Common Pleco
Hypostomus plecostomus
Photo: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Grows toward two feet. A 100-gallon is the honest minimum. The four-inch fish at the shop is not the fish you will have.
Sold as an algae eater. Becomes an 18-inch waste factory.
Grows very large — one of the most commonly outgrown starter fish.
In the tank
- Juveniles do eat algae.
- Adults need a pond or a 100-gallon — the benefit ends there.
- Water
- freshwater
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Swims
- Bottom
- Adult size
- 18 in
- Minimum tank
- 100 gal
- Group
- Can be kept singly
- Temperature
- 72–82°F
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
- Diet
- Algae wafers, veg, and a lot of it. They outgrow the “algae eater” story in a year.
- Beginner
- Not a first fish
How to keep them
- Do not buy one for a 20-gallon community.
- If you already have one, plan the upgrade.
Tankmates
Nothing small enough to be furniture.
Avoid
Every starter kit. Buy a bristlenose instead.
Check tankmates · Stocking calculator
Same group
Corydoras Catfish
Corydoras spp.
The correct bottom crew for a community.
Sift sand so leftover food and mulm do not sit and rot.
Bristlenose Pleco
Ancistrus spp.
The pleco that actually fits in a home tank — and eats algae.
Rasp green algae and biofilm off glass, wood, and hardscape.
Kuhli Loach
Pangio kuhlii
Nocturnal sand noodles. They work leftover food after lights-out.
Pick food that hit the sand overnight.
Otocinclus
Otocinclus spp.
Tiny algae grazer for a mature planted tank.
Best small fish for soft green algae on leaves and glass.
Clown Loach
Chromobotia macracanthus
Snail-eater that outgrows the tank it was sold for.
Will hunt pest bladder snails.
Rainbow Shark
Epalzeorhynchos frenatum
One shark per tank. Owns the lower third.
Picks some algae and leftover food on the bottom.