Types of plecos

Plecos sold side by side as small juveniles grow to anything from about 1½ to 20 inches. Here each is drawn at its adult size, with the tank it needs, so you can see how big it gets before you buy.

Bristlenose pleco

Scroll sideways to see them all. All drawn at one scale, adult size: = 1 inch. Tap one to open its care page.

Bristlenose pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · easy care

6 in adult
29+ gal
73–81 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Butterfly pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

5.1 in adult
30+ gal
77–84 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Candy-striped pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

5.9 in adult
30+ gal
72–79 °F
pH 6 to 7
alone or pair

Clown pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · easy care

3.5 in adult
20+ gal
73–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Common pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

18 in adult
125+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.8
alone or pair

Gold nugget pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

8.8 in adult
75+ gal
77–86 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Green phantom pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

5.9 in adult
40+ gal
77–84 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Leopard frog pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

2.4 in adult
20+ gal
77–84 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Pitbull pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

1.6 in adult
20+ gal
72–79 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
groups of 3+

Royal pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

17 in adult
125+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
one per tank

Rubbernose pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

5.7 in adult
30+ gal
68–77 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Sailfin pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · easy care

20 in adult
150+ gal
72–82 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.8
alone or pair

Snowball pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care

5 in adult
30+ gal
77–84 °F
pH 6 to 7.5
alone or pair

Zebra pleco

Peaceful · Bottom · demanding care

3.2 in adult
20+ gal
79–86 °F
pH 6.5 to 7.5
alone or pair

Other fish families

Types of aquarium shrimp Types of aquarium snails Types of tetras Types of rasboras and danios Types of barbs Types of livebearers Types of bettas and gouramis Types of cichlids Types of catfish Types of loaches Types of freshwater sharks Types of rainbowfish Types of killifish Types of puffers Types of goldfish Types of oddball fish Types of shrimp, snails, frogs and axolotls All fish

Names, and adult sizes where the article gives one, are checked against Wikipedia; care ranges are common hobby guidance, and each species page says which is which. 14 of these 14 are fish. Photos are real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, credited below; the lineup is our own drawing at one scale.

Photo credits

Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.

Bristlenose pleco André Karwath aka Aka, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Butterfly pleco Alberto Alcalá (iNaturalist), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Candy-striped pleco Gabriel Lelis Togni, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Common pleco Richwales, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Gold nugget pleco Anne Blindheim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Green phantom pleco 5snake5, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Leopard frog pleco Frank M Greco, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pitbull pleco Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Royal pleco Neale Monks at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rubbernose pleco Frank Alvarez, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sailfin pleco AnatolyPm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zebra pleco Peaceinpianos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons