Some Pleco Advice

[Chuka1212]

Allrighty, I finally moved to a place where I can get more than wal-marts selection of fish and I am loving it. In a freshwater fish shop I have found heaven, and plecos that I had never seen in real life before (I am sure they are quite common to many who live in larger cities)

Anyways I have fallen in love with two inhabitants of this shop:
1) a queen arabesque plecostamus and

2) A snowflake or snowball pleco (not sure which)

Both are about $35.00 and the most I have ever spent on a fish is 9.99, so I want to make sure I am doing this right. THe guy at the shop said they are both hardy. Is this true? He also said the queen arabesque is more of a meat eater than most and that sinking shrimp tablets should be provided. Is this true?

What are your experiences with these more exotic plecos? Are they difficult to keep? What extra care (particularly feeding) do they require?
By the way I have a softwater amazon setup with driftwood, some live plants. It is 30gallons.

Thanks!

 

[indigoj]

With regards the second fish you really need to find out what it is as there are several white spotted plecs and they can have quite different diets/sizes.

The Queen Arabesque stays quite small and is a Hypancistrus, these tend to like a fairly meaty diet.

Both will need clean water and plenty of hiding places.

Have a look on Planetcatfish for info on both plecs.