FishProfiles.com Message Forums

ok thanks.
The Lfs wont get BN`s unless YOU "special" order them as they Dont ship well, and this can be a bit pricey. SO scratch the BN PLECO,and they will be getting clown plec`s 2day but they dont eat algea,so scratch them. so i guess i`ll go w/a common plec?Or a snail,what do they eat,also i have real plants?

sry if i was sarcastic but i was just trying to tell you.

No reason to be sarcastic, Cichlid Kid.

There is a reason people recommend a 55 as a BARE minimum. I believe the 50 is 3 feet long, right? How wide? Even in the 55 oscars can just barely turn around. That is why the general consensus is that a 75 gallon should be the minimum. You pleco needs more than a 75 gallon, and CERTAINLY more than that 50. They need at least a 125 gallon.

There is also a reason a 50 gallon is so much cheaper. It has less surface area and can't be stocked like a 55 can.

---

They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

first of all "peach Fuzz" i already have the tank,and a 50 will be big enough.he should be in atleast a 55 but i thought he could spare five gallons,and like 135 dollars.

When people reccomend a certain tank size, it isnt just for the water capacity. The Oscar needs room to swim around and the size of a 50 will limit that. Just wondering, is this a 50 breeder? An oscar is a messy fish and will put plenty of stress on the bio-load of a 50g tank. Add a common plec to that tank and you should expect problems in the near future.

Tiger oscars reach 17 inches in length and will need larger than a 55 gallon. The common pleco is a waste producing machine which will have your 55 gallon tank pretty nasty when he is only 1/3 of the way grown up. Expect him to top out in the 23 inch range.

Goodluck, you have some hard decisions

Koi

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

first of all "peach Fuzz" i already have the tank,and a 50 will be big enough.he should be in atleast a 55 but i thought he could spare five gallons,and like 135 dollars.

You really shouldn't have bought that fish. You obviously don't have the tank it needs. It needs a 125 gallon minimum. That is a far cry away from the 50 gallon you say you're going to get. Your oscar also needs larger than a 50.

---

They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

Thanks for all the help guys,but its to late as i already bought about a 1-1 1/2 " Common,as he was so cute i could not resist him and the great price of $1.

I really like him and in the future plan to move him to my 50 w/my Oscar.
I do really like BN`S and maybe i can get one when he outgrows my 15.
I beleive you all in saying BN`S do ship well as pet sale associates can be a bit misleading or say inpropper information just because there company or store doesnt want to get them or the price may be "too High".the guy i spoke w/ kind of lead me on to beleive they werent as hardy as commons and clown so i should get one of those to.But try telling that to a stubborn North East PetCCo. fish dealer,i bet they only have about25 tanks in the whole store and carry little stock of fish. i would rather go to PetSmart.(if only they werent and hour and 15 minutes away.)

IMO the BN DOES ship just fine. I have ordered all but one from on-line and they all arived in pristine condition. (Four total) but it's up to you but I would still suggest the BN plec. You can find some good ones on aquabid.

Don't ship well? Heh... tell that to the dozens of mini BN's my LFS stocks. The tiny lil things can't be bigger than a neon tetra and they seem happy and active. In fact, my LFS carries more BN's than any other type of pleco, and they have dozens of species!

Common plecs get HUGE and will eventually need a really big tank or a pond. Most snails can reproduce asexually, so you could easily go from one or two snails to hundreds. I think it's the apple snail that must have a mate... you might try one of those.

As for other types of plecos, I'm not sure which types eat algae. Take a look at the profiles on this site or check planetcatfish.com

Good luck!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

Well u want a pleco that stays small right? Look into a pitbull pleco.

Hi, someone else directed me to get a BN PLECO but in the species profiles on this website they say it is a BN CATFISH are these one in the same?

Also if so could it be put in a 15g tank w/guppies,guppy fry,and and cories,and possibly with goldies,and/or rosy red or flat head minnows(wich i have not bought yet.)

Also what else could they eat besides algea,and veggies as i have quite a bit on one side but when it is all eaten up what will it eat as i dont want it to die like an earlier pleco?

One more thing if any one has a pic of a clown pleco or info on one could i see it or them,and would a butterfly pleco be good also in stead of a BN? as i have also become interested iin these and clown plecos as well.
thanks ahead-Cichlid Kid

Dont think Clown plecs will eat algea, i think they are more carnivores plecos.

yes but my question was with the clown plecs will they eat algea?

Cichlid Kid, Omnivorous just means that they will eat a combo of herbivor and carnivor. For the most part I would say that the BN is herbivorous BUT... I have seen one of my BN munch on some shrimp pellets and have heard of them eating up fish that were dead at the bottom of the tank.

They do not bother any of the other fish in my tanks which include guppies, guppy fry and danios. They keep to themselves. They will be happy if you feed them algae wafers, zuchinni, cucumbers and spinich. Which ever you prefer, they will eat.

The bristle nose is in the genus Loricariidae Ancistrus. And Lunker...SiluriformesAKA was speaking of the clown plecs when refering to feeding them shrimp pellets. Good luck with what ever you decide Kid.

BNs are VERY good at eating algae, i think silur may have gotten confused with another type of pleco.

sirlurformes does this mean bbecause they are omnivores they may eat my baby fish or guppy fry?
does this mean also that they will not eat algea?
please reply soon as im going to the lfs tomorrow to get an algea eater, any ideas?
Also if you can think of an algea eater that will be suitable in my 15 US Gallon aquarium,but will later out grow it tell me that to because that is also ok if it can clean up y 15 then ill move it to my US 50 Gallon as i also have algea in there.
How about a butterfly PLeco,and does anyone have any info on these?
Cichlid Kid

First off, BNs are great for small-moderate sized tanks. Their bio-load is a little higher because, well simply put they are poop machines. They need wood in the tank. Secondly, I am not sure if they are truly part of the genus Peckoltia or not, but even so, they prefer algae wafers to shrimp pellets and they are a better diet for them than shrimp pellets.

Clown plecos are omnivores. Any fish in the genus Peckoltia is considered a clown pleco. Feed them shrimp pellets rather than spirulina discs if you get one. Almost all species grow between 3" to 4" long.

Hey! The Bn's are very peaceful fish and get along well with pretty much any type of fish. You just have to make sure to of course provide some type of cave or hiding space and get a peice of driftwood for it to munch on.

BN catfish is the same thing as Sunderland already pointed out. One of my Bn's do enjoy the shrimp pellets the other one does not seem interested. Spinach and zuchini are other favorites of the Bn.

One thing to consider is that they tend to have a heavy bio-load on your tank so the 1-2"/g does not apply to the bn. If you do get a lot of other fish (which I am not necessarily promoting) make sure you watch your water parameters and keep up with your water changes.

If you get a small bn plec (like 2" if healthy they do tend to grow relitively fast up to 5-6" so may not be suitable for your 15g tank.

I also don't know anything about the clown pleco, I'm sure someone here does though. Good luck with your decision and I hope you find something suitable for your tank!

[span class="edited"][Edited by Phone'sMate 2004-07-12 13:40][/span]