Peppermint pleco

Care at a glance

Overview

The peppermint pleco is a small, dark Spectracanthicus dusted with fine pale spots, at home in a warm, fast tank. It is solitary and territorial for its size, so keep one to a tank, or a small group only if you can give a cave for every fish plus room to spread out. It stays on the bottom among rock and is peaceful toward midwater tankmates. Feed it as an omnivore leaning to vegetables: algae wafers and blanched courgette or cucumber, with regular sinking pellets and the occasional meaty frozen food. It needs brisk flow and high oxygen, so filter heavily and allow a tank of around 250 liters.

In the wild

Spectracanthicus punctatissimus is native to the Rio Xingu in Brazil, where it lives in fast, clear, oxygen-rich water among submerged rock and wood over sand. Match that with a scape of stone stacks and driftwood forming caves, set in strong current. Keep it warm, 26 to 30 C, and around pH 6.0 to 7.2, and run strong filtration or a circulation pump so the water stays turbulent and well oxygenated. Stability matters as much as the numbers, since the Xingu runs clean and steady.

Good to know

Spectracanthicus punctatissimus belongs to Loricariidae and reaches about 12 centimeters, jet black under the finest pale stippling. The species name is Latin taken to its limit, punctatissimus, meaning most spotted of all, and the fish earns it. Carrying the trade code L030, it is rarely bred in captivity; spawning is considered hard and demands the warm, fast, oxygen-rich conditions of its home river.

Did you know

The name punctatissimus is Latin at its highest setting, the superlative of spotted, meaning most spotted of all. Few fish are named quite so emphatically for a single feature, and this one backs it up.

Tank mates

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

• Blue Phantom Pleco (L128)

  Hemiancistrus sp. L128

  Freshwater

  9.8 in (25 cm)66 gal (250 L)81–86°F (27–30°C)
• Tiraparae eartheater

  Gymnogeophagus tiraparae

  Freshwater

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

• 

  Para pleco

  Peckoltia sabaji

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)
• Head-spot delta pleco

  Lasiancistrus tentaculatus

  Freshwater

  6.7 in (17 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Slender hemiodus

  Hemiodus gracilis

  Freshwater

  7.1 in (18 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
• La Plata eartheater

  Gymnogeophagus australis

  Freshwater

  6.1 in (15.5 cm)66 gal (250 L)61–79°F (16–26°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• Polka dot pleco

  Spectracanthicus zuanoni

  Freshwater

  5.1 in (13 cm)79 gal (300 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Candy Striped Pleco (L015)

  Peckoltia vittata

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)30 gal (115 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Eigenmann's whiptail

  Rineloricaria eigenmanni

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)29 gal (110 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Common whiptail

  Rineloricaria parva

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)20 gal (75 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Orinoco polka-dot pleco

  Hypancistrus contradens

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)42 gal (160 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Bristlenose pleco

  Ancistrus sp.

  Freshwater

  4.9 in (12.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)