Meet Mick Jaggerfish

Last week I introduced you to Hot Lips Houlihan, or (as I prefer to call her) Hot Lips Houlifish.

Today I'd like to introduce you to her much larger cousin, Mick Jaggerfish.

The tank in which Mick lives is 4 feet wide. So he is at least 15-18 inches long. (Compare his length with the tetras above him.)

He lives in a tank with more than a dozen tetras, about a dozen corydoras, and the crowning jewels - six angelfish. He doesn't bother anyone. Even though he is larger than anyone else, he is very peaceful and prefers to eat algae and vegetable-based fish food, though occasionally he will eat a shrimp pellet.

No one bothers him, either, even when the angels are breeding and become very territorial. He has an armor-plated skin that protects him from predators.

He prefers to hide during the day, usually inside this tree trunk or under another piece of wood in the tank. He comes out at night while the others sleep and he keeps the glass clean of algae and the gravel cleaned of old fish food.

There can usually only be one grown pleco in a tank, however, because the males can be territorial with each other. A male and female get along fine (as you can imagine) and will sometimes lay eggs inside a tube or log.