Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Catfish > Leopard Pleco

Pleco ~ Plecostomus

~ Suckermouth Catfish ~ ~ Armor-Plated Catfish ~ Family: Loricariidae

• Puzzles
• Postcards

Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough


Juvenile
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps Photo © Animal-World

   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

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.

Add your comment here!
Click to see All the comments!
Click to see all of the coolest comments!
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

Back to Catfish

Author: David Brough. CFS.