Butterfly Pleco L052 Care Guide - Aquarium Tips, Diet & Breeding

Butterfly Pleco L052 is a striking loricariid catfish with a broad, flattened body and an attractive pattern of dark bars and patches over a pale brown to golden background. Its markings help it blend into the broken shadows of rocks, wood and leaf litter in its river habitat. The large pectoral and pelvic fins, armour-plated body and sucker-shaped mouth are typical features of this group.

Dekeyseria picta L052 originates from the Rio Xingu basin in Brazil, South America. It is associated with warm, clear, fast-flowing Amazonian tributaries and the rocky margins of rapids.

A single Butterfly Pleco should have at least a 120-litre aquarium, with a footprint of roughly 90 by 40 cm; a larger tank is preferable for adults or multiple specimens. Use strong filtration and vigorous circulation to recreate its oxygen-rich river environment, while leaving some calmer resting areas. Provide smooth stones, robust driftwood and several caves or crevices, along with subdued lighting and secure hiding places. A fine sand or smooth-gravel substrate is safest for its underside and mouth.

Up to about 15 cm (6 in) in total length. Females may be slightly broader-bodied, while males are often more heavily built and develop stronger odontodes, but overall size differences are modest.

Offer a varied omnivorous diet based on algae wafers, sinking catfish pellets and vegetable foods such as courgette, cucumber, spinach and shelled peas. It also browses algae, aufwuchs and microorganisms from solid surfaces, and will accept bloodworm, brine shrimp and other meaty foods in moderation. Driftwood is useful for grazing and may contribute to the natural diet, although it should not replace balanced prepared foods.

Butterfly Plecos are generally peaceful towards unrelated community fish and can be kept with similarly sized, calm South American species such as tetras, pencilfish, peaceful dwarf cichlids, hatchetfish and other non-aggressive catfish. They may become territorial towards other plecos, especially males competing for caves, so provide several hiding places in a spacious aquarium. Avoid boisterous, fin-nipping or aggressive fish and species that require substantially cooler water.

Butterfly Plecos are cave-spawning catfish. Provide a snug ceramic or slate cave with a single entrance, excellent water quality, strong oxygenation and a varied diet. A mature male usually selects and cleans the cave, while the female deposits a clutch of eggs that he fertilises and guards. The eggs generally hatch after around a week, with the fry becoming free-swimming several days later. Feed newly free-swimming fry very soft algae wafers, blanched vegetables and other suitably fine foods.

Mature males are usually slimmer and develop more noticeable bristle-like odontodes on the sides of the head and along the pectoral-fin spines. Females tend to have a rounder, fuller abdomen and fewer or less prominent odontodes.