Habitat and Diet of the Hypostomus Plecostomus

Living environment

The natural habitat of the Pleco fish consisted of streams, rivers and also ponds. The Pleco fish however do preferred slow moving waters which have shelters during the day as they are nocturnal. They tend to seek shelters such as driftwoods and aquatic plants. Thus, one should provide the aquarium with suitable shelter or a ‘hiding place’ if they plan to adopt a Pleco fish. With some inside of the living environment of the Pleco fish, the group have provided the shelters in the form of the short PVC pipes. It was observed that the Pleco adopt themselves well in the PVC pipes and can be found residing inside the pipe most of the time. Providing a hiding place also reduces the stress as well as the aggression of the Pleco fish. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the PVC pipe as shelter.

Figure 1. PVC pipe as shelter

Figure 2. Pleco fish inside PVC pipe

Diet

Pleco fish exhibit a diverse diet as there are omnivores. Their range of diet include algae, other plant material, insects and even small crustaceans which they can find in the wild.  Fellow Pleco fish owners are advised to provide a similar range of diet in their aquariums. The best choice of food for the Pleco fish are ones which can sink to the bottom, therefore, the group have purchased sinking fish pellets for them.  Figure 3 below shows the fish pellet fed to the Plecos.

Figure 3. Sinking pellets

Although this fish pellets are rich in proteins, but are fairly low in fibre content. To provide a substantial amount of fibre in their diet, fruits and vegetables can be regularly fed to them, but bear in mind not to fed them acidic fruits or vegetables. Many of the website and blogs visited have reviewed that zucchinis are one of the favourite foods of the Pleco fish. We have try feeding the Plecos with zucchinis and they absolutely love it. Besides getting the source of fibre through fruits and vegetables, a common recommendation from websites and blog are to provide the Plecos with driftwoods.

Reference

1. Oscar Fish.com, 2016, Pleco Dietary Needs... Supplementary Food [Online]. Available at: http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/fish/99-pleco-dietary-needs.html [Accessed: 30 May 2016].
2. Seymor, M., 2014, Common Pleco - The Care, Feeding and Breeding of Common Plecos - Aquarium Tidings [Online]. Available at: http://aquariumtidings.com/common-pleco/ [Accessed: 30 May 2016].