FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi all
A friend of mine has two Plecos and wants to get rid of one (offered me a swap for some of my SAEs)
Im reading and surfing info on these fellows at the moment. He /she is medium id say 200mm+ They can get big which is not a problem for my 5ft community tank but I am concerned about its effect on my other catfish and surroundings. I hope to have a medium planted tank. Would they destroy the plants which havent really got a foothold yet?
I have mostly rocks in while I await the driftwood. I have some juvenile bristlenose(3), Khulis and Clowns. I dont think the Pleco would bother the larger Angels dwarf gouramis and tetras too much?

Im also interested in a whiptail in the long run.

My 5footer
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2379/2242540621_1a81dcb3c8.jpg

a whiptail in your tank would be rather nice...

but a common pleco may wreak havoc on your tank and add lots of unwanted ammonia to the tank... unless it is some pretty variety to up your tanks appearance i would say no to it unless in some silly way it would affect your friendship...then by all means go for it... but common plecos are not really much good except for eating a little and pooping and getting huge...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

He/she is going to get much bigger than 20 cm if it is a common; it may even double in length!

I have a Royal Panaque (it's a large, exotic type of plec that's basically a finned bulldozer), and recently I've been getting plants. Last week I added Java Fern and Anubias, both which are quite distasteful to herbivorous fish and it didn't really touch them. I'm crossing my fingers; I'm seeing how much its diet of vegetables distracts it from plants, since I've added some more plants today (Crypts and an Ozelot Sword). So far, it hasn't eaten them, but I have found my Ozelot Sword floating, probably because it swam through it and unrooted it, not because it was actually tring to eat it. These issues hold with the common plec as well.

I say keep the SAE's, they'll be better algae eaters anyway. Definitely avoid the common if you want a nice planted tank.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Common pleco will mess around the plants, they will be floating. Only plants would stay down would be those attached to driftwood or something, but if they are simply buried in the gravel, they will come up.

Got to be more specific with the "whiptail' designation: some can grow to be as long as your forearm.

It's better to keep the SAE's & BN's with a planted tank, as the common Pleco will get huge & destroy the planted setup you'll be having.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com