Monster Pleco

[rayman45]

LOL

 

[scarlett]

Hi guys, there is nothing wrong with the face of the titanic panaque. The "piece of the face" that is missing is the opercular odontodes which developed/dropped off with time and they will regrow again in no time.

 

[scarlett]

There are 2 plecos with the name "hystrix". One is Acanthicus Hystrix (to 3 feet or more in the wild) and the other is Pseudacanticus Hystrix (big time pleco to 3 ft in the wild).

I had a plecofanatic friend which just paid big bucks for a 28 inch titanic panaque.....

These plecos do grow big in the amazon.....

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Could it be some type of hole in the head disease? or is that only for certain type of fish like oscars???

 

[wickedworm76]

in the Philippines we call these plecos "janitor fish" or "algae eaters". There was a project to rehabilitate a dying (very very very) polluted river and they put a lot of these plecos. it worked. they cleaned the river in just a year. the problem is, they ate everything including all the other fishes (like tilapias, etc.). Now that river only have a lot of 3ft plecos in it. Worse, these plecos have managed to infest other lakes creating a lot of problems to local fishermen.

 

[redtailfool]

in the Philippines we call these plecos "janitor fish" or "algae eaters". There was a project to rehabilitate a dying (very very very) polluted river and they put a lot of these plecos. it worked. they cleaned the river in just a year. the problem is, they ate everything including all the other fishes (like tilapias, etc.). Now that river only have a lot of 3ft plecos in it. Worse, these plecos have managed to infest other lakes creating a lot of problems to local fishermen.

Were plecos introduced by choice into the pasig river? i thought it was just introduced by accident.

 

[scarlett]

in the Philippines we call these plecos "janitor fish" or "algae eaters". There was a project to rehabilitate a dying (very very very) polluted river and they put a lot of these plecos. it worked. they cleaned the river in just a year. the problem is, they ate everything including all the other fishes (like tilapias, etc.). Now that river only have a lot of 3ft plecos in it. Worse, these plecos have managed to infest other lakes creating a lot of problems to local fishermen.

Goodness!!! There must be some misunderstanding. Plecos dun go around attacking other fishes which are healthy. They are scavengers and may clear up dead fishes but definitely not attack a healthy fish...where did you get these info from???

 

[Oddball]

scarlett: No misunderstanding on our part. There have been tons of posts from pleco owners where the pleco developed a taste for fish slime and either injured of killed its tankmate(s) from this scraping feeding method.
My 18" royal pleco stripped the pectorals from my 24" albino aethiopicus lungfish. Another pleco I have decided pacu skin should be added to his menu.

 

[bboy]

Those are nice looking Plecos. Looks like they has been doing their job.

 

[guppy]

The plecos will also compete for food and habitat and even if they don't eat the other fish a large pleco can clean out a nest of eggs or eggsack fry in a very short time just like carp in a bass nest.