L-090 Small Eyed Pleco

Diet: This suckermouth catfish is a wood-eater, like the much more common Clown pleco (and all other species from the genus Panaque, including those known to some as Panaqolus, as well as the members from the genus Cochliodon). Therefore, a few pieces of drift wood are required: not only does this fish extracts certain elements and nutrients from the organic layer which forms on the wood over time (also known as "Aufwuchs"), it actually eats the wood itself, possibly for digestive reasons. As wood does is not very rich in nutrients, it means this fish consumes vast amounts of it, and produces an almost equal amount of waste (for which reason a very strong filtration system is an absolute necessity).
Being a typical wood-eater, this large Panaque is able to survive on drift wood alone, but being a herbivore, you can feed this beautiful fish food items such as vegetables (peas, cucumber, lettuce, zucchini, egg plant, carrots, sweet peppers, spinach, yam, etc.), and also algae and spirulina pellets. It will also accept more meaty foods such frozen foods, sinking wafers, shrimp and even pieces of fish fillet. Protein-rich meaty foods like the ones mentioned should be fed sparsely however, as these products can lead to digestive problems once the fish gets older (their digestive track is not designed to handle large amounts of meaty foods or a protein-rich diet!)

Water parameters:
A spacious tank with dimmed lights, a large supply of drift wood (see diet), and lots of hiding places (plants, rocks) is ideal for this impressive, colorful and potentially very large catfish. A single young specimen can temporarily be kept in a relatively small tank: a 24-32" (60-80cm.) long tank is enough, if enough filtration is present. Multiple juveniles should be kept in a tank of of 32-40" (80-100cm.) or more in length, the amount depending on factors such as filtration, water change schedule and amount of available hiding places. Full-grown adult requires a much larger tank: at least 60x24" (150x60cm.) for a single specimen, and 80x24" (200x60cm.) for more than one specimen: this fish requires plenty of personal space, as they can be very territorial, especially towards its own kind, and are capable of inflicting serious injuries.