Royal plec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus in an aquarium
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| Panaque nigrolineatus (Peters, 1877) |
The royal plec or royal panaque, Panaque nigrolineatus, is a herbivorous freshwater catfish from South America. It is the type species of its genus and a member of the Loricariidae.
The royal plec is closely related to the popular plecostomus catfish kept in many aquaria as an algae eater. While the royal plec also eats algae, it is best known among biologists as being among the very few fish capable of eating and digesting wood. It does so using symbiotic gut bacteria. Royal plecs are light grey in colour patterned with dark grey squiggles. They have red eyes and the dorsal fins are edged with cream or gold. The body is encased in heavy armour, except for the belly, which is soft. This armour is made of strong plates of skin, not scales. Royal plecs can grow to 60 cm in length. Because they are heavy and inflexible, they do not swim well, but they do have a strong sucker-like mouth that enables them to hold onto rocks and wood in fast flowing waters.
In its native habitat this fish is eaten as food, but it is also valuable as an aquarium fish. Maintenance is as for other Panaque, with the fish needing plenty of space, well oxygenated water, and a regular supply of vegetables and wood on which to feed.
There are several undescribed varieties of Panaque that are very similar to Panaque nigrolineatus and are commonly traded as aquarium fish [1]. These may be regional variations, subspecies, or closely related species. All share the same basic colouration but vary in the shape and distribution of the stripes and the amount of cream or gold on the fins. These varieties are:
- Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus 'Tapajos' (after the river from which it is collected)
- Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus 'watermelon pleco'
- Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus 'olive pleco'
- Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus 'Tocantins' (after the river from which it is collected)
- Panaque sp. cf. nigrolineatus 'Xingu' (after the river from which it is collected)
[edit] External links
- Panaque nigrolineatus (TSN 164365). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 19 March 2006.
- "Panaque nigrolineatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Planet Catfish
- Panaque Research
- QuickTime movie of a Royal plec swimming and feeding in an aquarium
