Brown pleco

Hypostomus plecostomoides

Also known as LDA038, LDA042, Plecostomoides

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 10.2 in (26 cm)
Minimum tank: 79 gal (300 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Orinoco basin, Colombia and Venezuela
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

The brown pleco is a big, plain, hard-working catfish best kept one to a tank, since adults are large and need room to themselves. It grazes wood and surfaces and rests under cover, coming out more in the evening. It is peaceful and mixes well with robust community fish that are too big to be seen as food. Give it algae wafers, blanched vegetables and sinking pellets, and keep driftwood on hand, since wood is part of its natural diet. Its adult size is the main thing to plan for: allow a long tank of at least 300 liters with strong filtration.

In the wild

Hypostomus plecostomoides comes from the Orinoco basin in Colombia and Venezuela, where it lives in and around driftwood in flowing stretches of river. A spacious tank with big pieces of wood, a sand floor and brisk, well-oxygenated flow suits it. Aim for soft to neutral water in the pH 6.0 to 7.5 band, kept warm at around 25 to 29 C. A strong filter and regular water changes keep pace with a large, messy grazer.

Good to know

Hypostomus plecostomoides is a large member of Loricariidae, growing to around 26 centimeters. It was described in 1922 by Carl Eigenmann, and its name simply means resembling Plecostomus, the old genus name for the common pleco it looks so much like. Breeding is considered hard in aquaria, since large Hypostomus seldom spawn indoors and need burrow or cave sites and plenty of room.

Did you know

Taxonomy sometimes states the obvious: the name plecostomoides just means looks like a Plecostomus, a nod to how closely this fish echoes the ordinary common pleco of the fish shop.