Pleco – Catfish types available in the Betta Life Fish Room

Plecos are one of those fish types that once you have one you will want more. There are many versions of this fish that grow to a scale that is not reasonable to be housed in a regular home aquarium. There are some smaller species however that grow to a range within 4-8″ that make it easy to have one or a small group in your 20-75 Gallon home aquariums. 

Most people buy their plecos at around 1.5-2.5″, at this size they can live in 15-20 gallon tanks while they grow out – like most fish the larger the swimming space the quicker and the larger they seem to grow. 

Plecos are known as great algae eaters that like to feed on the algae growth found on your tank walls, plants, and other surfaces. A variety of surfaces will give them a variety of algae matters to chew on.  They usually eat at night as they prefer to hide in caves and other dark spaces they can find in the tanks during the day. If you use a night light on the tank you can usually catch them out. 

A common misconception is that plecos “clean” your tanks. While Plecos enjoy a mix of green and red diets they don’t usually damage any live plants in your tanks, but they will make a mess. Plecos are very messy fish, a fully cycled tank is necessary to ensure the proper level of bacteria is present to help control nitrate levels. You will also want to do 10-15% water changes weekly. In my experience with Plecos, it is better to do smaller water changes weekly, and then do your bottom syphon monthly to ensure better water quality for all the fish in your tanks. 

In the Betta Life fish room we have a variety of Pleco species. All of which grow to a full adult size of 4-8″. They are bred in local water, and fed a variety of foods such as algae wafers, zucchini and cucumber, bloodworms and brine shrimp. The variety ensures they get all the nutrients they need to live a long and happy life. 

Bristlenose Pleco

The Bristlenose Pleco when at a more mature approx size 3″ can be sexed by the visible bristles that start to grow on the males faces. When full grown they can reach a size anywhere between 4.5-5.5″. The tank size you house them in will affect the size and the speed in which they grow.

There are a couple color variations available. They are the most common in the brown multi and the white. You can also get super reds, and some in longer tail lengths.

It usually takes about 2 years for your bristlenose to grow to its full size potential, and on average they will live to 5 years. There have been reports of them living up to 12 years in captivity but that is much more rare. 

Bristlenose plecos prefer a plant based diet but do like a variety of foods. For this reason I feed algae wafers every other day along with zucchini and cucumber as a treat once a week. If you choose to feed this food to yours make sure you remove the uneaten portions after a few hours so it doesn’t rot or contaminate your water. Also you will want to use something to weight it down so it stays to the bottom of the tank. 

If you have a breeding pair that gives you cute little pleco babies, consider a partial carnivore diet. I find the babies love them and they grow a bit faster in the early stages and the variety diet also makes them a bit more hardy. They are very very messy, it is hard to keep the bottom of the tank clean when the new babies are so small, it is easy to suck them up. Once they have developed more and are larger you will have a much easier time with your water changes. 

L128 Blue Phantom 

Phantom plecos are available in blue and green. They look almost identical except the blue phantoms have a blue hue found in their fins. Both are stunning in your tank. 

They grow to approximately 7″ when they reach maturity. They also do well on an algae wafer diet but do enjoy bloodworms and brine shrimp from time to time, I a;so like to throw in a few carnivore pellets for them too. . Because I house my Plecos with bettas and guppies I already have a supply of frozen blood worms, and live and frozen BBS. I feed my tank with them 1-2 times a week for a treat and to make sure they are getting extra proteins they need to stay healthy. 

As your Plecos mature it is best and safest to house them in tanks with only other plecos of the same type. Plecos can get very aggressive and territorial to one another. If your wanting to have a group, try to have just one male with a few females, and make sure you have hiding spaces and caves for all the plecos in the tank. 

sexing these plecos is easiest as they mature, the females will appear to be a bot more swollen in the belly and wider in the head then the males. The females at time are also larger in overall size then the males. In my experiences with plecos, a lot of the time, the males with choose a pleco cave and that becomes his space, where as females will travel around the tank from time to time and choose different rest spaces in the tank. 

L066 King Tiger 

This beautiful pleco has black and white maze-like markings throughout the body and is found in the wild in Brazil. The growing popularity of plecos has increased the number of wild caught and imported species. We tank raise and breed all of our plecos so that they grow up to be used to our local water parameters and also to protect the number of plecos found in the wild.

King Tigers are another smaller pleco type growing out to an average of 5.5-6.5″.

If you want to keep more than one of these beauties in your tank it is always recommended to make sure there are ample hiding places. Especially if you are to have two males in the same tank. 

They do prefer a warmer tank, 78-85 degrees is best. Because of this it is very important you keep a heater that has an adjustable valve on it. They also like to have a rocky substrate and moderate to higher water flow. Keep this in mind as not all tanks mates you can put these plecos with will like the warmer waters and the higher flow. I keep a group of 5 in a 72 Gallon with a larger rock substrate and a filter hung on the side so that the flow blows through like a current. I also have lots of plants caves and wood chunks in the tank to create a more natural environment for them.

They tend to come out mostly at night, during the day I just see their tails hanging out of caves, decorations, or wood holes. 

L264 Sultan 

I love these plecos, in a natural planted tank the grey bodies black spots and white tips on their fins just seem to really pop. Because I love making aquascapes, I use a mixture of zebra rock and natural slate to make caves along with large chunks of wood with anubias and fern. Ferns and Anubias are my go too for all my tanks as they are low lite, low maintenance and dont need to be planted. 

These plecos grow out to about 6″ and are best kept in a tank with a 36″ bottom at minimum. I identified the min width of the tank because a 20 gallon tank for example can be 24″w and 16″h or a 20 gallon long can be 30″w and 12″h. The longer tank is better suited for plecos as it gives them more swimming room. 

All of my pleco tanks have a mix of rocks and caves, wood, real and fake plants. I see the plecos on the plant leafs from time to time, but they don’t eat them, they eat the particles they find on the leaf. The more variety and consistency you can give them in their diet the happier they are. I don’t typically see them eating during the day, they are usually hidden, so for the plecos I got into the habit of feeding at night, and then removing any uneaten food during the daily tank maintenance so it doesn’t rot.  

L134 Leopard Frog

For those of you who have a smaller tank 30″ in width, this is a great pleco for you. The Leopard Frog stays a small 3.5-4.5″. they are also a bit more active then some of the other plecos types. I have a breeding trio and they are very very cute. They all have their preferred hang out spaces during the day, and at night you can catch them exploring more. 

For the most part this pleco won’t bother with its tank mates. It can be housed with other community fish, and shrimp. Keep in mind if you are putting shrimp in your tank you will want to have larger species, as anything small and some fry can fall prey to this pleco. I currently have a small type guppy in the tank with the plecos, they dont seem to care at all that they are there. 

Feeding is pretty similar to all other types of plecos mentioned thus far. A good diet and variety of algae wafers, blood worms, and zucchini and cucumbers will go a long way to helping them live a happy healthy and longer life. 

L201 Orinoco Angel – Snowball Pleco

This pleco is primarily found in South Africa. For the most part are a peaceful species and grow out to be 4.5-5″ when mature. 

Snowball plecos are a bit more common like the bristlenose. In a tank with a natural aquascape they will stand out and compliment it well with their darker body color and white spots.

Although they are not a very large pleco they do prefer a larger tank size. For this species my go to tank is a 40 gallon breeder with lots of wood and rocks for them to climb and hide in during the day. If you are someone who likes live plants, dont worry, you may see them on the underbelly of a leaf but they won’t actually eat your plants. 

L262 Stardust 

As you can see their name suits them well as they have a variety of small spots on them that looks like a star filled sky. They are a more timid species and do better with other less aggressive fish. You don’t want them in a tank where they are competing for food or hiding spaces with other bottom dwelling fish.

Because plecos are a messy species a gravel substrate isn’t always recommended. In order to keep a cleaner tank a good filter and a sponge filter along with a clean bottom will go a long way. 

Stardust plecos also stay small 4-5.5″ at mature size. You can keep them alone in a community tank or with other plecos of the same species. If you do this make sure there are enough hiding places especially if there is more than one male in the tank. If you end up with a male and female you may end up with them spawning if the tank parameters are right. 

Plecos make great tank mates for just about any community tank. I house them with Polar Blue Parrot cichlid, Guppies, Betta Giants and regular betta types. For the most part the other fish don’t really care for them too much or bother them. 

With a variety of colors and types available you can really have fun finding the perfect one for you. 

Don’t forget! If you want to house a Pleco it is always recommended that you have wood, caves and or rock in your tanks. These items offer your pleco places to hide during the day, and also gives them a variety of surfaces to feed from. 

Good filtration is a must, in their natural environments Plecos are found in rivers and streams where there can be a wide range of water currents. The extra filtration will also help siphon some of the waste and mess that they make. Sponge filters are highly recommended. A cycled sponge filter will ensure that the water has enough healthy bacteria’s to support the nitrate cycle and keep the water clean and safe for your fish. 

If you have any questions about keeping your plecos happy or availability of any of the types mentioned above, just leave a comment below and someone from the Betta Life fish room will get back to you promptly…