Lightly Medicated | Rubber Lip Pleco (Chaetostoma sp.)

What “Lightly Medicated” means

This is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.

A light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise. Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the Quarantined listing is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.

We condition the fish on our end. Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.

When it ships

Plan on 3–5 days on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. If the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts. From the day you order, plan on roughly two and a half weeks in total.

The guarantees

• Shipped orders: 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.
• In-store pickup: 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.

Want the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the Quarantined listing. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The non-quarantined listing is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in Quarantined vs Non-Quarantined.

Rubber Lip Plecos (Chaetostoma sp.) get their name from a genuinely distinctive, thick-lipped sucker mouth built for near-constant grazing — the lip structure gives them a grip on algae-covered rock surfaces that more rounded-lipped plecos can’t match. In their native Andean stream habitats across Colombia and Ecuador, they live in fast, well-oxygenated water, clinging to rock faces in strong current and rasping away at algae and biofilm all day. That stream-adapted lifestyle translates well to aquarium life: they’re low-drama, reliably useful algae eaters that don’t develop the territorial aggression some larger pleco species do as they age.

They stay on the smaller, milder side of the loricariid family — typically 4–5 inches at full size — which makes them a practical algae-control option for tanks in the 30–75 gallon range where a Common Pleco would be a long-term problem. They’re most active during the evening and overnight, but unlike some nocturnal plecos, a well-fed Chaetostoma is visible and active during daylight hours, which is part of the appeal.

Give them driftwood and a variety of surface types. They graze on wood as well as rock and glass, and a tank with only smooth surfaces limits their behavioral range and their foraging efficiency. Supplement natural grazing with algae wafers, blanched zucchini, and occasionally cucumber.

Scientific name: Chaetostoma sp. (Rubber Lip complex; several species sold under this common name)
Origin: Fast-flowing Andean streams and rivers in Colombia and Ecuador — rocky, high-oxygen habitats
Water parameters: Temp 65–79°F · pH 6.5–8.0 · GH 5–20 (prefer well-oxygenated, slightly cool water)
Tank requirements: 30 gal minimum; provide rock, driftwood, and varied surface textures; moderate to strong flow preferred
Diet: Herbivore — algae, biofilm, algae wafers, blanched vegetables; supplement with driftwood for rasping
Compatibility: Peaceful; males may compete but rarely injure each other; safe in most community setups
Husbandry note: Chaetostoma are more temperature-sensitive than tropical plecos — they thrive in the 68–75°F range and become stressed above 80°F. In warm tanks running at 78–82°F for discus or rams, a Rubber Lip Pleco will be uncomfortable. Match the temperature to the pleco, not the other way around.