Do Plecs Need Wood?

Nope. Plecs (the Loricariidae) are a very diverse group that contains many different feeding types. Only Panaque, Panaquolus, and the Hypostomus ‘Cochliodon’ group have the dentition required to rasp away wood itself, but even they cannot digest it. They eat the biofilm that grows on it, and the wood itself passes right through them.

Poster made by ichthyologist Rebecca Bentley.