Care
The Opal spot plec is endemic to the Rio Xingu, a south-eastern tributary of the Amazon River. Here the water flows quickly over rocky substrates where it is forced past boulders at speed and is saturated with oxygen. Such water courses are surrounded with marginal vegetation, and an aufwuchs-rich biofilm covers the rocky substrate, which these fish enjoy grazing upon. This species shows a degree of flexibility in the wild, with specimens encountered in habitats with a variety of flow rates and water depths.
Provide a spacious, mature aquarium with plenty of shady hiding places amongst tangles of bogwood, rocky caves, PVC pipes, and robust planting. Filtration should be efficient with areas of brisk water movement along with some quieter resting spots 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. This species is generally peaceful, but it will show some territorial aggression towards its own kind if not given enough caves for the males to defend. In most instances though, they can be maintained in small groups and with other Loricariids as long as there is adequate room and enough hiding places to go round. Tankmates could include any medium sized peaceful fish that enjoy softwater and high temperatures.
Feeding
An omnivorous species. Offer a variety of foodstuffs including sinking catfish pellets/tablets, carnivore pellets, and algae wafers. Smaller specimens will relish meaty frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis shrimp, chopped krill etc, and larger fish will enjoy whole prawns and mussels. Be sure to also provide a good proportion of vegetable matter such as blanched spinach, kale, courgette, cucumber, squash, sweet potato etc.
Breeding
Opal spots have been bred by enthusiasts and display typical cave-spawning behaviour, with males guarding and caring for the clutch until the fry leave the paternal cave. Artificial incubation seems problematic and the best results come from leaving egg clusters in the care of their father. Growth seems slow, with young fish taking six months to reach the 4cm mark and parents spawning seasonally for approximately half the year.
