# Suitable Pleco



## Peter6bee (2 Feb 2008)

Hi there.
I am getting rid of my sailfin pleco because I've recently gone for a planted tank and the pleco which is about 6" long now is making a bit of a mess. What I want to know is what kind of pleco stays quite small and wont eat my plants.

Thanks
Pete


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## Ed Seeley (2 Feb 2008)

Ancistrus are good IME, but the best for algae eating are Otocinclus sp.


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## Peter6bee (2 Feb 2008)

Cheers for such a quick reply. I have looked at the Bristlenose (Ancistrus) but they can grow to 15cm (from thinkfish) which is pretty much the size of the pleco  I am getting rid of now.

For general algae eating I have gone for 6 Siamensis (Flying Fox) which I will be hopefully doubling along with around 20 glass shrimp.


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## Ed Seeley (3 Feb 2008)

Peter6bee said:
			
		

> Cheers for such a quick reply. I have looked at the Bristlenose (Ancistrus) but they can grow to 15cm (from thinkfish) which is pretty much the size of the pleco  I am getting rid of now.
> 
> For general algae eating I have gone for 6 Siamensis (Flying Fox) which I will be hopefully doubling along with around 20 glass shrimp.



If you buy captive bred Ancistrus then there is no way they will reach that size.  A big male can get to 4" (10cm) but my pair (that breed at intervals) seem to have stopped growing at a little over 3" for the male and just over 2.5" for the female.

Sailfin plecs (Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps) can get to nearly 18" long!


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## TDI-line (3 Feb 2008)

The only small pleco's i know are the zebra pleco and chocolate zebra pleco, the bristlenose will grow to around 5-6" long, and will start stripping leaves and knawing through stems, and burrows under rocks and wood to make a cave for breeding.

I have just returned all 6 of my adult bristlenoses and about 15 juveniles to my lfs so my plants have a good chance now.

Just keeping corys and otto's as the cleanup crew, and shrimps.


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## beeky (6 Mar 2008)

My (female) bristlenose is about 5 inches long and rules the tank.

Many plecs actually aren't that good at algae eating and are more omnivorous and wood eating. I'm sure there's a word for wood eating but I don't know what it is!


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## vauxhallmark (6 Mar 2008)

beeky said:
			
		

> Many plecs actually aren't that good at algae eating and are more omnivorous and wood eating. I'm sure there's a word for wood eating but I don't know what it is!



Xylophagous. Everybody use it in a sentence today!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylophage


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## lstratton (6 Mar 2008)

I have just got a couple of queen arabesque plecs (L260) for my planted tank and they only get to about 4 inches and eat mainly meaty foods so don't mash up your plants


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## Themuleous (6 Mar 2008)

Ive got a clown pleco _Panaque maccus_ which I must have had for over four years now.  I very rarely see him and I doubt he does much in the way of algae eating, but he's no bigger than 1.5" and shouldn't get any bigger.  Nice looking pleco I guess, but nothing fancy.

Sam


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## Simon Dickenson (6 Mar 2008)

My true siamensis was the best at algae eating that I have found. My tank is now completely shot of all types! Red Bee shrimps IMO are real lookers but rubbish at algae eating! although my amano shrimp are good.


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## GreenNeedle (6 Mar 2008)

If you buy a 'real' bristlesnose then it will get no more than 15cm.  most will grow to about 12 max.

I have Otocinclus (Otos) and Parotocinclus Jumbo (Pitbull plec LDA25) in my tank.

Pitbull Plecs are 3 inches max when fully grown and are lovely fish.

Both these species should be kept in groups though as they are sociable fish.

Andy


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## ulster exile (6 Mar 2008)

Where did you find your parotocinclus Supercoley?  I would like a couple of those, but have never seen them in the shops...

In response to the original question, my leopard frog peckoltia (L134) is no bother to the plants in my tank, but then again he's happily nocturnal


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## Ed Seeley (6 Mar 2008)

SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> If you buy a 'real' bristlesnose then it will get no more than 15cm.  most will grow to about 12 max.



What's one of those then?   

No one's really sure what the bristlenoses are that are generally sold in the hobby and they have been given the description Ancistrus sp.3 as such!  There's a good chance they are actually hybrids of a number of similar species or forms.


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## GreenNeedle (6 Mar 2008)

Some shops will label commons as juvy or female bristlenoses as they know they can sell them easier (not that its not easy to sell the commons when small. lol)

Others mislabel them.

I got my Pitbulls from Pleco Aquatics as he is pretty local and drops things around on his way home so no heat packs and special delivery charges for me. lol.  Not sure if he has stopped selling on ebay but I will post his shop page.  You can try and contact him and see what he has at the mo.

http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI ... world=true

I bought 19 Cardinals, 4 Otos and 4 Pitbulls - all for Â£50 last time.  Delivered and all in top notch condition as he is a Zeb breeder.

Heres one of the Pitbulls





Andy


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## ric25_78 (10 Mar 2008)

Everything you need to know on Planetcatfish.com.

Try L182 or L134


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## ulster exile (10 Mar 2008)

Thanks Supercoley 

I bought one of these yesterday - a Golden Vampire plec (leporacanthicus heteradon)




A very attractive addition to the tank imo who'll only grow to around 4"!


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## TDI-line (11 Mar 2008)

Wow, she's a beauty.

Was she expensive?


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## ulster exile (11 Mar 2008)

Â£25 mate but that's not too much more than I paid for my leopard frog but I' thought it was a Sultan plec (L264) when I bought it so I'm a bit lucky that it's not unsuitable for the tank (phew).  

It's looking seriously thin, but is being treated with wormer and being fed well (and has started eating thankfully) so fingers crossed.


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