Tiger Pleco (L002)

Panaqolus sp. L002

Also known as L002, Tiger Peckoltia, Panaqolus tankei, Tiger Plec

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 5.1 in (13 cm)
Minimum tank: 40 gal (150 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Tocantins in Para, Brazil.
Family: Loricariidae

Overview

A small wood-eating pleco for a tank around 150 liters with driftwood always available. Its gut is built for wood and fiber, so keep soft wood on hand and feed sinking wood-based and vegetable pellets and blanched zucchini, with only occasional protein. Fairly peaceful but territorial around its favored log or cave.

In the wild

Lives in clear, fast, rocky waters of the Tocantins with plenty of sunken wood. Like the rest of the Panaqolus group it is a wood eater, rasping driftwood and digesting the biofilm and fiber, so submerged wood is part of its diet rather than just decor. Wants driftwood, caves, and moving oxygenated water.

Good to know

Traded as L002, this striped wood-eating pleco is often linked to the described species Panaqolus tankei, though the identity is not fully settled. It carries bold dark tiger bands over a lighter body, and the stripe pattern shifts with age. Panaqolus are the small wood-eating cousins of the big royal plecos.