Zebra pleco (L46)

Care at a glance

The zebra pleco from the Rio Xingu in Brazil is, with its crisp black-and-white banding, one of the most sought-after armoured catfish in the world. Brazil has banned its export since 2004 and the species is CITES-listed, so what is legally offered is captive bred with the paperwork to match; that partly explains the high price.

Unlike most plecos it eats no algae or wood but meat: frozen foods and protein-rich tablets. It asks for warm, very oxygen-rich water with flow, narrow slit caves to withdraw into and quiet; this is a specialist's fish, not an algae eater.

Good to know

• Active at night
• Needs a mature, stable tank

Related species

• Twig catfishFarlowella acus
• Gold nugget plecoBaryancistrus xanthellus
• Rubber lip plecoChaetostoma milesi
• Whiptail catfishRineloricaria sp.
• Royal plecoPanaque nigrolineatus
• Striped Raphael catfishPlatydoras armatulus