Ranger Pleco Pterygoplichthys punctatus

[Electrocat]

Hi everybody! I'm new to Planet Catfish but I've been keeping cats for quite a while. I've had a Ranger Pleco for over a year now. I got it when it was about a half inch so I've seen it go through the color/pattern transformation. I can't find really any good info on these - does anyone here have experience with Pterygoplichthys punctatus ...aka ranger pleco's? He's doing fine no emergency or anything I'm just a fish nerd that always wants to know more...

[Bas Pels]

I've had 6, I got at a slightly similar size, but still before they changed. If memory serves me right, it took them 2 years to reach 15 cm (6 inches), at which size they became bolder. They never got over 20 cm.

A fine, nice sized fish, which is seen far to few

[Electrocat]

Yeah I get the feeling he's about done growing. Mine has actually gotten quite aggressive. It also seems to prefer a more carnivorous diet than I am familiar with plecos. I try to feed it a varied diet- it won't touch zuccinni or squash but it will take sinking pellets, bloodworms, blackworms, it hunts mosquito larvae and daphnia with the rest It also eats guppies and last week it devoured half a dozen tadpoles we were transitioning in the house. I haven't been feeding it live foods on purpose I just only recently discovered where all the ghost shrimp and the slower baby guppies were going to.