Ghost pleco

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep this pale, heavy-bodied pleco on its own, as one settled adult per tank; it is peaceful toward other fish but does not need or want company of its own kind. It stakes out a cave or a shaded gap in the rockwork and grows fairly large, so pair it with calm mid-water community fish rather than tiny nervous ones. It is an easygoing omnivore that takes sinking pellets, algae wafers, and frozen foods such as bloodworm, and it grazes biofilm off wood and stone. Once its cave is chosen it is undemanding. Allow a tank of at least 250 liters with rock, driftwood, and steady flow.

In the wild

It comes from the Tapajos and Tocantins basins of eastern Brazil, clear rocky rivers with warm water and a good current over stone and wood. A tank that echoes that has plenty of smooth rock and driftwood arranged into caves, a sand or fine gravel floor, and brisk, well-oxygenated flow. Keep the water warm at roughly 25 to 29 C with a pH of 6.0 to 7.4, and stay on top of water changes.

Good to know

Ancistomus snethlageae is a loricariid catfish that grows to about 22 centimeters, grey with faint darker spotting that dulls with age. It carries the L-numbers L141 and L215 in the trade. It is a cave-spawning egg layer of moderate breeding difficulty, with the male tending the eggs. The species is named for Emilie Snethlage, a German-Brazilian naturalist.

Did you know

Its name honors Emilie Snethlage, a naturalist who led collecting expeditions deep into the Amazon in the early 1900s and went on to direct a major Brazilian museum, at a time when very few women held such posts.

Tank mates

Ghost pleco is a peaceful, solitary species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.

• 

  Marble whiptail

  Loricaria simillima

  Freshwater

  10.2 in (26 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Wolverine pleco

  Hopliancistrus wolverine

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)81–88°F (27–31°C)

• 

  Beardless barb

  Cyclocheilichthys apogon

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
• Peppermint pleco

  Spectracanthicus punctatissimus

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)66 gal (250 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)
• Blackline poropuntius barb

  Poropuntius melanogrammus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)
• Tiraparae eartheater

  Gymnogeophagus tiraparae

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)66 gal (250 L)61–79°F (16–26°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Big spot pleco

  Ancistomus feldbergae

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Rubber pleco

  Parancistrus aurantiacus

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Circular whiptail

  Planiloricaria cryptodon

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Peruvian royal whiptail

  Sturisoma nigrirostrum

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Tamana royal farlowella

  Sturisomatichthys tamanae

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Xingu peppermint pleco

  Parancistrus nudiventris

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)79 gal (300 L)81–88°F (27–31°C)