Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco

 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Easy   • Temperament: Peaceful   • Maximum Size: 3"
• Minimum Tank Size: 30 gallons   • Water Conditions: 75-82° F, KH 2-15, pH 6.0-7.5
• Diet: Omnivore   • Origin: Amazon, Brazil   • Family: Loricariidae
• Species: Plecos   • Aquarium Type: Community

This profile has an associated Blog!

Click/tap to view the Blog: UNDERSTANDING PLECO L-NUMBERS AND COMPLETE L-NUMBER: REFERENCE LIST (PART 1. L001 - L100).

Help Support AquariumDomain!      

• Your support keeps AquariumDomain advertisement free, lightning fast and fully optimized for both mobile and desktop browsing.

• Visit our Patreon page to learn about the exclusive benefits our Patrons receive!

Originating from the streams of the Rio Cuiaba basin in Brazil, the Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus claro) is a beautifully colored smaller pleco species. Their interesting color pattern and small size make them ideal additions to Amazon stream type setups or peaceful Amazon biotope aquariums. Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco will also do well in tropical planted aquariums as their small size allows them to feed on algae growing on the plants, without damaging the plants in the process.

They are very peaceful with dissimilar species, but are quite territorial towards other plecos. While a single specimen or mated pair will do well in a 20 to 30 gallon aquarium, a group would require a much larger aquarium (90 gallons or more) to support multiple territories for the male specimens.

In their native habitat Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco are found living in rocky streams, where they use the substrate for protection from larger predators and to feed on algae and detritus. They do best in aquariums with well oxygenated clean water, with at least moderate water currents provided by either power heads or canister returns.

The aquarium substrate should ideally be a mix of sand and gravel with plenty of smooth rocks or varying sizes. This will provide the pleco both with territory to claim and with algae feeding opportunities. They will also do well in a planted aquarium if moderate water currents are provided. The Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco makes an excellent tank mate for peaceful community aquariums and peaceful Cichlid aquariums.

They should not be kept with large aggressive Cichlids, and should only be kept with other Plecos in larger aquariums that provides enough territory for each male pleco. When transporting the Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco caution should be exercised as they have spines located on each side of their head and on their pectoral fins that can become entangled in the mesh of aquarium nets.

While the Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco is technically an omnivore, it is mainly a vegetarian. The bulk of it's diet should come from vegetable matter including: algae, fresh cucumber slices, blanched green leafy vegetables, algae wafers, sinking vegetarian pellets and other similar items. They will consume leftover meaty foods that make there way to the aquarium substrate. Gold Marble Bristlenose Pleco will also eat small worms, daphnia and small crustaceans that it comes across while foraging in the substrate.