Golden hypostomus

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a large, cool-water pleco, best kept one to a tank. It is generally peaceful but grows big and can be territorial with other bottom-dwellers, so choose tankmates with care and give it floor space to itself. It grazes algae and biofilm and needs plenty of vegetables such as courgette and blanched greens, with the odd protein treat. It appreciates driftwood to rasp and a good current. Because it reaches around 35 centimeters and prefers cooler water, give it a roomy tank of at least 400 liters with strong flow.

In the wild

It lives in the Uruguay River basin across southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, subtropical rivers that run cooler than most tropical pleco streams. Give it moving, oxygen-rich water over rock and driftwood, and keep it on the cool side, around 18 to 26 C, with a pH of 6.5 to 7.8. It does not want tropical heat, so an unheated or lightly heated tank often suits it best.

Good to know

Hypostomus luteus is a loricariid that grows to about 35 centimeters. Its name comes from the Latin for yellow, and it earns it: young fish are a drab brown speckled with yellow, but as they mature the dark pigment fades and the body turns a solid butter gold. Breeding in aquaria is not on record, so there is no established method.

Did you know

The gold color arrives only with age. Juveniles are plain brown with yellow flecks, so keepers who move their fish on while young never get to see the adult turn fully golden.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Common pleco

  Hypostomus plecostomus

  Freshwater

  15.7 in (40 cm)85 gal (320 L)72–86°F (22–30°C)

• 

  Spotted pleco

  Hypostomus punctatus

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  11.8 in (30 cm)79 gal (300 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
• Brown pleco

  Hypostomus plecostomoides

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  10.2 in (26 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Basilisk pleco

  Hypostomus basilisko

  Freshwater

  9.4 in (24 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Macushi pleco

  Hypostomus macushi

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Red bruno pleco

  Hypostomus soniae

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)79 gal (300 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)