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Pleco ~ Plecostomus

~ Suckermouth Catfish ~ ~ Armor-Plated Catfish ~ Family: Loricariidae Picture of a Leopard Pleco or Sailfin Plecostomus (Adult) Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

Picture of a Leopard Pleco or Sailfin Plecostomus (Juvenile)
Juvenile
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps Photo © Animal-World
Latest Reader Comment - See More
I love my pleco! Whenever my male balloon molly harrasses the female balloon molly when she's expecting, he'll (I'm fairly sure it's male) make him back off by... (more)  ABBY  2009-04-18

   One of the hardiest and most enduring of all catfishes, the Pleco or Plecostomus is the most common catfish used for getting rid of problem algae in the aquarium!

   The Pleco or Plecostomus are nocturnal so it is best to feed them in the evening just before turning out the lights. A word of caution, they have been known to remove slime from latterally flattened fish like discus and angelfish when they are sleeping! Even though they are herbivores they can get quite large and can become too big for small aquariums.

   Keep some wood in the tank since rasping algae from the wood provides a perfect place for more algae to grow maintaining a constant food source for this fish. Also, the cellulose in wood is necessary for their digestive process.

   Pleco or Plecostomus make very good community fish as they are peaceful with other tankmates. The only exception to this is they can get aggressive and territorial towards other plecos if they were not raised together.

   There are many species (over 100 Hypostomus species) sold under the name "Pleco" and the main differences between the species seems to be in their varying color patterns.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium


Geographic Distribution
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps
Data provided by FishBase.org
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Actinopterygii
  • Order: Siluriformes
  • Family: Loricariidae
Care and feeding:
   Since they are herbivorous the Pleco or Plecostomus will eat undesirable algae. They will not harm plants, but make sure the aquarium is well seasoned and do feed a supplemental sinking algae pellet to make sure they don't starve. Because they are super algae eaters, they must have their veggies! (Note: they have not been observed to eat blue algae.)

Distribution:
   The Pleco or Plecostomus are found in most of South America.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to 24 inches (60 cm).

Social Behaviors:
   They are a good community fish.

Sexual Differences:
   Not known.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   The Pleco or Plecostomus will swim in the bottom of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 1-25° dGH
   Ph: 6.5 to 7.0
   Temp: 24-27° C

Breeding/Reproduction:
   This fish has not been bred in an aquarium.

Availability:
   The Pleco or Plecostomus is readily available.




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Latest Comments
I love my pleco! Whenever my male balloon molly harrasses the female balloon molly when she's expecting, he'll (I'm fairly sure it's male) make him back off by disdracting his attention while the female has a chance to go hide in the plecos stump. X3 I think it's cute.
ABBY
2009-04-18
I have 3 plecos. One of my plecos is a sailfin and I fear that he is not doing so good as he rises to the surface and sits on one side with some of his body out (It is always the same side).
mark
2008-12-16
I have a redtail catfish and 2 plecos. My redtail is about 25cm long and the 1 pleco is about 15cm long. The other one is still young and hides all day in a wreck in my tank. I have just added 4 parrot fish and they all seem to get on very well just my redtail tried to grab everyones food after he has bobbled up his food. I'm just worried that my redtail will grow too large for my tank which is a 200 litre tank.
Rene Ovadia
2008-12-13
I have a leopard pleco who does not seem to be doing so well. He has not eaten for the last 3 weeks, has not defecated in that long, his belly looks swollen. The tank is cleaned weekly, he is in a 55 gal tank. We had a algae bloom and treated it. We use a uv sterilizer and did a big water change 3 days ago. Today he would swim to top, take a breath, go back to bottom and almost fall on his side. any suggestion. thanks
Deb
2008-10-08
Today my girlfriend bought me a pleco leopard and albino cory and they are doing just fine. Still in my small 10gallon tank things are a little crowded. The guppies are about to hatch and also the calico and celestial goldfish have died due to cloudy corneas. So just the guppies and the two new fish I got today... So if any one can help me with the goldfish would that be great and other than that I am still waiting for the nice size 120 gallon tank so I can build an actual home for all my fish and also homes for each kind.
Asian Fisherman5893
2008-09-15
Some of the coolest comments:
If you want a fast growing pleco, every now and then chuck a slice of zucchini into the tank. just microwave it in some water for 30 sec - 1 min, just to soften it, let cool. A generally yummy treat for most loaches and catfish i have owned
chris
2006-04-02
The common pleco displays sexual differences in males by small barbels that grow around the mouth when they are mature, females have larger stomachs. As many of you have found, they can grow quite large, leading to good resale value. I have a clown knifefish, an arowana, two young plecs and a rainbow shark. All are carnivorous, but leave the 3" plecos alone.
Tyler Greer
2004-03-26
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
I have 3 Sailfin pleco's, a Albino and a Chocolate Pleco (so i call it). I have them in two seperate tanks, one 4ft and one 6ft. They are the main attraction in my tanks and are normally well behaved. They do like there own space but argue when they have algae pellets and Zuchini. They get along with my Ghostknife's and Bristenose too. Sometimes come up for gulps of air for what reason i dont know but they seem to be happy. Found they do grow very fast and love to hide when i have visitors! Other than that, i will always have Pleco's in my tanks, just a pity you cant breed them (well easily anyway). Thanks for the info on this site too it was a great help!
paul
2007-01-17
These fish are great and so is this site. I just love this awesome site. My one is about 6 inches. Oh yeah your sites the best fish site
kayla nelson
2005-11-20
I have these two plecostomus and they seem pretty cool to keep. And your site is great.
tim
2004-04-21

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