King Tiger Plec L066 Care Guide - Setup, Diet & Breeding

King Tiger Plec L066 is a striking, undescribed member of the loricariid catfish family. Its cream to golden body is marked with dark chocolate or black bands and irregular lines, creating the tiger-like pattern that gives this fish its common name. Individual markings can vary considerably, making mature specimens especially attractive.

King Tiger Plec L066 is an aquarium trade name for an undescribed Hypancistrus from the middle and lower Rio Xingu basin in Pará, northern Brazil, South America. It is associated with rocky, fast-flowing sections of the river and its tributaries.

A single King Tiger Plec L066 should have an aquarium of at least 120 litres, with a footprint around 90 x 40 cm or larger; a group or community containing several bottom-dwelling fish benefits from a substantially larger aquarium. Use strong filtration, excellent oxygenation and regular maintenance to recreate its clean, flowing-water habitat. Provide smooth rocks, driftwood and several caves or tightly fitting spawning tubes, with open areas for foraging. Fine sand or smooth, rounded gravel is preferable to sharp substrate, which can damage the fish's underside and barbels.

Up to around 15 cm (6 inches) in total length; males are usually slightly larger and more robust than females, while females commonly remain closer to 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 inches).

King Tiger Plecs are primarily carnivorous and should receive a varied diet of high-quality sinking carnivore pellets, wafers, frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, mysis and other suitably sized meaty foods. Occasional blanched vegetables can add variety, but this species should not be expected to live on algae alone. Feed after the aquarium lights dim, when it is naturally more active, and remove uneaten food promptly.

These generally peaceful plecs can be kept with similarly sized, robust but non-aggressive community fish that enjoy warm, well-oxygenated water, including suitable tetras, pencilfish, peaceful barbs, rasboras and other calm South American species. They are best kept away from large, aggressive cichlids and boisterous bottom-dwellers. Males can be territorial over caves, so multiple specimens need plenty of shelter and visual separation; avoid combining them with other Hypancistrus or similarly shaped cave competitors in a small aquarium.

King Tiger Plecs L066 are cave spawners. Provide several snug ceramic tubes or rock crevices, ideally with entrances only slightly wider than the fish, and maintain warm, clean, well-oxygenated water. A mature male usually claims a cave, courts a female and guards the eggs until they hatch. The fry remain in the cave for several days while absorbing their yolk sacs, after which they can be offered small, nutritious sinking foods such as powdered fry food, crushed pellets and finely chopped frozen foods.

Mature males are generally larger, broader-headed and more heavily covered with odontodes, or hair-like bristles, along the cheeks and pectoral-fin bases. Females tend to have a rounder abdomen and a smoother head and body, particularly when viewed from above.