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Tropical Fish and
Goldfish for Sale
This video shows a Plecostomus Catfish about 7" long that's scouring the surface of a big rock for bits of algae. Plecostomus
Catfish are the best algae eaters.
Plecostomus Catfish are also called Plecos and Algae Eaters. But they are not a replacement for regular aquarium maintenance. Click
here
to buy Plecostomus Catfish from us.
This Plecostomus would work hard for a few minutes then relax and rest for a few minutes, and repeat this cycle of working and resting
all day long.
Scientific Names
There are many species
of fish that are
commonly called
Plecostomus or Plecos by
aquarium hobbyists. Hypostomus plecostomus and
several other species also appear on this page.
The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site.
Comments
Plecostomus are funny looking and most people enjoy having one in their aquarium. There are many species of Plecostomus, and almost all species
tend to stay out of the light and many species of Plecostomus are nocturnal, which means they hide in a dark place when the lights are on and come out when the lights are off.
Plecostomus
catfish constantly clean algae off the surfaces of everything. They are very good aquarium fish, but they are not a substitute for cleaning your aquarium and
changing some of the water. Click
here for more about regular aquarium maintenance.
Click
here
to listen to
Tom and Nevin, The Bailey Brothers, interview Chris from
Australia about Breeding Ancistrus Catfish.
Most Plecostomus species are rather fragile when small. By the time they have grown to 2" they are stronger; at 2.5" they are tough, and at
3.5" they are very tough. It's probably best to buy one that is at least 2.5" long.
Here is a picture of a Bushy Nose Plecostomus that Wally Billingham gave us permission to use. Thanks Wally. I think this is a picture of one fish and its reflection in the glass of the
aquarium. This fish is a member of the Ancistrus genus, and Wally's picture shows lots of bushy "whiskers".
Appropriate Home
An aquarium with an
exterior power filter with a BIO-Wheel, a
maximum of 1/4 inch of
gravel, and an
aquarium heater
adjusted to between 72 and 80 degrees. Plecostomus Catfish can tolerate cooler water, perhaps down to 65 degrees F., provided the water temperature decreases gradually over a period of days. Click
here
for more about warm water aquariums.
Plecostomus
Catfish
enjoy Cichlid
Stones, which
are hollow
ceramic aquarium
caves that make
ideal homes for
Plecostomus. Click
here for
more about
Cichlid Stones.
Here is another picture of a Bushy Nose Plecostomus that was contributed by Wally Billingham, who gave us permission to use it. In this
picture you can see in detail the mouth that this fish uses to suck onto the glass of aquariums.
Bushy Nose Plecos., like the one shown above, rarely grow longer than 5", and they are very good aquarium fish. We recommend them for most aquariums. Whereas, the
regular Plecostomus, which is shown in the video at the top of this page, can grow to be over 30" long and become too big for most aquariums.
Recommended Diet
Floating Flake Food for Tropical Fish. Plecostomus will actually swim upside down at the surface of the water to eat floating
flake food, which is
available in most stores
that sell pet fish. Hikari makes sinking foods specifically for bottom feeding catfish.
This food is very good
for Plecostomus and is available in most stores
that sell pet fish.
Always be very careful
not to feed more than
your fish can eat
quickly, because uneaten
food will spoil and pollute the aquarium water. Click
here
for more about feeding fish. Plecostomus Catfish do not seem to eat worms such as Black Worms. Click
here for more about Black Worms.
In the past we fed most fish several type of food to
provide a
varied
diet. But
now we
feed almost all of our fish only premium fish food pellets
and/or flakes. Premium fish foods contain all the nutrients
needed by almost all types of fish. Click
here
to read more about premium fish foods.
Two pictures of a nice
Plecostomus species
about 8" long that was
gnawing on a piece of
driftwood, as these
pictures were taken.
The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site.
Compatibility
One Plecostomus Catfish in an aquarium is enough. They are the best algae eaters, but they'll eat almost anything else too. They will
not keep your aquarium clean. Click
here for more about regular aquarium maintenance.
The advertisement, shown below, links to
this advertiser's web site.
Size and Lifespan
Regular Plecostomus can live 10 years and probably much longer and grow to be at least 24" long, but they rarely exceed 12" in
an aquarium.
Click
here to go to another page in this web site with a story, titled "Our Mother's
Burl", about Plecostomus Catfish.
Above, a wonderful Bushymouth
Plecostomus, shown just
above, lives in a
55-gallon aquarium with
lots of mature
Angelfish. But this fish
is difficult to find,
because it's usually
hiding underneath or
inside an ornament.
Still when it does
appear, it's a real
treat to see !!
Above,
another mysterious
Plecostomus species
living in the same
aquarium. This is
possibly a Bristlenose
female.
Above,
five pictures of a young White Spotted
Plecostomus. These
catfish are
raised by fish farmers
and are very good
aquarium fish. The
scientific name is Glyptoperichthys
joselimaianus, and there
are two L-numbers: L001
and L022. Click
here to buy this
fish now.
Above, a
young Marbled Sailfin
Plecostomus.
These are also
raised by fish farmers
and are very good
aquarium fish. The
scientific name is
Pterygoplichthys
gibbiceps, and there are
two L-numbers: L083 and
L165.
Click
here to buy this
fish now.
Above,
a Gold
Marbled
Sailfin
Plecostomus
relaxing in
one of our
aquariums.
;^ }
Above,
a nice wild
Plecostomus,
which is
some sort of
Royal
Pleco.,
which is no
longer being
exported
from the
Amazon River
basin.
Above,
this is a
so-called
Trinidad
Pleco, the
commonest
Plecostomus
in the
Aquarium
Hobby. It a
nice
energetic
fish, but it
can grow to
be huge.
Above,
three pictures of a wonderful
aquarium
fish, the
Emperor
Pleco, which
has the
L-Number,
L204.
Above,
two beautiful Long Fin Plecos, a young Golden Long Fin Pleco and a Long Fin Pleco, both photographed by one of us in one of our aquariums.
This species eats a lot of algae and can be quarrelsome with
other Plecos but is not too aggressive. This is a very good
and very pretty aquarium fish.
Click
here to continue on to another page in this web site that contains Customer Comments
and our Replies about keeping and caring for Plecostomus Catfish.
Click
here to continue on to another page in this web site that contains Customer Comments
and our Replies about keeping and caring for Plecostomus Catfish.
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this advertiser's web site.
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here
to verify our "PayPal Reputation",
which shows we have been selling on PayPal since 2002,
and we've sold items to thousands of satisfied customers.
Holliday Gift Idea
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Click on
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a PayPal Gift Certificate for
someone, who loves pet fish.
About our Fish Photographs ...
Almost all the photographs and videos, shown on this web site, were taken
by us in our aquariums of our fish. Compare the healthy,
beautiful, energetic fish in our beautiful aquariums to the
fish in our competitors pictures. Their fish often look thin
with clamped fins and poor color.
We buy the highest quality fish, produced by the best fish
farms or caught by the best collectors of wild fish, then we take incredibly good care of our fish in our beautiful aquariums. If you compare the pictures on this site to our competitors pictures, you can instantly see, our fish and aquariums are better!
;^ }
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