blue-eyed plec

Panaque cochliodon, the blue eyed royal pleco, blue eyed pleco or blue-eyed panaque is a herbivorous freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Loricariidae, the suckermouth armoured catfishes, and the subfamily Hypostominae, the suckermouth catfishes. This catfish is endemic to Colombia where it occurs in the Cauca and Magdalena River basins. It is distinguished from many loricariids by being dark grey to black and having bright, turquoise-coloured eyes. Like other species of the genus Panaque, P. cochliodon feeds primarily on submerged wood. Blue-eyed plecs grow to about 30 cm (12 in) in length and, like other Panaque species, they are clumsy swimmers adapted to staying close the substrate, using their sucker-like mouths to hold on to submerged rocks and wood.