Royal pleco

Panaque nigrolineatus

Also known as L190, Royal plec

FreshwaterFish

Royal pleco (Panaque nigrolineatus) — pl:user:lcamtuf · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 16.9 in (43 cm)
Minimum tank: 125 gal (473 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Origin: Orinoco and Amazon basins
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

Keep one per tank, since they are territorial toward other plecos and catfish, in a tank of at least 473 liters. They are mostly peaceful bottom dwellers but need a lot of space and their own wood to rasp on. Driftwood is not optional, they scrape and digest it with gut bacteria, so keep several large pieces available at all times along with vegetables like zucchini and sweet potato. They produce a lot of sawdust-like waste and a heavy bioload, so run oversized filtration and good flow, and hold the water at 22 to 28 C with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Pick tankmates that stay out of the bottom zone and won't compete for the same territory.

In the wild

Royal plecos come from fast, oxygen-rich stretches of the Orinoco and Amazon basins, where they spend their time on submerged wood and rocky bottoms. To match that, give them a tank with several large pieces of driftwood, a sand or smooth substrate to protect the belly, and strong flow from oversized filtration. Keep the water between 22 and 28 C with a pH from 6.5 to 7.5. They want a big, mature tank with plenty of current and cover.

Good to know

This is a wood-eating catfish in the family Loricariidae, a large pleco that reaches around 43 cm as an adult. Breeding in the home tank is hard and rarely done, so most fish in the trade are wild caught. They are long-lived and can stay with you for many years given the right setup.

Did you know

This is one of the few fish that actually eats wood. It rasps fine shavings off driftwood and relies on bacteria in its long gut to break down the cellulose, which is why the waste comes out looking like wet sawdust. Take the wood away and the whole digestive system has nothing to work with.