seen from Malaysia
seen from Trinidad & Tobago
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Austria
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Austria
seen from United States
seen from Austria
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Netherlands
seen from China
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Austria
seen from China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
Screencap: Panaque schaeferi here, one of the weirdest new species of 2010 according to National Geographic.
New Armored, Wood-Eating Catfish Found in Amazon
Proof: Picture A is a black and white version of the pic above in the screencap. Also some interesting pleco science to read here too.
Edit... if you count Panaqolus and Cochliodon/Hypostomus cochliodon group there’s way more than a dozen wood eating species! Panaque alone would probably be at least a dozen.
I know it’s Sunday, but I stumbled across this and decided to do a quick Monster Monday. I think this chart is pretty spot on with fish size to minimum tank ratio.
You want that common pleco/monster pleco, sure. Just realize that it’s a commitment. A very serious commitment. (A botia loach lifespan of a commitment - only other fish I can think of that live to 20 years...)
While oscars and some plecos are monsters, most of this is nopefish due to the size of the fish. (Some of these can be a challenge to keep as well.)
(I’ve mentioned this before - if you need a monster fish fix, amazon sport fishing instagrams are great!)
(Source)
And now back to Quality Plecostomus Posting!
It’s a GIANT Chaetostoma! I was reading a facebook post and one of the fish listed was a “chaetostomus tiger”. Of course I’m googling it!The closest to that by common name was Chaetostoma leucomelas, which looked nothing like what was pictured in the facebook post. But this post isn’t about that pleco...
Say hello to our neato pleco, Chaetostoma fischeri! I was actually trying to find a good pic of Chaetostoma brevilabiatum (also a GIANT at 11”) but came across this one instead. Maybe it’s the same fish...
Planet Catfish was lacking info on this fish, so I came across a German site (while looking for pics of C. brevilabiatum) so here’s all I got, thanks to google translate:
It gets to be 11”. That’d be... about the same size as Hypostomus soniae, from a previous neato pleco post
It’s from Central/South America just like many/most Loricariids are
It likes a habitat of fast flowing mountain streams (like most Chaetostoma)
“In the wild, Chaetostoma fischeri mainly feeds on algae growth, which it scrapes off the stones and wood, but also on small invertebrates.” (Remember all plecos eat more than just algae, this one is mainly vegetarian so get out the algae wafers and garden vegetables.)
And finally, the German name for Chaetostoma: Bergsbachharnischwelse! (Somehow ends up being “Bergsbach armor catfish” in google translate.)
Info and pic source (in German)
Today in maybe crazy invasive plecos: The thread I found this pic from (it’s in French) left me in doubt if this is actually an invasive pleco. It’s definitely BIG. (But is it because of how it’s being held?)
Maybe it’s invasive? It’s easily Adonis pleco sized! (No, Pterygoplicthys keepers, they don’t get this big in captivity. Biggest sailfin, P. multiradiatus gets to 19”.) No idea where I got this pic from, it was saved to my phone.
It’d be absolutely mesmerizing to watch this big of a sailfin swim. Literally sailing through the water.
(Please research your fish before you buy them and never throw your fish into the river/lake/spring if they outgrow your tank.)
Pseudacanthicus major (source)
Not the most beautiful pleco, but it’s known for being huge. Panaque schaeferi huge.
It is the 2nd biggest Pseudacanthicus. (1st place goes to Pseudacanthicus histrix.) P. histrix is also 2nd biggest pleco overall.
P. major and several others tied at ~23” are now 3rd biggest of all plecos.
Now that’s an armful!
Panaque, the “absolute unit” of plecos
In awe of the size of this pleco
Quick picture ID guide for “common” plecos for beginning pleco hobbyists to take to the aquarium store. (Buy a bristlenose, or any of the tons of small plecos out there.) (pics from google/bing)
Previous post, with info sources
I have no idea who/where this is from but it’s an interesting bit about our “carachama gigante”, Panaque schaeferi I found on google/bing (can’t remember which).
I wish I knew why it’s adult coloration varies so much from picture to picture. (It is not Panaque colored as an adult fish.)
(Before anyone cries about shooting fish, please keep in mind that this is a food fish, as are many plecos in the Amazon. They have to catch it somehow.)
Btw If anyone knows where this is from let me know so I can link the source, thanks!
