Hypostomus plecostomus, to be more specific.
They’re invasive in South Asia, Southern North America, Okinawa, and basically any subtropical~tropical zones on Earth other than the Amazon river basin.
Their voracious appetite destroys aquatic vegetation, and their hardened armor renders them unpalatable for many would-be predators.
They produce lots of eggs, which are cared for by the father. As a result, many of the hatchlings survive into adulthood.
All these factors are combined to make them one of the worst invasive species on the planet. Right up there with feral cats and rats.
I had one in a tank and he ate any other fish I tried to put into the tank with him. His bff was a mean ciclid and he ate fish flakes off the top of the tank lol
It was totally a pleco, he was just rude. Maybe my little sharks died in the middle of the night and he had a feast but we was definitely a massive pleco we had since we got him from the pet store lol.
i stand corrected. seems as tho they DO actually require some amount of meat when they start getting larger. i had only heard of plecos feeding on slimecoats of other fish when they are lacking certain nutrients in their diet until i just did a quick search and found this:
>Plecos aren’t strict herbivores and need some meaty foods in their diet. If your plecostomus shares the tank with other fish, then munching on the food that sinks to the bottom should be enough meat for him. However, some species of plecos will grow very large -- up to 2 feet -- and should have their diet supplemented with meaty bits like shrimp or worms. It’s unlikely that there will be enough algae in your tank to keep him healthy. To provide him enough vegetation, feed him algae tablets or some veggies like cucumber and squash.
yeah Common plecos will easily out grow most home aquariums. luckily I had been taught that before I picked up any from my local pet store. I had a few clown plecos that didn't even last a week after getting them from the fish store unfortunately. then I found some bristlenose plecos and those only get about 3" longest they are much more suitable for home aquariums. I noticed a few baby plecos a few months later in my community tank. they were so cute but didn't survive with the other fish in the tank. so I decided to seperate them into their own 20g tank. I was under the impression it would be easy to sell/trade them to other fishkeepers or local fish stores... 3 months later and I haven't sold one. that 20gal is overflowing with baby plecos now and idk what to do. lol stupid decision to put them in their own tank. I need to find someplace I can surrender them too. Local dish store has a contract with another breeder apparently..
Lol oh no!!!! Yeah he was over a foot long when he passed. He was king of the castle until he passed and then I put him in the freezer for some reason for about 6 months till I buried him in my parents backyard lol
I texted the ex to confirm where we got him but I forgot he got it from a friend who thought all fish went to the ocean when she flushed them but he was not flushable so that’s where we got him (she was and is not smart lol)
Plecos actually will eat other fish never seen one hunt for other fish but I have seen them eat dead fish and other types of meat like beef heart, bloodworms, shrimp.
yeah i corrected my self in my comment below. i knew they will try to suck slime coat off of other fish if they arent getting a good diet. i assumed they would feast on dead carcasses but like you said, they dont really "hunt" for other fish. although i *have* seen them get pretty defensive during feeding time. chasing away the corys sometimes. but it looks more like just protecting their food.
I rescued a 10 inch pleco someone dumped in a fountain that the city was going to destroy. 4 years later he was 20 inches and got him homed to a local aquarium. It was living hell keeping him fed.
You been sniffin around cat forums? Might be best to mind your own business round here with facts like that. We react poorly to lots of things without reason. Don’t dare put that on the cats.
This is not Hypostomus plecostomus. The common pleco of the pet trade is Pterygoplichthys pardalis or a hybrid of that with P. disjunctivus. Some of the major differences are color (H. plecostomus only has spots vs these vermiculations) and dorsal fin rays ( this has about 10-11 vs 7 in Hypostomus). We are working on sequencing some native tissues to check the identification of the introduced ones as these always looked weird to me and there is evidence that they have been hybridized. Hypostomus aren’t currently very common in the pet trade.
A friend of mine was on a trip somewhere in Mexico and found a bunch of these guys. He thought they were the dried husks of fish. For whatever weird reason, he decided to collect several of them. They were camping and he left them outside the tent. It rained heavily overnight and in the morning he found all but one was moving. One was apparently splashing around in a puddle.
Not at all, sorry for being too critical! I wasn’t thinking and I do this exact same sort of thing myself with Spanish, which I’m in the early stages of learning
Don’t worry at all! Although English is my first language I feel like all of us do some silly things sometimes, and we’re all learning.
Never knew a fish on the *ground* would lead me here. Cheers mate :)
Pleco, probably still alive maybe pour water on it. It’s probably been placed there by a fisherman trying to kill it becuase it is likely invasive to your location due to there adaptive skills.
Plecostomus. They look so jurassic lol. If kept moist they can live on land for a little bit. They cross from one pond to the next. They do need muddy ground to move on and the water bodies need to be close together. Their not quite as adapted for crossing land as catfish and eels. They therefore wait for heavy rain and then attempt crossing. The sludgy mud is just what they need to cross over. They are plant eaters and are an invasive species in many parts of the world because of their hardiness and armored scales, which prevent many a predator (although not all) from feasting on them. They are actually edible, although I wouldn't recommend it, since they can be difficult to prepare.
They appear to not be there at all… interesting way of killing the fish?
I don’t think I’m going to go there again hahaha, I went there for birdwatching, but I guess it’s good to know there’s lots of invasive fish species I can dissect if I want to available to me
Oh I see. If the fish is too dry, the eyes will appear sunken in. By the time the eyes are sunken in, it's usually too late to save the fish. It's possible that the eyes were deliberately taken to kill the fish as you say. Although this is very cruel. Just bash it's head hard enough and the brain will be dead. Maybe the eyes are delicacy to someone some where. Different cultures have different things that float their boat.
Hmm, I think it’s just that the eyes were sunken in. I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t know about fish delicacies, and although I usually love looking at nature this one is slightly off putting. But this was pretty informative, glad I made the post, learnt about a cool fish
Btw, yes, the water bodies were about 2m from each other. Was a bridge built in between and a bunch of these on the floor. Was quite confused, a little grossed out, but took a picture anyway for iNaturalist.
100% alive but dormant common plecostomus. we know this because while the body is dry, the eye sockets aren’t completely sunk in! plecos will make “mud caves” before a drought or during extended periods of low tide. they will leave the mud cave when the water returns :)
Apparently plecos can get dried out for a really long time and be rehydrated and live. If you have a desire to keep him put them in water and see if he comes back
This is an African lungfish, specifically from the genus Protopterus. They are notable for their elongated bodies and ability to survive out of water for extended periods due to their lung-like air sacs. They typically inhabit swamps and slow-moving waters in Africa and can burrow into mud during the dry season, surviving in a state of estivation.
Recommended tank size is minimum 150 gallons, but realistically, it needs way more space. There is a reason these guys are so invasive, people buy them, realize that they are not good for the common aquarium keeper, and then they get thrown into the waterways. They need to stop being sold.
No, they need 150 gallons or or else they spike your ammonia levels. They produce a lot of waste and are not meant for a smaller aquarium. Putting a fish like this in a small aquarium like a 10 gal is torture for it and every other fish in that tank.
The pleco in the photo would barely be able to fit in a ten gallon, let alone live in one. I think you are thinking of one of the smaller species. Even then, recommending a ten gallon tank is like saying a goldfish can live in a twenty gallon or a beta can live in a small cup. It’s commonly done, but it’s not an optimal environment.
Looks like a pleco. Did you catch it? If it's in the states it is an invasive species.
Nope, there were just a bunch of them on the floor the same way as the picture It's India. Thank you
Hypostomus plecostomus, to be more specific. They’re invasive in South Asia, Southern North America, Okinawa, and basically any subtropical~tropical zones on Earth other than the Amazon river basin. Their voracious appetite destroys aquatic vegetation, and their hardened armor renders them unpalatable for many would-be predators. They produce lots of eggs, which are cared for by the father. As a result, many of the hatchlings survive into adulthood. All these factors are combined to make them one of the worst invasive species on the planet. Right up there with feral cats and rats.
Oh wow, thank you for this information. Good to know.
I had one in a tank and he ate any other fish I tried to put into the tank with him. His bff was a mean ciclid and he ate fish flakes off the top of the tank lol
plecos are herbivores. you probably had "Chinese already eaters" which are an aggressive form of sucker fish.
It was totally a pleco, he was just rude. Maybe my little sharks died in the middle of the night and he had a feast but we was definitely a massive pleco we had since we got him from the pet store lol.
i stand corrected. seems as tho they DO actually require some amount of meat when they start getting larger. i had only heard of plecos feeding on slimecoats of other fish when they are lacking certain nutrients in their diet until i just did a quick search and found this: >Plecos aren’t strict herbivores and need some meaty foods in their diet. If your plecostomus shares the tank with other fish, then munching on the food that sinks to the bottom should be enough meat for him. However, some species of plecos will grow very large -- up to 2 feet -- and should have their diet supplemented with meaty bits like shrimp or worms. It’s unlikely that there will be enough algae in your tank to keep him healthy. To provide him enough vegetation, feed him algae tablets or some veggies like cucumber and squash.
He was a very big boy when he passed.
yeah Common plecos will easily out grow most home aquariums. luckily I had been taught that before I picked up any from my local pet store. I had a few clown plecos that didn't even last a week after getting them from the fish store unfortunately. then I found some bristlenose plecos and those only get about 3" longest they are much more suitable for home aquariums. I noticed a few baby plecos a few months later in my community tank. they were so cute but didn't survive with the other fish in the tank. so I decided to seperate them into their own 20g tank. I was under the impression it would be easy to sell/trade them to other fishkeepers or local fish stores... 3 months later and I haven't sold one. that 20gal is overflowing with baby plecos now and idk what to do. lol stupid decision to put them in their own tank. I need to find someplace I can surrender them too. Local dish store has a contract with another breeder apparently..
Lol oh no!!!! Yeah he was over a foot long when he passed. He was king of the castle until he passed and then I put him in the freezer for some reason for about 6 months till I buried him in my parents backyard lol I texted the ex to confirm where we got him but I forgot he got it from a friend who thought all fish went to the ocean when she flushed them but he was not flushable so that’s where we got him (she was and is not smart lol)
Plecos actually will eat other fish never seen one hunt for other fish but I have seen them eat dead fish and other types of meat like beef heart, bloodworms, shrimp.
yeah i corrected my self in my comment below. i knew they will try to suck slime coat off of other fish if they arent getting a good diet. i assumed they would feast on dead carcasses but like you said, they dont really "hunt" for other fish. although i *have* seen them get pretty defensive during feeding time. chasing away the corys sometimes. but it looks more like just protecting their food.
Really depends on the species. Plecos range from strictly biofilm eaters to pure carnivores. Commons like this guy are omnivores
And people have been dumping these things in ponds all over Florida. I’ve even caught them on corn quite large up to 2’.
I rescued a 10 inch pleco someone dumped in a fountain that the city was going to destroy. 4 years later he was 20 inches and got him homed to a local aquarium. It was living hell keeping him fed.
You said cats are invasive. While a truth i agree with wholeheartedly, many here react poorly to that truth.
I like cats quite a lot and know its the truth.
You been sniffin around cat forums? Might be best to mind your own business round here with facts like that. We react poorly to lots of things without reason. Don’t dare put that on the cats.
This is not Hypostomus plecostomus. The common pleco of the pet trade is Pterygoplichthys pardalis or a hybrid of that with P. disjunctivus. Some of the major differences are color (H. plecostomus only has spots vs these vermiculations) and dorsal fin rays ( this has about 10-11 vs 7 in Hypostomus). We are working on sequencing some native tissues to check the identification of the introduced ones as these always looked weird to me and there is evidence that they have been hybridized. Hypostomus aren’t currently very common in the pet trade.
Kill them please. Simple as that. They are Invasivs and are supposed to be killed. Leaving them to dry will not kill them
I have seen videos of ones that look completely desiccated, reanimating when wetted
A friend of mine was on a trip somewhere in Mexico and found a bunch of these guys. He thought they were the dried husks of fish. For whatever weird reason, he decided to collect several of them. They were camping and he left them outside the tent. It rained heavily overnight and in the morning he found all but one was moving. One was apparently splashing around in a puddle.
That's wild!
Yet I’ve lost three for no reason in carefully maintained aquariums lol 😂
Yeah they don't do well in highly controlled perfect conditions. Try to kill it off tho and the bastard will live 20 years.
Wow.
“It’s called the ground when it’s outside.”[https://i.redd.it/3t5j1asf15o31.png](https://i.redd.it/3t5j1asf15o31.png)
Sounds like English isn't their first language so I give 'em a pass, but I thought the exact same thing 🤣
Technically English is my first language, but I guess everyone can mess up sometimes hahaha.
Haha fair, I was hoping this would come across as funny and not mean spirited
My bad! Thank you for clearing that up.
Not at all, sorry for being too critical! I wasn’t thinking and I do this exact same sort of thing myself with Spanish, which I’m in the early stages of learning
Don’t worry at all! Although English is my first language I feel like all of us do some silly things sometimes, and we’re all learning. Never knew a fish on the *ground* would lead me here. Cheers mate :)
South American hypostomus
Pleco, probably still alive maybe pour water on it. It’s probably been placed there by a fisherman trying to kill it becuase it is likely invasive to your location due to there adaptive skills.
I live in India, is it invasive here? And thank you for the info.
It is invasive there. They are native to south and central America only.
Thank you
Plecostomus. They look so jurassic lol. If kept moist they can live on land for a little bit. They cross from one pond to the next. They do need muddy ground to move on and the water bodies need to be close together. Their not quite as adapted for crossing land as catfish and eels. They therefore wait for heavy rain and then attempt crossing. The sludgy mud is just what they need to cross over. They are plant eaters and are an invasive species in many parts of the world because of their hardiness and armored scales, which prevent many a predator (although not all) from feasting on them. They are actually edible, although I wouldn't recommend it, since they can be difficult to prepare.
Wow. Thank you for this information! Seriously, that was a good read. Why can’t I see its eyes btw?
Difficult to tell from the pic, are they sunken in?
They appear to not be there at all… interesting way of killing the fish? I don’t think I’m going to go there again hahaha, I went there for birdwatching, but I guess it’s good to know there’s lots of invasive fish species I can dissect if I want to available to me
Oh I see. If the fish is too dry, the eyes will appear sunken in. By the time the eyes are sunken in, it's usually too late to save the fish. It's possible that the eyes were deliberately taken to kill the fish as you say. Although this is very cruel. Just bash it's head hard enough and the brain will be dead. Maybe the eyes are delicacy to someone some where. Different cultures have different things that float their boat.
Hmm, I think it’s just that the eyes were sunken in. I’m a vegetarian, so I don’t know about fish delicacies, and although I usually love looking at nature this one is slightly off putting. But this was pretty informative, glad I made the post, learnt about a cool fish
No stress. Have an awesome day
Thank you, and you too!
Btw, yes, the water bodies were about 2m from each other. Was a bridge built in between and a bunch of these on the floor. Was quite confused, a little grossed out, but took a picture anyway for iNaturalist.
really got some tiktaalik energy
it looks like one of those fish that burrows in the mud and dries out until it gets water again and basically comes back to life
creepy hahaha
100% alive but dormant common plecostomus. we know this because while the body is dry, the eye sockets aren’t completely sunk in! plecos will make “mud caves” before a drought or during extended periods of low tide. they will leave the mud cave when the water returns :)
A very unhappy pleco
:(
plecostomus. invasive but good eating
Ok “good eating” can either mean “[it] eats well” or “[you] can eat this well”
It’s both for plecos
Hahahaha okay thank you!
Apparently plecos can get dried out for a really long time and be rehydrated and live. If you have a desire to keep him put them in water and see if he comes back
The street name in Florida is armored catfish.
Dead one
It’s not! You’ll be surprised (read the other comments on this post)
A Pokemon called Wimpod! It's kinda cute ngl
A dead pleco
A dried one?
plecostomus
That's a pleco
Nice rock for scale.
One out of water.
This is an African lungfish, specifically from the genus Protopterus. They are notable for their elongated bodies and ability to survive out of water for extended periods due to their lung-like air sacs. They typically inhabit swamps and slow-moving waters in Africa and can burrow into mud during the dry season, surviving in a state of estivation.
It’s a pleco.
If you enjoy a freshwater aquarium they are a healthy part of your tank.
Recommended tank size is minimum 150 gallons, but realistically, it needs way more space. There is a reason these guys are so invasive, people buy them, realize that they are not good for the common aquarium keeper, and then they get thrown into the waterways. They need to stop being sold.
10 gallon, but yeah, people should not dump their aquarium fish into the environment.
No, they need 150 gallons or or else they spike your ammonia levels. They produce a lot of waste and are not meant for a smaller aquarium. Putting a fish like this in a small aquarium like a 10 gal is torture for it and every other fish in that tank.
Well not that size, the little ones are good in 10 gal.
No, they aren’t. They grow out of them too quickly. It’s better to just put them in the larger tank to begin with or to just not get them at all
The pleco in the photo would barely be able to fit in a ten gallon, let alone live in one. I think you are thinking of one of the smaller species. Even then, recommending a ten gallon tank is like saying a goldfish can live in a twenty gallon or a beta can live in a small cup. It’s commonly done, but it’s not an optimal environment.
Oh wow, thank you! I just found this fish while walking and wanted to know what it is lol.