Plecostomus - Aquarium Fish - Giant Algae Eater

When it comes to freshwater aquariums and problems with algae growth within your tank, the Plecostomus makes the need for magnetic glass cleaners obsolete. This is by far the best microscopic scavenger you will ever find. This giant algae eater, commonly called the Pleco, is a sucker catfish that is native to the Central and South American fresh waters. They are not even in the same league as those little Chinese Algae Eaters (never liked them anyway), as these Plecostomus sucker-freaks can not only totally rid your tank from algae, they will basically eat any leftover food you can dish out - including dead fish and/or anything that happens to die overnight; ha!

The negative, when concerning community tanks, is that they really don't have much of a personality, they like to be left alone, and act sort of like a living machine that only sleeps and works/eats with no play. The other shortcomings are not so short, as the fish can often grow too large for a regular tank! I've heard of them growing 2 feet long before, so if you only have a 29-gallon tank or less, for example, you do the math.

They are very hardy/tough, too. I've seen them survive in bad conditions when others have flopped. Not that keeping a tank under poor conditions is recommended, but such things can happen with the slightest mishap and during brief bouts of neglect. At any aquatic rate, if you are looking for a remedy for your algae problems, this is the one you need to add to your aquarium! I mean literally "one," as you will only need 1 per tank and it's not a good idea to add more Plecos for this style of competition in any semi-normal tank; trust me... :)

Update: Evidently, they have a decent lifespan, as well.  I gave one of these away to friend of mine several years ago, and that thing is still alive.  Let me see... I had it for about 4 years, then gave it away. The person I gave it to has now had it for 13 years. Good grief, that means that fish is 17 years old! Maybe it's a record because I just checked on a few sources on the Internet concerning the longevity of this fish and they all say 10 to 15 years in captivity.  Either way, that is pretty good for an aquarium fish, to say the least. ---End of Update

If you are fairly new to the aquarium hobby and would like some beginner tips, visit an old blog post of mine, here: perpendicularity.org/blog/2010/05/04/freshwater-aquariums-a-scenic-decorative-hobby/ [Link is no longer active, but that post has been moved here: "New Tank Syndrome."]

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons - Source = en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loricariidae

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