Origin: This Plecostomus was caught in the Rio Orinoco, a river in South America.

Maximum Size: This Plecostomus can grow to be about 5" long, including their tails. Sometimes very old Snowball Plecos get even longer.

Behaviors: These Catfish are not aggressive. They will usually move around pretty actively during the day, but some of them seem to hide during the day and become more active at night.

But if there is food to be eaten, they become very active looking for it.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include any community fish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: They live well from 80-degrees F and higher, which is higher than most aquarium fish prefer.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when very small and small Premium Pellet Food when larger.

Our Premium Fish Food Flakes contains lots of spirulina and is a very good food for this fish.

Click here to learn more about and shop online for premium fish foods.

Water Conditions: This Plecostomus seems to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH of about 6.5 to 7.5 with moderate hardness is best.

Most water in the US is different but seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It is probably best to house these fish in at least a 30-gallon aquarium, when they're less than 3" long, but a bigger aquarium is always better.

Allow at least 5-gallons of water for each Plecostomus under 3" long.

They'll eat a huge amount of food and grow very fast. At about 3" they should be moved into an aquarium with at least 60-gallons of water.

Eventually they'll need an aquarium with at least 100-gallons of water.

Decor: These Catfish do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel. Pieces of aquarium-safe driftwood are also nice.

Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

A Penguin 350B in an aquarium with 30-gallons of water is OK to start with a few of these Catfish that are less than 3" long.

At 3" long they should be moved into a 60-gallon aquarium with two Penguin 350B Filters.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range. Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: These Plecostomus can live for several years, probably many years provided they are fed premium food and kept in a large aquarium with very fresh water and plenty of aeration.

Gender: As they mature females presumably become plumper than males.

Breeding: These are successfully bred in the aquarium hobby.

Popularity: This Plecostomus is rare now but lots of aquarists want them.

Names: The scientific name is Hypancistrus inspector L201.

Variations: This Plecostomus lives in the Orinoco areas of South America, and we expect there may be variations.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.

DrTom - 04/15/2015