Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Juvenile
Sub-adult
Juvenile
Adult
Albino
Wild caught
Close-up of mouth
Adult
Sub-adult
Albino adult
Close-up of mouth (albino)
Close-up of head of albino
Ventral view (albino)
Close-up of eye
Close-up of underside of head
Close-up of head (adult)
Deformed head
Adult
Adipose fin (albino)
Albino
Superb dorsal fin!

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps** (Kner, 1854)
Common Name(s)	Gibby, L083, L165, Sail fin Pleco
Type Locality	Rio Negro bei Marabitanos
Synonym(s)	Ancistrus gibbiceps, Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps, Liposarcus altipinnis
Pronunciation	terry gop LICK thees - gibb EE seps
Etymology	Greek, pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin + Greek, hoplon = weapon + Greek, ichthys = fish. This specific epithet refers to the hump (gibbus=hump) on its head (kephale=head).
Species Information
Size	450mm (17.7") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Pterygoplichthys can be identified by the number of rays in the dorsal fin. More than 10 indicates that it's a Pterygoplichthys. Most other plecos have 8 or fewer rays (in particular the larger Hypostomus species that are most likely to be confused with Pterygoplichthys). The trademark spotted sailfin makes this a distinctive species.
Sexing	Comparison of the genital papilla in mature fish shows the differences in the sexes to the trained eye. In males this is a small yet thick stump which noticeably protrudes from the fish's undercarriage. In females it is less obvious and is recessed or lies flat with the body.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Widespread throughout the Peruvian & Brazilian Amazon. Also known from the Rio Orinoco. Amazon (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Orinoco (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	6.5 - 7.8
Temperature	23.0-27.0°C or 73.4-80.6°F (Show others within this range)
Other Parameters	Larger fish require heavy filtration, not because they are fussy about water quality, but because of the high volumes of waste they produce.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Lettuce, Peas, Frozen Spinach and any prepared food that reaches the bottom. Larger fish enjoy prawns or pieces of freshwater trout. Algae (especially soft brown) will be eaten immediately.
Furniture	An appropriately sized shady retreat is all this fish requires. Will not eat plants, but any individual larger then 100mm or so may inadvertently pull up plants that are not entirely established. Larger fish require heavy filtration, not because they are fussy about water quality, but because of the high volumes of waste they produce.
Compatibility	Larger individuals are territorial to conspecifics however not predatory and able to look after itself with all but the most violent tank mates.
Suggested Tankmates	Hardy and stoic, a good companion fish for most larger fishes. Not a good pleco to keep with other similarly sized, less gregarious plecos as the P. gibbiceps will usually win any competition for food.
Breeding	Although commercially farmed, spawning in a home aquarium would be very difficult to achieve as a large wall of mud (I.E. a river bank) is tunnelled into and used for the incubation / hatching process. Large tunnels and fish would be required in a super-size aquarium.
Further Information
Registered Keepers	(1) synoguy, (2) natefrog, (3) kcmt01, (4) arapaima, (5) Daniel Machado, (6) walkinjay81, (7) spencerdeluxe, (8) dewitt_discus, (9) Trident2004, (10) vriesea (k: 2), who also notes: "Very beautiful and common pleco. Do a great job of keeping the tank clean.", (11) Chrysichthys, (12) Lornek8, (13) lordotterby, (14) guillermo racines, (15) fmagnier, (16) guyvw (p: 2), (17) clunkster, (18) woofess, (19) petri, (20) FishGeek, (21) VirgoWolf, (22) FuglyDragon, (23) nettaigyo, (24) Zigismund, who also notes: " This is exciting.. A new Cat and fairly big as well(18cm) :-) Hope my 420L Malawi tank will do..", (25) Jack McDonald, who also notes: "Mine is quite secretive, coming out only when all is quiet in the house. ", (26) Owch, (27) Cicolid, (28) Cooky_luvs, (29) morkaren, (30) Chi-Chi, (31) MisanthropeKitty, (32) Kattes (p: 2), (33) pleco_keepin_bear, (34) gixir, (35) humle, (36) bluenewt, (37) anthony mcdonald, (38) Bas Pels (k: 8), (39) yogi69 (k: 2), who also notes: "both have about 4"", (40) kurasaki, (41) Benjamin, (42) Picklee (p: 3), (43) holing007, (44) DutchFry, (45) Carp37, (46) H-TRAIN, (47) Landlubber, (48) Snowy (k: 15), (49) Simonh1, (50) rosemarydawn, (51) lene.keiserud, (52) Junttis, (53) mouseninja (p: 2), (54) alcyst (p: 3), (55) killerklown, (56) steelhead99, (57) tezr, (58) loloveto, (59) jippo, (60) Ben-cgn, (61) gmer4life, who also notes: "i saw this fish and had to have it. its got an amazing dorsal fin.", (62) jb92 (k: 4), (63) Troender, (64) CoryLoachFreak (p: 2), (65) theonetruepath, (66) fraggle, (67) JohnB, (68) Colin Keightley, (69) NHL, (70) RayGnz (k: 2), (71) myrheksa (k: 4), (72) midnightrider, (73) Pungen (k: 4), (74) TheSpuDGuN, (75) joe.juice13, (76) Plunt, (77) SoCalDiscus, (78) Moosipher (p: 2, k: 2), (79) pirate monkey, who also notes: "Eats pretty much anything, loves veg. Very active plec.", (80) miravns, (81) kubastanik, (82) canuckgirleh, (83) aledk85, (84) Numbers, (85) MADRacing (k: 4), (86) aaalrust, (87) panaquesta (p: 6), (88) Violence, (89) launcap, who also notes: "About 14 inches long. Got it as an adult in 1998", (90) Lubbe, (91) Tasplec (k: 2), (92) inkyjenn, (93) iam1ru12 (p: 2, k: 2), who also notes: "Albino", (94) plecko, (95) cathje (k: 2), (96) Growler, (97) HeadHunter, (98) speedy231278 (p: 2, k: 3), (99) whitewaves, (100) gwa84, (101) dr_evil_01 (k: 2), (102) doesdavid, (103) TE72, (104) Sandtiger, (105) smallpurplecat (p: 2), (106) Khalid, (107) Static, (108) fusco, (109) Tracey, (110) Breezer, (111) ElTofi, who also notes: "a sweetheart... of 45 cm yet ! in the 1600 liters...", (112) pmbooper (k: 2), who also notes: "4 inch sailfin in 40 gal. moving 7 inch sailfin to 1000 gal. ", (113) Turbo, (114) luver_of_fish, (115) andy.cole94, (116) Pain, (117) liljayyiz, (118) Juha, (119) drgold (k: 2), (120) Mike C, (121) Lenna, (122) judeblackburn, (123) Munky, (124) vernonlarge, (125) aznfish, (126) nyamaoan (k: 2), (127) oliv67, (128) Freddy, (129) Flex (k: 2), (130) saphphx, (131) jprp, (132) Derzel, (133) raymond, (134) matthewfaulkner, (135) naturalart, (136) Helghan Sniper, (137) lnumbers63 (k: 2), who also notes: "As at 25/10/2009 I have 2 - about 14" and 10" in length. Larger fish a beautiful specimen with great sailfin and tail. These fish are great in a larger community tank but do produce a lot of waste.", (138) Gibbiceps, (139) niallborwell, (140) drpleco, (141) ligon, (142) misscoturnix, (143) Wallace (k: 2), (144) jscoggs27 (k: 3), (145) makok, (146) pickles4601, (147) sampster5000, (148) cory777, (149) EHEIM~ADDICT (p: 2), (150) duequattro, (151) Bartman (k: 2), (152) smitty (p: 4, k: 4), (153) puresp (k: 2), (154) Tony, (155) drgnfrc13, (156) Riv, (157) salvador60, (158) Myric, (159) Jonaseddie, (160) wimmels, (161) natteheks, (162) nixmix, (163) tinamoubird, (164) bcmitchell, (165) jnakers, (166) tijani, (167) GER1023, (168) robb harriston (k: 2), (169) highoctane500 (p: 2, k: 2), (170) NC24, (171) wolverine2031, (172) Sooperblooper, (173) Brisch, (174) plecorocks, (175) danlinn, (176) tsoum, who also notes: "Great plec, with great personality!", (177) aquaoahu, (178) jenniebean, (179) andysfishhouse, (180) Profiel310 (p: 2), (181) WoonyFishMan, (182) Joost, (183) theviper06, who also notes: "Leo", (184) simmy, (185) Darren Balch, (186) Mezel, (187) nerdoutlaw (k: 2), (188) bluestbluedog, (189) arapaimag, (190) yayfish24, (191) dav, (192) tomk2u, (193) linden09, (194) tsvjus, (195) clydeboy (k: 2), (196) Dan101, (197) Seagirt, (198) milosz, (199) Kataterfish (k: 2), (200) wendy333, (201) tomr (k: 2), (202) Alisana, (203) aeonone87, (204) banuisce, (205) allpuffedup, who also notes: "He is the spunkiest fish I know. He's super-active (even during the day) and LOVES fresh zucchini. When I got him, I had a pretty bad algae problem, but he ate through all of it in 24 hours. Lots of fun to keep, very entertaining. And he doesn't care at all that my cats chase him all day.", (206) Bruton, (207) diikis (p: 2), (208) Margie (k: 2), (209) vman, (210) henward, (211) Mcjlance, (212) nedara, (213) crusnik (k: 2), who also notes: "Both needs to be IDed correctly. Bigger +40cm should be right but the smaller ~25cm is not matching to the pics seen here". Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- CotM 1997 July - Search Planet Catfish for more on Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	108989 hits.
Last Update	2011 Aug 29 13:41 (species record created: 2001 Apr 28 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps (Kner, 1854)

Common Name(s)

Gibby, L083, L165, Sail fin Pleco

Type Locality

Rio Negro bei Marabitanos

Synonym(s)

Ancistrus gibbiceps, Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps, Liposarcus altipinnis

Pronunciation

terry gop LICK thees - gibb EE seps

Etymology

Greek, pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin + Greek, hoplon = weapon + Greek, ichthys = fish. This specific epithet refers to the hump (gibbus=hump) on its head (kephale=head).

Species Information

Size

450mm (17.7") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

Pterygoplichthys can be identified by the number of rays in the dorsal fin. More than 10 indicates that it's a Pterygoplichthys. Most other plecos have 8 or fewer rays (in particular the larger Hypostomus species that are most likely to be confused with Pterygoplichthys).

The trademark spotted sailfin makes this a distinctive species.

Sexing

Comparison of the genital papilla in mature fish shows the differences in the sexes to the trained eye. In males this is a small yet thick stump which noticeably protrudes from the fish's undercarriage. In females it is less obvious and is recessed or lies flat with the body.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Widespread throughout the Peruvian & Brazilian Amazon. Also known from the Rio Orinoco.
Amazon (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
Orinoco Show it on a map

(hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)

6.5 - 7.8

Temperature

23.0-27.0°C or 73.4-80.6°F (Show others within this range)

Other Parameters

Larger fish require heavy filtration, not because they are fussy about water quality, but because of the high volumes of waste they produce.

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Lettuce, Peas, Frozen Spinach and any prepared food that reaches the bottom. Larger fish enjoy prawns or pieces of freshwater trout. Algae (especially soft brown) will be eaten immediately.

Furniture

An appropriately sized shady retreat is all this fish requires. Will not eat plants, but any individual larger then 100mm or so may inadvertently pull up plants that are not entirely established. Larger fish require heavy filtration, not because they are fussy about water quality, but because of the high volumes of waste they produce.

Compatibility

Larger individuals are territorial to conspecifics however not predatory and able to look after itself with all but the most violent tank mates.

Suggested Tankmates

Hardy and stoic, a good companion fish for most larger fishes. Not a good pleco to keep with other similarly sized, less gregarious plecos as the P. gibbiceps will usually win any competition for food.

Breeding

Although commercially farmed, spawning in a home aquarium would be very difficult to achieve as a large wall of mud (I.E. a river bank) is tunnelled into and used for the incubation / hatching process. Large tunnels and fish would be required in a super-size aquarium.

Further Information

Registered Keepers

(1) synoguy, (2) natefrog, (3) kcmt01, (4) arapaima, (5) Daniel Machado, (6) walkinjay81, (7) spencerdeluxe, (8) dewitt_discus, (9) Trident2004, (10) vriesea (k: 2), who also notes: "Very beautiful and common pleco. Do a great job of keeping the tank clean.", (11) Chrysichthys, (12) Lornek8, (13) lordotterby, (14) guillermo racines, (15) fmagnier, (16) guyvw (p: 2), (17) clunkster, (18) woofess, (19) petri, (20) FishGeek, (21) VirgoWolf, (22) FuglyDragon, (23) nettaigyo, (24) Zigismund, who also notes: " This is exciting.. A new Cat and fairly big as well(18cm) :-) Hope my 420L Malawi tank will do..", (25) Jack McDonald, who also notes: "Mine is quite secretive, coming out only when all is quiet in the house. ", (26) Owch, (27) Cicolid, (28) Cooky_luvs, (29) morkaren, (30) Chi-Chi, (31) MisanthropeKitty, (32) Kattes (p: 2), (33) pleco_keepin_bear, (34) gixir, (35) humle, (36) bluenewt, (37) anthony mcdonald, (38) Bas Pels (k: 8), (39) yogi69 (k: 2), who also notes: "both have about 4"", (40) kurasaki, (41) Benjamin, (42) Picklee (p: 3), (43) holing007, (44) DutchFry, (45) Carp37, (46) H-TRAIN, (47) Landlubber, (48) Snowy (k: 15), (49) Simonh1, (50) rosemarydawn, (51) lene.keiserud, (52) Junttis, (53) mouseninja (p: 2), (54) alcyst (p: 3), (55) killerklown, (56) steelhead99, (57) tezr, (58) loloveto, (59) jippo, (60) Ben-cgn, (61) gmer4life, who also notes: "i saw this fish and had to have it. its got an amazing dorsal fin.", (62) jb92 (k: 4), (63) Troender, (64) CoryLoachFreak (p: 2), (65) theonetruepath, (66) fraggle, (67) JohnB, (68) Colin Keightley, (69) NHL, (70) RayGnz (k: 2), (71) myrheksa (k: 4), (72) midnightrider, (73) Pungen (k: 4), (74) TheSpuDGuN, (75) joe.juice13, (76) Plunt, (77) SoCalDiscus, (78) Moosipher (p: 2, k: 2), (79) pirate monkey, who also notes: "Eats pretty much anything, loves veg. Very active plec.", (80) miravns, (81) kubastanik, (82) canuckgirleh, (83) aledk85, (84) Numbers, (85) MADRacing (k: 4), (86) aaalrust, (87) panaquesta (p: 6), (88) Violence, (89) launcap, who also notes: "About 14 inches long. Got it as an adult in 1998", (90) Lubbe, (91) Tasplec (k: 2), (92) inkyjenn, (93) iam1ru12 (p: 2, k: 2), who also notes: "Albino", (94) plecko, (95) cathje (k: 2), (96) Growler, (97) HeadHunter, (98) speedy231278 (p: 2, k: 3), (99) whitewaves, (100) gwa84, (101) dr_evil_01 (k: 2), (102) doesdavid, (103) TE72, (104) Sandtiger, (105) smallpurplecat (p: 2), (106) Khalid, (107) Static, (108) fusco, (109) Tracey, (110) Breezer, (111) ElTofi, who also notes: "a sweetheart... of 45 cm yet ! in the 1600 liters...", (112) pmbooper (k: 2), who also notes: "4 inch sailfin in 40 gal. moving 7 inch sailfin to 1000 gal. ", (113) Turbo, (114) luver_of_fish, (115) andy.cole94, (116) Pain, (117) liljayyiz, (118) Juha, (119) drgold (k: 2), (120) Mike C, (121) Lenna, (122) judeblackburn, (123) Munky, (124) vernonlarge, (125) aznfish, (126) nyamaoan (k: 2), (127) oliv67, (128) Freddy, (129) Flex (k: 2), (130) saphphx, (131) jprp, (132) Derzel, (133) raymond, (134) matthewfaulkner, (135) naturalart, (136) Helghan Sniper, (137) lnumbers63 (k: 2), who also notes: "As at 25/10/2009 I have 2 - about 14" and 10" in length. Larger fish a beautiful specimen with great sailfin and tail. These fish are great in a larger community tank but do produce a lot of waste.", (138) Gibbiceps, (139) niallborwell, (140) drpleco, (141) ligon, (142) misscoturnix, (143) Wallace (k: 2), (144) jscoggs27 (k: 3), (145) makok, (146) pickles4601, (147) sampster5000, (148) cory777, (149) EHEIM~ADDICT (p: 2), (150) duequattro, (151) Bartman (k: 2), (152) smitty (p: 4, k: 4), (153) puresp (k: 2), (154) Tony, (155) drgnfrc13, (156) Riv, (157) salvador60, (158) Myric, (159) Jonaseddie, (160) wimmels, (161) natteheks, (162) nixmix, (163) tinamoubird, (164) bcmitchell, (165) jnakers, (166) tijani, (167) GER1023, (168) robb harriston (k: 2), (169) highoctane500 (p: 2, k: 2), (170) NC24, (171) wolverine2031, (172) Sooperblooper, (173) Brisch, (174) plecorocks, (175) danlinn, (176) tsoum, who also notes: "Great plec, with great personality!", (177) aquaoahu, (178) jenniebean, (179) andysfishhouse, (180) Profiel310 (p: 2), (181) WoonyFishMan, (182) Joost, (183) theviper06, who also notes: "Leo", (184) simmy, (185) Darren Balch, (186) Mezel, (187) nerdoutlaw (k: 2), (188) bluestbluedog, (189) arapaimag, (190) yayfish24, (191) dav, (192) tomk2u, (193) linden09, (194) tsvjus, (195) clydeboy (k: 2), (196) Dan101, (197) Seagirt, (198) milosz, (199) Kataterfish (k: 2), (200) wendy333, (201) tomr (k: 2), (202) Alisana, (203) aeonone87, (204) banuisce, (205) allpuffedup, who also notes: "He is the spunkiest fish I know. He's super-active (even during the day) and LOVES fresh zucchini. When I got him, I had a pretty bad algae problem, but he ate through all of it in 24 hours. Lots of fun to keep, very entertaining. And he doesn't care at all that my cats chase him all day.", (206) Bruton, (207) diikis (p: 2), (208) Margie (k: 2), (209) vman, (210) henward, (211) Mcjlance, (212) nedara, (213) crusnik (k: 2), who also notes: "Both needs to be IDed correctly. Bigger +40cm should be right but the smaller ~25cm is not matching to the pics seen here".

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Add this species to your My Cats species list

Add this species to your "my cats" page.

Breeding Reports

None.

More Resources

- CotM

1997

July

- Search Planet Catfish for more on Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps
Link

- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Look up AquaticRepublic.com

- Look up Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps on AquaticRepublic.com
Look up Fishbase

- Look up Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
Link

- URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)

Hits

108989 hits.

Last Update

2011 Aug 29 13:41 (species record created: 2001 Apr 28 00:00)

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