rm
Passport
- Family
- Bristlenose Catfish
- Grows to
- 9 cm (3.5")
- Lives
- 10–12 years
- TemperamentSuggested
- Peaceful
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- On the bottom
- Keep
- One is fine
- Water
- 23.9–30 °C (75–86 °F)
VenezuelaColombia
Care requirements
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On record for Clown Pleco: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level.
Not on record for Clown Pleco: tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 76 L / 20.0 US gal
- pH 6–7.5
- Hardness 2–12 dGH
- Diet herbivore
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Clown plecos rasp wood, constantly and by preference, and a tank without driftwood in it is not a tank one belongs in. How much nourishment they actually draw from it is less settled than the hobby usually claims — chewing wood and digesting the tough parts of it are different things, and the research does not show a fish that can live on wood alone. So give them wood because they use it and want it, and feed them properly too.
They stay small, which is the other reason to choose them. Where a common pleco becomes an unhousable monster, this one remains a modest fish suited to an ordinary community tank for its whole life.
They're handsome in a subdued way — a dark body banded with cream or orange, brightest on young fish — and they're nocturnal enough that you'll mostly see them at dusk or after the lights go off.
Tank setup
Put driftwood in before you put the fish in, and put in more than looks necessary. They rasp it continuously, the wood is part of their diet, and a bare tank is a slow starvation.
Give them caves. A length of pipe, a hollow in the wood, a gap under a rock — they're territorial about a chosen retreat and they'll spend the day in it.
Keep the light low or heavily shaded. They're crepuscular and a bright tank keeps them hidden all the time rather than emerging in the evening.
Sand or fine gravel suits them. They spend their time on wood rather than in the substrate, so this matters less than for a cory.
Expect one per cave, and expect squabbling if two males share too little space.
Feeding
Clown plecos need driftwood available all the time, and they need real food besides it. Treating the wood as the meal is how these fish end up thin.
Feed vegetables and sinking foods on top: blanched courgette, sweet potato, sinking algae wafers, and a good herbivore pellet. They'll take the occasional protein food but they're not carnivores.
Feed after lights out. They rarely come out to compete in daylight and a daytime feed usually goes to somebody else.
Avoid: a protein-heavy diet, which they cope with badly, and avoid assuming they'll clear your algae — they're wood eaters far more than algae eaters, and people who buy them as a clean-up crew are usually disappointed.
Filtration and flow
Moderate to good flow with proper oxygenation. They come from flowing water and they handle current comfortably.
Filter for the waste. Wood-eating produces a surprising amount of it, and a clown pleco tank needs real filtration and regular substrate cleaning.
Keep the water warm and stable, on the soft and slightly acidic side if you can manage it.
With plants
Clown plecos are safe with plants and have no interest in eating them.
They may dislodge things while manoeuvring around wood, but there's no deliberate damage. Anything attached to hardscape is entirely safe.
Plant for shade. Floating plants in particular encourage them out earlier in the evening.
Health
They're hardy in a suitable tank and decline steadily in an unsuitable one, which makes problems easy to miss.
Check the belly. A sunken abdomen means the fish is not getting enough, and the first thing to review is whether food is reaching it at all — they feed after dark and are easily beaten to it. More driftwood is not the answer to a thin clown pleco.
Copper is the one to keep away from them altogether. For anything else the bottle decides: treatments disagree about loricariids, and that disagreement is not something to split down the middle on your own.
Breeding
They're cave spawners and they will breed in a well-set-up tank, which is unusual among plecos of any kind.
The male takes a cave, cleans it and courts a female into it. She lays a clutch inside and he takes over completely — guarding, fanning and refusing to leave until the fry are free-swimming.
Fry need wood immediately, along with soft vegetable matter and very clean water. Providing plenty of driftwood surface for them to graze is what separates a successful brood from a lost one.
Tank mates
Avoid3
- Common Goldfish Common Goldfish is not safe with Clown Pleco: bristlenose catfish and common goldfish are a bad pairing.
- Fancy Goldfish Fancy Goldfish is not safe with Clown Pleco: bristlenose catfish and fancy goldfish are a bad pairing.
- Oscar Oscar is not safe with Clown Pleco: bristlenose catfish and oscars and other large cichlids are a bad pairing.
Only with care21
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Clown Pleco is peaceful.
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid is aggressive and Clown Pleco is peaceful.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid is aggressive and Clown Pleco is peaceful.
- Assassin Snail Clown Pleco is a risk to Assassin Snail: bristlenose catfish and snails are a pairing to watch.
- Bladder Snail Clown Pleco is a risk to Bladder Snail: bristlenose catfish and snails are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 80 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 4 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.