Bristlenose Pleco

Glass Catfish

Pims Catfish

Plecostomus hypostomus (Common pleco)

Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps

• Water Chemistry: Clean water
• Diet: Omnivorious but needs a lot of vegetation/greens in their diet.
• Temperament: Peaceful towards all tank mates but can hold its own against most robust fish.

Maintenance:This is one of the most common “plecos” available in the hobby. They are readily available all around the world and relatively cheap. The problem with these “little” guys is they do not stay little. They can reach a foot in length with ease, and many may even exceed this. They enjoy having a piece of wood or rock to call home and hide under during resting periods. Not really suited for planted tanks as they often uproot plants while searching for food.

Feeding: They often live off the scraps that your fish have spat out or missed, but do not be fooled into thinking this is all they need. They will feed on flake food and pellets but adding extra greens such as romaine lettuce, zucchini, shelled peas is an advisable and necessary practice if you wish to get the most out of your pleco.. I feed mine with dried seaweed from asian stores.

These plecos quickly learn to eat prepared foods and if floating pellets are used they will quickly learn to eat from the surface while swimming upside down.

Usefulness: These fish do play their part in picking up scraps that other fish miss but by no means eliminate the need to keep up water change routines. They have been hailed in the past as “algae eaters” but this hardly the case. They quickly become accustomed to eating prepared foods.