These remarkable fish will thrive best in a well-maintained, warm aquarium that duplicates their natural habitat. Provide high oxygen levels, a varied diet and plenty of hiding places. Males have more pronounced bristles
The Medusa Plec is known from the Rio Xingu and Rio Tocantins basins. Here this fish inhabits clear, shallow, running waters where it lives in the narrow cracks and crevices of the submerged rocks. This is an impressive Ancistrus species which is instantly recognisable from the very wide flat head, and, in older males, an extraordinary amount of tentacle growth on the head. Provide a mature aquarium with plenty of shady hiding places amongst tangles of bogwood, rocky caves, PVC pipes, bamboo tubes, and robust planting. Filtration should be efficient with areas of brisk water movement along with some quieter resting spots out of the current. There should be a decent level of oxygenation, and small frequent partial water changes will help keep nitrate to a minimum. The Medusa Plec is generally peaceful, but it will show some territorial aggression towards its own kind if not given enough space. In most instances though, they can be maintained in small groups and with other Loricariids as long as there is adequate room and enough hiding places to go round. Tankmates could include any small-medium sized peaceful fish that enjoy warm, fast-flowing water.