L168 Butterfly Pleco (Peckoltia pulcher)

L168 Butterfly Pleco (Peckoltia pulcher) is a species of freshwater pleco that originates from South America.

"This catfish is a master of disguise. It can change colouration, chameleon-style, quickly. If kept on a black or very dark substrate is will go almost black. Kept on a lighter substrate it will show a pretty striped pattern during the day. Another reason for the misidentification of this fish is that its night-time colouration is totally different from that it has during the day, some authors note this is adult versus juvenile colouration.
In more southerly occurring populations, the stripes are more clearly separated and the base colour of D. brachyura is more orange when you compare them directly. This species can be found in many hobbyist books under its old name of Peckoltia pulcher. More recently it was moved by Isbrucker et al into their new flounder pleco genus Zonancistrus. However, prevailing scientific usage appears to be with the use of Dekeyseria. L052, is a pattern variant from the Atabapo drainage has stripes that are less clearly separated and form a network pattern in adults," (planetcatfish, 2024).

Diet: Omnivore

Adult Size: 10 - 15 cm 

Min. Tank Size: 90L

Social Behaviour: Peaceful 

Origin of species: South America

Life Expectancy: Unknown

Water temperature: 25 - 28 °C

pH: 5.6 - 7