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I've recently been setting up a Rio Negro biotope aquarium for my Heckel discus and Satanoperca daemon. Both these species are native to the Rio Negro and prefer low pH of preferably below 5.

As L114 comes from the Rio Negro as well, I'm thinking of adding a few of these fish into the aquarium. However, being not-so-experienced with plecos (I'm primarily a cichlid keeper), I'd just like to check if these fish will fare well in such acidic conditions. Logic tells me that they should, since they come from the same locality as the cichlids I'm keeping, but the sources I check online tell me to keep the fish at a pH of 6-7. My aquarium is using RO water, and the pH now is in the mid 5s. I'm hoping to use some acid mixed into my water holding tank (which I use for water changes) to lower the pH further to about 4.7.

Would the plecos be able to take it?

Hi. First of all I don't have any experience of keeping these fish, so I can't comment there, but here are some thoughts on the habitat in the wild:

, while from the wider Negro drainage, is not found in the Negro itself, but rather a tributary called the Rio Demini. This river is not an ultra-low blackwater river like the Negro, but a clearwater river.

It is described as warm (27-28C), slow flowing and quite variable in chemistry, with a very low conductivity (10us/cm) and quite a low pH (5.0 in the upper reaches).

Unless anyone else has direct experience to the contrary, I would give them a try in your cichlid tank. Keep a close eye on their health though and don't hesitate to move them if they don't appear to thrive.

Hope this helps.