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Zebra & Hypancistrus plecos

Reserve or join the waitlist

Hypancistrus are small, boldly patterned plecos from the clear, fast rivers of Brazil and Venezuela, and the zebra pleco L046 is the most famous of them. They breed slowly, in small clutches, so captive-bred fish are always scarce.

How they differ from bristlenose

• Warm water: they're usually kept around 82–86°F.
• High oxygen and strong flow: they come from rapids.
• Meaty food: they lean carnivorous (frozen bloodworm, brine shrimp, meaty pellets), unlike algae-grazing bristlenose.
• Caves: males guard eggs inside narrow caves.

Captive-bred only

Wild zebras come from a single stretch of the Rio Xingu, now reshaped by the Belo Monte dam, and Brazil does not allow their export. Captive breeding is what keeps them in the hobby. We sell only fish we've bred.

Clutches are small and go to the waitlist first.

Varieties

• L236 Cracked Zebra pleco: White-and-black Xingu Hypancistrus, long one of the most sought-after L-numbers.
• L270 Chocolate Zebra pleco: Brown zebra-patterned Hypancistrus, also sold as LDA076.
• Zebra pleco (L046): Hypancistrus zebra: black and white stripes, the most sought-after small pleco.
• King tiger pleco (L066): A Hypancistrus with a dense black-and-white maze pattern.
• King tiger pleco (L333): A yellow-and-black Hypancistrus with bold, variable patterns.
• Queen arabesque pleco (L260): A fine-lined black-and-white Hypancistrus from the Tapajós.
• Orinoco angel pleco (L201): A dark Hypancistrus covered in white spots, from Venezuela.