We were able to import two large males of this top rarity. There is still an ongoing debate among specialists whether Panaque suttonorum (= P. suttoni) and
P. cochliodon do represent the same species or not. However, in the most recent scientific revision, P. suttonorum is considered to be valid.
For our customers: the animals have code 275007 on our stock list. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Only two specimens available!
The
blue-eyed pleco, Panaque cochliodon, is a herbivorous freshwater armored catfish endemic to Colombia where it occurs in the Cauca and Magdalena River basins. This species grows to 16 inches. Like other species of the Panaque genus, P. cochliodon feeds primarily on submerged wood. This species is collected for the aquarium trade and there is also significant habitat disturbance in the basin. As such the blue eyed Panaque is listed on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. A recent
conservation assessment of Venezuelan fish has listed this species as Data Deficient.
Blue-eyed plecs grow to about 30 cm in length, and like other
Panaque spp., they are clumsy swimmers adapted to staying close the substrate, in particular using the sucker-like mouth to hold on to submerged rocks and wood. Blue-eyed plecos have been kept as aquarium fish, and were fairly popular during the 1980s and early 1990s and are considered rare to find.
