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TROPICAL Hypostomus cochliodon In rust we trust While they’re no Zebra plec, the Rusty plecs of South America might be the peaceful community fish you never knew you wanted. WORDS: nathan hill marcelo Krause Factfile Spotted rusty plec Scientific name: Hypostomus cf. cochliodon Pronunciation: High-poss-tow-muss cok-lee-oh-don Size: 18cm Origin: Quite widespread throughout Brazil and Paraguay, possibly reaching into Argentina Habitat: Seems to prefer relatively slow-flowing areas of clear waters Tank size: Minimum 120x30x30cm Water requirements: Softish, slightly acidic water preferred; 6.2-7.2 pH, hardness 4-12°H Temperature: Prefers to be between 22-25°C Temperament: Peaceful Feeding: Must have wood in the tank to graze on. Hardwoods such as apple are recommended Availability and cost: Not so common; from around £25 108 l+ 24 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Isn’t it remarkable how a single photo can change your opinion of a fish? Years ago, when I worked in aquatic retail, I would buy from a specialist supplier. We had a deal set up to help ease my carrier costs – after all, big, heavy boxes of fish with their demands for careful handling are expensive to transport, and once the expense of just a couple of boxes has been divided up between a few dozen fish and added to the mark-up, things can really trickle down to the customer. The deal we had was that I paid for the freight, but with every order I would get some extra fish with a retail price equivalent to the cost. I could break even with each delivery. A superb idea, in principle. For about eight months in a row, I was sent nothing but ‘Rusty plecs’. I had them everywhere, from large sumps down to guppy tanks; from crammed into Rainbowfish displays to fighting Synodontis in catfish communities where they didn’t belong. I could have eaten for free, and well, if Rusty plecs had been on my menu. I pleaded for a different fish; something I could sell, something that was more exciting than these doorstops of armoured brown flesh. Eventually the supply waned, and over some years I sold my glut of Rusties. But that experience had left me jaded. Here was a fish I would never keep again, if I could help it. Then I stumbled across the photos of Marcelo Krause, a nature photographer from South America. I was given access to a private gallery, adorned with his aquatic work. And there, in the middle of shots of tetras shining like precious stones, and balls of spawning Pimelodids, I saw my old nemesis – one of the Rusty plecs I loathed so, but in a new light. This was not the unwieldy lummox I remembered crashing about my tanks and never selling. This was a revelation. A Hypostomus catfish casually lounging on a piece of fallen, eroded wood, unrattled by the photographer and oblivious to the diver creeping up behind him. Looking closer at the wood, I saw it was covered in bivalves – freshwater mussels that call South American rivers their home. I was enamoured. I’d never even imagined these fish as having a natural home; to me they were an overabundant nuisance, maybe churned out by eastern farms. Yet here they were, wild. Wild and glorious. I dug deeper. Maybe it was time to get to know the fish I had rejected so many times before. For the first time in my life, I found myself searching through books for information on them, and digesting reams of scientific papers. A Spotted rusty plec poses for Marcelo Krause’s camera. www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk 25
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