Omnivorous fish: the pleco (sucker mouth catfish) - edible size, market price, keeping methods and tank mates

The pleco, also known as the sucker fish, armored catfish, down-mouth catfish, multi-rayed winged armored catfish and pipa rat, is an omnivorous fish that is kept as an ornamental fish because of its high ornamental value. So can plecos be eaten? How big can they grow? What is the market price per jin? What fish are good to keep them with? How do you keep them?

Can they be eaten?

The pleco is native to Latin America, where it can grow very large, and it is an edible fish that is not poisonous. But it is in fact an armored fish with hard outer plates, lots of bones and little flesh, and its nutritional value is low. Also, because it likes to eat filthy food, it carries many bacteria in its belly and smells fishy and foul, so eating it is generally not recommended.

How big can they grow?

Under suitable conditions, the pleco can reach a body length of 250 mm, and once adult it has a huge appetite. Besides eating algae such as green moss, it often feeds on the eggs of other fish, and can eat 3000 to 5000 fish eggs a day, as well as swallowing large numbers of fry. At the same time, because it is an introduced species, it currently has no natural enemies in China, and it can easily breed in large numbers in rivers, threatening the survival of native fish and damaging the ecological chain.

Latest market prices:

Plecos are generally fairly cheap. Depending on the location, you can buy one for anywhere from a few yuan to a dozen-plus yuan. In Shanghai, 3 to 10 cm ones cost about 2 to 10 yuan each; in Fuzhou, 3 to 5 cm ones cost about 8 to 20 yuan each; in Quanzhou, a 10 to 11 cm leopard pleco or pipa pleco costs about 35 yuan each; in Guangzhou, an ordinary pleco of 5 to 15 cm costs about 3 to 12 yuan each, one of about 25 cm costs about 98 yuan each, and a 3 to 4 cm leopard pleco costs about 34.20 to 37.24 yuan each; in Dongguan, one of about 8 cm costs about 25 yuan each; in Hangzhou, one of about 9 to 10 cm costs about 15 yuan each; in Lishui, one of about 10 cm costs about 15 yuan each; in Beijing, one of about 10 cm costs about 9.90 yuan each and one of about 15 cm costs about 15 yuan each; in Chengdu, a 7 cm one costs about 10 yuan each and a 12 cm one costs about 15 yuan each.

What fish are good to keep them with?

Rosy fish

The rosy fish is distributed in the coral reef waters of the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It is carnivorous and can be fed animal-based bait as well as artificial feed. It is suited to an invertebrate aquarium with a water temperature of 26 degrees, a seawater specific gravity of 1.022 and a water volume of more than 100 liters, and can reach a maximum body length of 10 cm. Once it has adapted to life in the aquarium, it will accept most live bait and dried feed, but it will not eat flake feed. Do not keep it together with agile, greedy fish, otherwise the rosy fish will not be able to get any food. Feeding time is best in the evening, which suits its nocturnal lifestyle and also helps it accept new foods.

Golden barb

The golden barb, also known as the White Cloud Mountain fish, white cloud golden barb, red-tailed fish and Tang fish, has a brilliantly colorful body when alive and is a famous ornamental fish. It generally has a brown back and a silvery-white belly, with a golden-yellow or silver-blue longitudinal stripe running along the middle of its flank, several dark brown lines above and below the stripe, a red round spot at the base of the caudal peduncle, a golden iris, a red base to the dorsal fin, and other fins yellow-green with transparent edges. Because this fish was first discovered in a stream on Baiyun Mountain on the outskirts of Guangzhou, China, its English common name is White Cloud Mountain fish.

Zebrafish

The zebrafish, also known as the blue-striped fish, striped fish, blue zebrafish, Indian fish and Indian zebrafish, has an elongated body that is slightly spindle-shaped, a small and somewhat pointed head, and a relatively short snout. Its whole body is covered with multiple dark blue longitudinal stripes like a zebra, arranged alternately with silvery-white or golden-yellow longitudinal stripes. When swimming in schools in an aquarium, it looks like a herd of zebras galloping across the African savanna, which is how it got the name zebrafish. Zebrafish share 87% high homology with human genes, and their advantages as a model organism are very prominent, which means their experimental results are applicable to the human body in most cases. They can often be used for monitoring water quality environments, and they are also a fairly easy fish to keep.

Tiger barb

The tiger barb, scientific name Puntigrus tetrazona, also known as the four-striped fish and four-striped barb, is native to inland waters such as Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan. It has a deep body shaped like a rhombus, laterally compressed, 5 to 6 cm long, with a base body color of light yellow covered with red markings and small spots, and 4 vertical black stripes from head to tail, mottled like a tiger skin. Its dorsal fin is tall and located at the middle of the back, the caudal peduncle is short, and the caudal fin is deeply forked. It likes to live in groups and swims nimbly and lively. Adult fish will attack other fish, especially liking to bite filamentous fin rays, so it should not be kept with fish that have filamentous fin rays (such as angelfish), and is best kept in groups of its own kind.

Keeping techniques:

1. Water quality: Tropical fish kept in captivity require soft water or low-hardness water, and a pH that is weakly acidic or neutral is best. If it is strongly acidic, tropical fish have difficulty breathing and grow slowly; if it is strongly alkaline, the gill tissue of tropical fish will be corroded.

2. Changing water: A partial water change means using a siphon tube to suck out the feces, leftover bait and other dirt from the bottom of the tank. The amount of water siphoned out should preferably be 1/4 of the water volume in the tank, then add the same amount of new water at the same temperature that has been sun-dried or chemically dechlorinated. The frequency of topping up with water is preferably twice a week in autumn and winter, and three times a week in spring and summer. For a complete water change, all the equipment in the tank should be taken out, the aquatic plants and fish removed and placed in another container at the same temperature as the original water, and the tank walls and bottom scrubbed clean with a sponge; change the water once every 3 to 4 months.

3. Water temperature: Tropical fish are extremely sensitive to temperature, and if the temperature is unsuitable they will soon die. Different species of tropical fish have different water temperature requirements. For most tropical fish, a water temperature of 20 to 24°C is suitable, and during the breeding period a water temperature of 25 to 28°C is suitable. The temperature difference between day and night must not exceed 4°C.

4. Oxygen: A certain number of aquatic plants should be planted in the tank, because aquatic plants produce oxygen during photosynthesis, increasing the oxygen content of the water. At the same time, removing dirt promptly and changing the water often can also increase the dissolved oxygen in the water.

5. Light: If the tank is placed in a room with sunlight, it is best to give it about 1 hour of sunlight each in the early morning and evening when the sunlight is weak. If the tank is placed in a room without sunlight, the aquatic plants should be illuminated with lamplight, using a 60-watt incandescent bulb or a 40-watt fluorescent lamp for 6 hours a day. Light can make tropical fish grow faster and make their bodies more brilliantly colorful.

6. Stocking: The stocking density for tank-kept tropical fish depends on the size of the tank. For people keeping fish for the first time, the lower the density the better, and an air pump needs to be added. Peaceful fish cannot be kept with aggressive fish, and large fish cannot be kept with small fish. There are many feed choices for tropical fish, such as fish worms, bloodworms, or packaged feed suitable for different species of tropical fish. Raw bait and live bait must both be washed clean to control sources of disease.