Is a panaque a pleco?

[harrellmoney]

I recently saw a couple of Blue Panaque for sale, and was wondering if they are a type of Pleco? Does anyone know how big they get? I've seen from 3 1/2" to 10" or more. Do they get along with Corys? I also read that they are a messy fish. Has anyone had one? Thanks.

[Trillianne]

Yes it is a Pleco.

There is some great additional info about them (including breeding info) at Pleco Planet Click For Link (http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1899) Look to be a growth of up to about 6 inches.

[harrellmoney]

Thanks a lot.

[talldutchie]

Panaque is a loricariidae and as such would get the common name pleco in North America. Most species come from rivers that can be almost white water in the rainy season. They spend almost all their time scraping wood. This is one of the few fish that actually really do need wood.

Adult size of the fish can easily be more than a foot standard length so 2 foot snout till tip of the tail but they're slow growers that take several years to grow to that. They're somewhat territorial towards their own species but tend to ignore everything else.

Because they are wood eaters they produce huge amounts of poo and sawdust so a pair of hefty externals for filtration is best so you can stagger cleaning.
Oh, and don't be surprised if these can live for 40 years.

[Trillianne]

Adult size of the fish can easily be more than a foot standard length so 2 foot snout till tip of the tail but they're slow growers that take several years to grow to that.

Where are you getting this size info from? I ask because most of the sites I would consider reputable on species info were all putting them at 6inches or less.

[talldutchie]

Sorry, the panaque had me barking up the wrong tree. (blush) I was think of the Panaque family of wood eaters while this is apparently a common name for Baryancistrus beggini a.k.a. L239. (can it get more confusing with common names?!?!) :doh:
Bary never get that big, I think the biggest in that family gets to be about 10 inches and Baryancistrus beggini stays a lot smaller than that 6inch is absolutely the upper limit and 4-5 is more realistic It's also not a wood eater but a "normal" vegetarian

This is a real panaque in probably the coolest panaque tank ever


http://youtu.be/SN9vqf8yp7c

And yes I have seen those fish bigger than that

[talldutchie]

And here's your Blue panaque


http://youtu.be/ge8qKtVPbIw

A rather cute mini fish

[DoubleDutch]

Tank idea ?? http://www.youtube.com/embed/SN9vqf8yp7c?feature=oembed

[harrellmoney]

Do they eat all types of wood, or, certain types? Are you saying the 2 cool pieces of driftwood I have would become pleco chow?

[talldutchie]

Do they eat all types of wood, or, certain types? Are you saying the 2 cool pieces of driftwood I have would become pleco chow?

No. Let me start again .

"blue panaque" is common name for L239. That fish does not eat wood, just vegetables.

[harrellmoney]

I'm with you td. Those are some really cool videos you posted. Thanks.

[Trillianne]

@talldutchie,

No worries. Sometimes species get some confusing intel, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing another source with additional info.

[DoubleDutch]

Woehahaha. Only noticed now you alteady showed that vid J. Sorry !!! Regards Aad