Lyre Tail Pleco - Acanthicus hystrix

Food and feeding
Although these fish are classed as omnivores, most of their diet will need to contain vegetable matter. They will require algae wafers, spinach, and peas etc. to keep them healthy. They should also be offered meaty foods like mysis and blood worms.

Origin
South America; they are to be found in the Amazonian River Basins

Sexing
Males tend to have more spines on their fins than the females.

Breeding
As of yet there are no reported cases of this fish breeding in the aquarium.

Lifespan
The expected life span for this fish is 5-8 years.

Short description
Adult specimens of these fish can grow up to 70cm in length. They require a very large tank to keep them happy with lots of hiding places. Filtration need to be very high as they do produce a lot of waste, regular water changes are also a must. They are aggressive to other species of catfish; this has resulted in death of one of the fish in the past.

Picture
Bought by aqua-fish.net from jjphoto.dk.