Common Plecostomus: one of the most mistreated fish in the hobby
- Sep 05, 2020
- Anshika Mishra
- 5202 0 0
The common Plecastomus is one of those fish that you see absolutely everywhere. They are one of the misunderstood fish in the aquarium hobby.
Here are 10 things you should know about Common Plecastomus:
What are they?
Plecastomus or Plecos are found in freshwater streams and rivers in South America. But these days you can find them in many other places. They are not nocturnal catfish that so many newcomers to the fish keeping hobby call, algae eater, but in reality, they are much more than that.
One of the coolest things about Common Plecastomus is that their scale seems to form like a natural armor to them. If you ever touch them, you'll know they are hard and stiff, very rough, unlike most of the fishes in the hobby.
Variety?
There are tons of different Plecos available in the market. Some of these varieties of Plecos are absolutely gorgeous, but in here, we are focusing on the Common Plecastomus. It is also known as Plecastomus Plecastomus, but it is more popular as Common Plecastomus because it is the most common one.
They are everywhere, you will see them every pet store you go to. It is one of those fish you hear about almost as soon as you start the hobby.
Tank Requirements?
Too many people make the mistake of putting this catfish, that gets huge, in a small 20 or 30-gallon tank. JUST DON'T DO IT.
If you are having thought of getting these fish, do the right thing and put them in a minimum of the 6-foot tank. But if you have a 5-foot tank and you want to get a Common Plecastomus to go ahead, but only if you know that you'll be upgrading your tank to a 6-foot tank down the road.
What Do They Eat?
When you go to the pet store for buying food for Common Plecastomus, you are going to find several different kinds of food for them and they are made specifically for these fish.
The most common will be your algae wafers. Algae wafers are great because Plecoa typically loves them and they are a great source of fiber and protein for them. Just know that will usually wat everything that you throw in the tank.
Plecos are not nocturnal, so they'll do a lot of scavenging for food when the lights are off, they will pick up uneaten food by other fish and they will not be picky about it.
If you want to have some fun the next time you make a salad, slice some zucchini or cucumber and throw it in there with them, they will go crazy over it.
How Big Do They Get?
Common Plecastomus is the fish that you can find in every fish store on the planet. You will usually be going to find them in 2-3 maybe 4-inches range. But understand this, these are babies.
Yes, Common Plecastomus are catfish, and if there is one thing for sure about the catfish is that they grow fast. But how big do these things get?
They can get pretty big, about 24-inches, so do not put these fish in a 20-gallon tank.
One thing you should know before getting a Common Plecastomus, will you keep it forever? Because believe it or not, with this common pleco what happens most of the time is, it ends up getting returned to the pet store, 2-foot long, and nobody wants it.
There are tons of Plecos out there, with a bit of research you will definitely find a pleco that you can bring home and give it forever home to.
Breeding
Not a lot of people breed Common Plecastomus because it requires such a large setup and again they are called Common Plecastomus for a reason; they are everywhere.
But still, if you are willing to breed them, just know that they like to breed in caves, the female will go into the cave and lay hundreds of eggs, the male will follow and fertilize the eggs, afterward, the protect the cave and watches over the eggs & frays.
If you genuinely want to breed them, it is recommended to get some smaller, difficult to find species.
Parameters?
These are some of the hardiest fish in the hobby. These fishes are practically bulletproof. They can tolerate a lot and they are not overly picky about the water parameters.
You should still do the right thing, make sure you have a big enough tank, keep the water clean, give them plenty of current, some caves and stuff to hide in, and plenty of good food. Do not rely on these fish only eating algae.
Tank Mates?
Plecos are catfish, which means that they can eat anything that can fit in their mouth, even small fishes. So, use some common sense.
Generally, they won't hurt other fish, but if they get large enough and there are smaller fish in the tank and they have the opportunity, they won't hesitate.
You can keep them in the community tank with Arowanas or African Cichlid tanks. You might wake up one morning and you have a dead fish in the tank and you notice that your Pleco is attached to that chopping it away, don't panic and blame you Pleco.
What most likely has happened is that your fish just died, for whatever reason and your Pleco took the opportunity to just give it a little extra food. Most likely your Pleco would not hurt another fish.
Not Your Maid Service
For most people in the hobby, the alga is a huge problem. You can do everything to get rid of it but it keeps coming back and you think that a Common Plecastomus is the answer to that.
Wait for a second!
If there is a build-up of algae in your aquarium there is a reason for that. It could be that you are not keeping up with you aquarium maintenance, you are not cleaning out your filter, you might be leaving lights on for a long time, maybe your tank is sitting right next to a window, there could be 100 of thing that might be causing algae problem in your tank.
Fix the problem rather than using a fish to do the job for you. Well, depending upon what type of tank you have, it's size, and fishes in it, there might be a better option out there for helping to keep algae under control than the Common Plecastomus.
Common Plecastomus isn't going to work for you because your tank is too smaller or whatever, try other things or smaller algae-eating fish.
A Public Service Announcement
It is believed that Common Plecastomus is one of the most mistreated fish in the hobby. So many people who buy this fish, do it for the wrong reason and they completely disregard how huge these fishes can get.
They buy them as tank cleaners or worker fishes. Again wholly disregarding the need of the fish, then the fish outgrows the tank, and then it does one of two things; either live a miserable life in the smaller tank or they do something even worse, setting them free in the nearest lake or river.
If you are just buying this fish to clean your tank than better, don't, or you want to get the tank but have a 29-gallon tank don't if you want to get one because they are an absolutely fascinating fish and you have the right amount of space to accommodate them, then go for it, because they really are an awesome fish.
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