Imperial ranger pleco

Pterygoplichthys punctatus

Also known as Punctatus sailfin pleco

FreshwaterFish

Imperial ranger pleco (Pterygoplichthys punctatus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 6.0–7.4
Adult size: 13 in (33 cm)
Minimum tank: 119 gal (450 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Madeira basin, Brazil and Bolivia
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

This is a big, hardy sailfin pleco with a well-earned janitor reputation and an industrial appetite, best kept one to a tank. It is peaceful with tankmates and has no need for its own kind, so keep it singly among large, calm community fish. It grazes algae and takes vegetables, sinking wafers, and pellets, and a big adult can flatten soft plants. Plan around its size from the day you buy the small, spotted juvenile. Give it a large tank of at least 450 liters with driftwood and open floor.

In the wild

It comes from the Madeira basin of Brazil and Bolivia, working slow, warm stretches of lowland river. It is undemanding and thrives in a big tank with driftwood, open sand, and easygoing water chemistry. Keep it warm at roughly 25 to 29 C with a pH of 6.0 to 7.4, and use strong filtration, since a fish this size is a heavy feeder and a heavy waste producer.

Good to know

Pterygoplichthys punctatus is a loricariid that reaches about 33 centimeters, light brown to gray and covered in small dark spots. Like all sailfin plecos it carries a tall dorsal fin with ten or more rays. In the wild it spawns in burrows dug into riverbanks, which is very hard to set up at home, so breeding is rated hard.

Did you know

There is an easy way to tell a sailfin pleco from a common one: count the rays in the big dorsal fin. Sailfins like this carry ten or more, while a common pleco has only about seven or eight.

Tank mates

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