Catfish and Plecos
Common Pleco
Hypostomus plecostomus
Photo: Raphaël Covain, Natural History Museum of Geneva · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Temperature22–28 °C
- pH6.5–8
- Minimum tank400 l
- Adult size40 cm
- Difficulty★☆☆☆☆
- TemperamentPeaceful
- WaterFresh
Full profile
- Family
- Loricariidae
- Origin
- Guianas and Trinidad
- Size
- 40 cm
- Temperature
- 22 – 28°C
- pH
- 6.5 – 8.0
- GH
- 4 – 20 °dGH
- Difficulty
- ★☆☆☆☆
- Water type
- tropical freshwater
- Swimming level
- lower
- Behavior
- Pacific (as an adult, territorial)
- Minimum number of individuals
- 1
- Minimum aquarium size
- 400 L
- Diet
- herbivore – omnivore
- Reproduction
- oviparous; does not reproduce in the aquarium
Notes: The classic pleco found in stores. It’s bought as an algae eater when it’s 5 cm long, but it grows to half a meter and makes a big mess. For medium-sized aquariums, an ancistrus is a better choice.
