Suckermouth Catfish

Suckermouth Catfish is a nocturnal fish. Its common names other than Suckermouth Catfish are Pleco, Plecostomus and algae eater. Its scientific name is Hypostomus plecostomus. Its life span is of 10-15 years on an average. It grows to the size of 12 inches or 30 cms. Be careful as it has been known to remove slime from laterally flattened fish like discus and angelfish when they are sleeping. Know more about this fish through the following account.

Geographical Distribution

Basically, Suckermouth Catfish is found in tropical Central America and South America. It also occurs on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and both slopes of Panama, southward to Uruguay. In the wild, this fish is seen in fresh running waters and brackish waters of river mouths. In some places in the Southern US, it has been introduced from its native range. It is also introduced to many Asian countries such as Philippines. It is often cultured in ponds in Singapore and Hong Kong as it is it is renowned for the aquarium trade there.

Diet

Suckermouth Catfish accepts anything that is offered it to be eaten. Its diet should consist of vegetable based matter. For its staple diet pellets along with algae wafers or spirulina flake are ideal. It will greedily gobble brine shrimp and blood worms. It is better to feed it in the evening as this is a nocturnal fish.

Breeding

It is found that Suckermouth Catfish breeds in burrows excavated on sloping banks of rivers. There are no reports or evidences of Suckermouth Catfish being bred in an aquarium.

Physical Characteristics

Suckermouth Catfish has a short and robust body. It is black to grey in color. Its head and body is sheathed in longitudinal rows of armoured scutes with big fins and a tapered upper tail. It has an underslung mouth which helps it in eating up algae found on submerged rocks and boulders in the substrate.

Tank Set Up

Tank for Suckermouth Catfish depends on the size of this fish. For a majority, the tank size should be of minimum 28 inches or 71 cms. It should hold 76 liters to 98 liters or 20-25 gallons of water. Arrange dark colors in its tank and keep floating plants to diffuse light. Use fine substrate because this fish likes burrowing. Provide ample rocks, roots, and wood for hiding places. This fish can tolerate a ph ranging from 6 to 7.5. It prefers slightly acidic water. Hardness of water should be 2-14 dH as it likes soft water. Temperature required by this fish is 22 degree C to 28 degree C or 72 degree F to 82 degree F.

Social Behavior

Suckermouth Catfish is a peaceful fish that can be kept in a community tank.

Even though Suckermouth Catfish is a herbivore, it can get quite large and can become too big for small aquariums. Keep some wood in the tank as scratching algae from the wood provides a perfect place for more algae to grow. It maintains a constant food source for this fish. Also, the cellulose in wood is required for its digestive process. It makes an excellent community fish as it is peaceful with other tank mates. The only exception you can find is that it can get aggressive and territorial towards other plecos if they were not raised together.