Clown Pleco

Panaqolus maccus

Also known as: Clown plec, Clown panaque, Ringlet pleco

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 23–28°C
• pH: 6.5–7.5
• Hardness (GH): 36–214 ppm (2–12 dGH)

Values above are general hardness (GH). For carbonate hardness (KH), the buffer that keeps pH stable, see the water parameters guide.

Care Summary

The right pleco for keepers who want the look and the grazing of a sucker-mouth catfish but have a normal-sized community tank, the clown pleco stays under 10cm where the common pleco reaches 50, and is far more colourful, banded in dark brown and warm orange rings. Its defining trait is diet: it is a xylivore, a genuine wood-eater, and it must have driftwood (bogwood) to rasp on as a dietary staple, supplemented with vegetables and the occasional sinking wafer, since it eats far less algae than its reputation suggests. Nocturnal, shy, and cave-loving, it is easily overlooked by day, but it is hardy, peaceful, and remarkably long-lived for its size, often passing ten years. Given driftwood, caves, and clean water, it is an excellent, undemanding dwarf pleco for a community of modest size.

Tankmates

A peaceful, secretive dwarf pleco that suits most calm community tanks, including small ones, where the much larger common and even bristlenose plecos do not. Males are territorial toward each other, so keep only one per tank unless it is large and broken up with plenty of wood and caves. Genuinely peaceful toward fish and shrimp (an adult clown pleco ignores them), making it one of the few plecos safe in a nano or shrimp-friendly community. The essential requirement is driftwood: this is a wood-eating species that rasps and digests bogwood as a staple, and a tank without it will see the fish slowly decline. Nocturnal and shy, so provide caves and expect to see it mostly after lights-out.

Compatible with

• Harlequin Rasbora
• Neon Tetra
• Bronze Corydoras
• Ember Tetra
• Honey Gourami
• Otocinclus
• Cherry Shrimp
• Betta

Avoid keeping with

• Large Cichlids
• Oscar
• Convict Cichlid
• Aggressive Tankmates

Common Problems

• decline in tanks without driftwood to rasp
• rarely seen due to nocturnal, shy habits
• male-on-male territoriality
• being mistaken for an algae-only eater and underfed

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, fishbase.org · Last updated: 2026-06-20