Spotted Rubber Plecostomus (L-056)
Officially the Parancistrus aurantiacus, the Spotted Rubber Pleco was first described by Castelnau in 1855. Growing to 10 inches in length, the Spotted Rubber Pleco has a blunted mouth with an extra thick upper “lip”, hence the name. Heavily armored, the scales have a golden brown hue with a darker black interlocking area, resulting in a reticulated pattern. The pectoral fins will develop bristles, the male having more and larger bristles. The tail is not forked and all of the rays of the fins are rather thick looking. Also listed as L-056 in the Loricariidae listing, this plecostomus originally comes from the Rio Araguri.
The under slung mouth of the pleco acts as a suction devise to hold it in place, and to allow the specialized teeth to rasp algae off of rocks, plants and glass. This makes the pleco one of the best eaters of algae, its primary job in the home aquarium. They require some cover in the form of a rocky cave or large piece of driftwood in which to “hang out” most of the time. The Plecostomus will usually only be active during feeding and at night. Their body is flattened along the abdomen and most have a forked tail fin. The dorsal fin is kept near the body, but can be raised as a display to other fish. The pectoral fins often have small bristles and have thickened first rays. This can lead to problems when catching with a net, and the pectoral fins can puncture the unwary finger. It also makes it difficult for predators to swallow a plecostomus. While their primary diet is algae, they will scavenge other foods and should have their diet supplemented with algae wafers and blanched zucchini spears. Plecos are safe with most all other fish; though there are reports of them bothering slow moving, wide body fish, i.e. Goldfish, Discus. It appears that the pleco is eating the body slime of the fish and this is not good. Larger plecos will damage live plants, not necessarily by eating them, but as they browse on algae growing on the plant, their body weight snaps the stems of the plant. Dead or dying leaves are a food source, but healthy leaves are not eaten. The scales of the pleco act as armor plating and allow the pleco to survive with much larger fish. Most plecos will tolerate other plecos in the same aquarium, but there are exceptions, and plenty of hiding places are required. Generally long lived, the pleco can make a great addition as a scavenger in the aquarium.
Approximate arrival size for Spotted Rubber Plecostomus: 2-3".
