Plecos

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Help and advice on shopping for: Plecos

What are plecos?

Plecos, also known as suckermouth catfish, are a type of tropical, freshwater catfish known for their barbels, sucker-like mouths, and armoured plates. There are more than 800 species of pleco, plus hundreds of different colour morphs. Some of the most popular varieties kept in aquariums are bristlenose plecos, characterised by the ‘bristles’ on their noses, clown plecos, zebra plecos, sailfin plecos, and blue phantom plecos.

A bristlenose pleco eating algae from the glass of an aquarium

How long do plecos live for?

On average, plecos can live for 10 to 15 years. It’s not unheard of, however, to hear of plecos living for more than 20 years when they’re kept in suitably sized aquariums equipped with powerful aquarium filters. To ensure that your pleco lives a long and healthy life, make sure that you provide it with such an environment, as well as feed it a variety of nutritious, catfish-specific sinking fish foods.

How big do plecos get?

Some species of plecos, such as common plecos, grow to huge sizes of 60cm+, despite only measuring a few centimetres as babies! Unless you have a large aquarium (>500L), you should avoid keeping these kinds of plecos. The best kinds of plecos for small and medium-sized fish tanks are bristlenose plecos. These typically grow to sizes of just 15cm and will serve as fantastic algae eaters, demolishing the brown and green algae that often grows on aquarium glass.