Care
The Butterfly Plec is known from the soft, acidic waters of the Orinoco basin. It is an attractive, streamlined species which makes a good community fish on account of its manageable adult size. Provide a mature aquarium with plenty of shady hiding places amongst tangles of bogwood, rocky caves, and robust planting. Filtration should be efficient with areas of brisk water movement along with several quieter resting areas out of the current. There should be a decent level of oxygenation, and small frequent partial water changes will help keep nitrate to a minimum. The Butterfly Plec is generally peaceful, but it will show some territorial aggression towards its own kind if not given enough space. In most instances though, they can be maintained in small groups and with similar species as long as there is adequate room and enough hiding places to go round. Tankmates could include any small-medium sized peaceful fish that thrive in softwater conditions, such as Corydoras catfish, hatchetfish, and tetras. The common name was coined for the large pectoral and pelvic fins that seem to flutter in the current.
Feeding
Omnivorous. Offer a variety of different foodstuffs containing some vegetable matter. Bloodworm, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, and Mysis shrimp should all be enthusiastically consumed, and these can be supplemented with algae wafers and sinking catfish tablets/pellets along with vegetable matter such as courgette, cucumber, lettuce, squash, spinach etc. It is believed that this species requires bogwood for grazing purposes, so be sure to include this in your set-up.
Breeding
The Butterfly Plec has been bred in the home aquarium. This species is a cave spawner with broods numbering from 50-120 eggs. The male fish guards the eggs, which should hatch in 9-10 days (temperature dependent).
