Butterfly Pleco

[rommel39]

Does anybody know anything about butterfly pleco's, like how big they get, if they eat algae, etc. I have a common pleco but he's getting too large for my tank and I am looking to replace him. I love my pleco but he's getting so large, I want to get a spieces of them that does not get so large but still eats the algae in the tank. thanks for any input, Rommel39

 

[dethjam316]

there is a species of plecos called butterfly plecos, but the ones most commonly sold under this moniker are actually a type of hillstream loach. they're also sold as "hong kong plecos" on occasion. if this is what you mean, you can check out loaches.com for more info, or do a google search. they don't really eat algae (a little, IME) and they stay smaller than a few inches if i recall.

if you mean the actual butterly pleco, well...then i don't know anything about em. HTH!

 

[rommel39]

No, I believe that these are really Butterfly pleco's, so if anybody has any info on them please let me know. thanks

 

[Lotus]

I cruised over to www.planetcatfish.com. If you look under common names, you will find 2 plecos called butterfly plecos (Zonancistrus pulcher and Zonancistrus sp.), sometimes also called Peckolita pulcher. There is info on size and diet there.