King Tiger Pleco
Hypancistrus seideli
Loricariidae
No photo of this species yet
Got one of your own? Send it and your name goes under it.
About
L066 is the number on the tank, and the shop label is wrong twice over. The first mistake is the genus: labels still read 'Peckoltia sp. L066 King Tiger', but L066 has always been a Hypancistrus - PlanetCatfish's Cat-eLog files the number under that genus, and ScotCat notes that Hypancistrus differ from Peckoltia and from Panaque/Panaqolus in having fewer and larger teeth in both jaws. The second mistake is the 'sp.'. For roughly thirty years L066 really was an undescribed trade line, and in 2025 it stopped being one: Sousa, Sousa, Oliveira, Sabaj Pérez, Zuanon and Rapp Py-Daniel described it as Hypancistrus seideli, named after the German pleco breeder Ingo Seidel, in Neotropical Ichthyology 23(1):e240080. The same paper folds a shelf full of separate price tags into that one species. Aquarium Glaser, summarising it, lists L66, L236, L287, L333, L399, L400 and LDA69 as pattern variants of H. seideli, which is what breeders had been saying for years whenever one pair threw fry with wildly different markings. PlanetCatfish has so far applied the new name to L066 and still carries the other numbers as separate Hypancistrus sp. entries, so expect both names in circulation for a while yet. Underneath the taxonomy it is a 12-14 cm black-and-white cave dweller from the lower rio Xingu - the same river and the same genus as our zebra pleco - and it wants the same things: hot, fast, oxygen-rich water, a cave of its own, and meat.
Care
Hot and fast: 27-29 C, strong flow and heavy aeration, sand, and one cave per fish. Seriously Fish puts the smallest sensible base at 120 x 45 cm, which is more floor than a 14 cm fish looks like it needs; the reason is flow and cave space rather than swimming room. Feed meat after lights-out - the Cat-eLog's word is simply 'Carnivore' - and watch that it gets some, because PlanetCatfish warns these fish 'can be a bit shy and slow to grab food when available'. Peaceful with small tetras, corydoras and other quiet company; somewhat territorial with its own kind, so caves and broken sight lines rather than open floor. Keep only one Hypancistrus species per tank: ScotCat and Seriously Fish both warn about hybridisation, which matters here because our zebra pleco is the same genus.
Diet
Carnivore. Frozen bloodworm, mussel and prawn, carnivore wafers, shrimp pellets and other sinking protein after dark. Juveniles take some vegetable food; adults largely ignore it.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (60)
Possible with care (301)
Avoid (57)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Bristles and cheek spinesStrong · from about a year
Male plecos grow odontodes — spiny growths on the cheeks and along the leading pectoral rays. Bristlenose males additionally grow branching tentacles across the snout and over the top of the head.
Also in these lists
Similar species
Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.
Sold in Lithuania
These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.
These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a King Tiger Pleco need?
- A King Tiger Pleco needs an aquarium of at least 200 litres (52.8 US gallons) with a footprint at least 120 cm (47.2 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a King Tiger Pleco need?
- King Tiger Pleco does best at 25–30 °C (77–86 °F), pH 5.5–7.5 and a general hardness of 2–15 °dGH.
- Is the King Tiger Pleco suitable for beginners?
- King Tiger Pleco sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.