its a gibbi (or sailfin) it will have four dots around the pupil of the eye that form a kind of cross with the pupil.

Any sailfins that I have seen also tend not to have the pattern change on the head like in your photo, but I could be wrong, or it could just be an effect from the photo.

As Cich-Bro said the 13 dorsal fin rays is also a good give away

HTH

Andrew

[tommo]

the difference between a gibby and a sailfin is that a sailfins, fin goes all the way down to where the tail starts and a normal gibby would stop about half way a bit further


(correct me if im wrong)

hope it helps cheerz tommo

[joop]

gibbys and sailfin plecos are the same thing
this is neither this is a common pleco

[sleepycod]

gibbys and sailfin plecos are the same thing
this is neither this is a common pleco

ok so common pleco it is ....thanx to all for your help much appreciated

[golden_dase]

Hi mate

Have a look at the caudal fin.. If it there's faint "bands/stripes" then it's a common pleco. If there's only spots, then it's a sailfin pleco (AKA: Leopard Pleco).

The only way to make sure is when it reaches full maturity. Common pleco (30cm), Sailfin/Leopard pleco (50cm).

Hope that helps ya!

Kevin