I have a 38 gallon tank with 9 Black Ruby Barbs, and 8 Odessa Barbs, along with 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco. I had 12 Cories in the tank with the Barbs, but slowly, the Barbs were picking the Cories to death. Once I realized what was going on, I re-homed the remaining Cories (The Barbs were pecking ...

Will I've got a Tetra whisper 100 air pump running a buble disc, and 1 air stone. It is running full tilt, so my aeration should be fine. Sadly, the Pleco didn't make it...I found him this afternoon. I've now got the water temp up to 86F, and added another dose of Aquari-Sol. I'll do another water ...

I lost one of my Rainbow Platys overnight. I've got the water temp at 82F, and I just bumped it again this morning. I'm raising it a little quicker than I'd like to, but I'm losing fish so I've got to try to speed it up a little. I don't have a quarantine tank, so the fish have to stay put. How high ...

I did a 20% water change/gravel vac today. I dosed with Aquari-Sol yesterday when I started raising the tank temp. I dosed with Aquari-Sol again today right after the water change. The spots on the fish seem much more pronounced today. Again, any help/advice is much appreciated.

Yesterday, I noticed that my Pleco, and my Platys are showing signs of small white dusting/spots...so it looks like they have ich. I went up to my LFS and talked to 3 different people, and they all recommend Aquari-Sol along with raising the tank temp. They said any other meds that they had wouldn't ...

However, and as was pointed out above, while they will appreciate the wood as an additional hiding place/obstacle. There is no dietary reason to add it.
-Shane

Thanks Shane, as I had said, I'd read that they needed it for their diet. Since this is not the case, I won't worry about it. He has ...

I wouldn't think the FISH needs it - if you, as owner of the tank, need it, I can't say... ;)

[As Milton also says!]

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Mats

The only reason I'd be putting some driftwood in there is for the Pleco. My other fish in that tank are Praecox Rainbows, Platys, and Corydoras (Pandas and Rabauti). So ...

Chaetostoma will appreciate structures to hide under, whether they be rock, wood, clay pots, pvc pipes, or whatnot. They don't need wood for this purpose. They primarily feed on algae on rocks in their habitats.

He has plenty of hiding places...I had just read that Plecos need wood to "chew" on ...

MatsP wrote:I too am of the opinion that Chaetostoma are not seeing wood in their natural habitat...

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Mats

OK, so I don't need to add any wood then?

Thanks guys, I'll be returning this and looking for the other types.

Any ideas on what the best type of driftwood would be for him?
I was at PetSmart today, and I found a small package of "Mac's" grape driftwood. It is packaged for use in a reptile tank, but it doesn't say if you can/can't use it in an aquarium. I asked the salesclerk, and they had no clue. If I ...

I was at PetSmart today, and I found a small package of "Mac's" grape driftwood. It is packaged for use in a reptile tank, but it doesn't say if you can/can't use it in an aquarium. I asked the salesclerk, and they had no clue. I have a rubbernose/bulldog pleco, and I wanted to get some driftwood ...

I agree, this is a Chaetostoma. Your tank size is OK, just bear in mind that Chaetostoma are usually found in fast flowing hillstreams (i.e. require cold, highly oxygenated water).

Tina,

I have an AC110 filter on the tank, so there is plenty of flow. I had the tank at 80F, but I'm slowly ...

Report this postReply with quoteRe: Rubber Pleco, or Rubber Nose/Rubber Lip Pleco?
by racoll on Thu Apr 08, 2010 7:13 pm

If by "rubber pl*co" you mean Parancistrus aurantiacus, then no, it is not that.

Your fish is a Chaetostoma, and these are usually sold as "rubber nose plecos".

Could be ...

I saw these at my LFS and they were labeled "Rubber" Pleco. I asked the worker, and he told me that they are the same as a "Rubber Nose/Rubber Lip" Pleco. I think that it is a Rubber Nose Pleco, any help is appreciated! He was $5.99, he is about 2.5" long, and his color looks to be gray. I tried to ...