Thunder Royal Pleco (L027)

Care at a glance

Overview

A large, slow-growing pleco that needs a tank of about 570 liters or more with several types of soft driftwood always available. Its gut depends on wood fiber, so provide wood as a staple and supplement with fresh vegetables like zucchini and some sinking foods, keeping protein light. Peaceful toward most tankmates but territorial with other large bottom dwellers as it matures.

In the wild

Lives in large, fast rivers of the Tapajos among sunken logs and rock, where it spends its time rasping on submerged wood. As a true Panaque it is a wood eater, grinding driftwood with spoon-shaped teeth and digesting the fiber and biofilm, so driftwood is essential to its health rather than optional. Wants strong flow, oxygen, and plenty of soft wood.

Good to know

Described as Panaque armbrusteri, the Tapajos royal is one of the big true royal plecos, marked with bold gold or cream lines on a dark olive body that give the thunder line and gold line trade names. Panaque are among the very few fish able to live largely on wood. Their spoon-shaped teeth are a specialized adaptation for scraping it.

Did you know

Panaque host special gut microbes that help break down cellulose, which is how a fish manages to make a living eating driftwood.

Related species

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