# Biggest pleco for 200l?



## richard brown (25 Aug 2019)

Hey!

I am planning to redo my tank later this year and was wandering what the biggest pleco I could get away with in a 200l would be? I have already ruled out the "common pleco" due to how big they are able to grow.

It will be housed with a few amano shrimp and 2 angelfish and some neon tetra's.


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## Conort2 (25 Aug 2019)

Wouldn’t go any bigger than something like a hypancistrus, peckoltia or ancistrus. Remember plecos are extremely messy and require high oxygen levels so are sometimes not the best choice for a planted tank. Whiptails are often a better choice for that sort of set up.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (25 Aug 2019)

Conort2 said:


> Wouldn’t go any bigger than something like a hypancistrus, peckoltia or ancistrus. Remember plecos are extremely messy and require high oxygen levels so are sometimes not the best choice for a planted tank. Whiptails are often a better choice for that sort of set up.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Conor



Thanks for the imput, in truth I am thinking about moving away from a heavily planted tank and going minimal mainly using floaters.

Probably sand substrate, a bunch of large pebbles and a big piece of wood, minimal light and floaters to help shade the tank when the light is on and to help remove bad stuff.


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## Edvet (26 Aug 2019)

Do you think the pleco will clean the tank? Or are you interested in the species.?


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## richard brown (26 Aug 2019)

Edvet said:


> Do you think the pleco will clean the tank? Or are you interested in the species.?



Very interested in the species, from what I have read I will be the one doing the cleaning

Also why I am willing to redo the tank to make a suitable home.

The blue phantom looks nice and the max size I have read about seems to fit with my tank size.


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## Edvet (26 Aug 2019)

https://www.planetcatfish.com/
https://plecoplanet.com/forum/


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## richard brown (26 Aug 2019)

Edvet said:


> https://www.planetcatfish.com/
> https://plecoplanet.com/forum/



Thanks for those links Edvet.


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## dw1305 (26 Aug 2019)

Hi all, 
I've kept a couple of different species, in some ways looks aren't that relevant because, when they are happy, you very rarely see them. 

I think <"L128"> (or  L200) are probably too big.





richard brown said:


> Very interested in the species, from what I have read I will be the one doing the cleaning


I'd try one of the _Panaqolus_ sp. They are primarily wood eating so will make a bit of a mess, but they are fairly low maintenance after that (with the oxygen proviso @Edvet  mentioned). 

Have look at <"L169"> and <"L397">. You could keep a group and that would be more interesting. 

cheers Darrel


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## Conort2 (26 Aug 2019)

L128 will get too large for a 200l. I would stick to he other species suggested. I would say out of all the smaller species recommended you may be best with a peckoltia, ancistrus or panaque. Hypancistrus are beautiful but rarely seen in daylight. However given time all species should be visible when being fed. 

Just make sure they have a lot of flow and oxygen. In the case of hypancistrus or something like an l134 make sure they are kept warm too. A lot of the smaller fancy plecos or from the xingu or tapas is which are extremely warm fast flowing rivers. Also let us know what species you go for as some have extremely different dietary requirements.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (27 Aug 2019)

Conort2 said:


> L128 will get too large for a 200l. I would stick to he other species suggested. I would say out of all the smaller species recommended you may be best with a peckoltia, ancistrus or panaque. Hypancistrus are beautiful but rarely seen in daylight. However given time all species should be visible when being fed.
> 
> Just make sure they have a lot of flow and oxygen. In the case of hypancistrus or something like an l134 make sure they are kept warm too. A lot of the smaller fancy plecos or from the xingu or tapas is which are extremely warm fast flowing rivers. Also let us know what species you go for as some have extremely different dietary requirements.
> 
> ...



Will do, will not be for a month or 2 yet anyway, stripped the tank down to just the substrate today and did a big water change, gonna do another water change tomorrow and clean the glass etc, then another on wednesday and clean the filter out then go hardscape shopping and order the floaters.


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## richard brown (3 Sep 2019)

So, I have all the hardscape sorted and have made a very nice cave made from landscape rock and redmoor wood.

I was looking over the pleco's suggested and have ruled out the zebra plec, mainly due to the temp requirements compared to the fish I currently have.

I am toying with the idea of having a few plants but not many.

I am leaning towards the l397 as it seems to suit the tank conditions best.

If I was to get a group of these (provided the maidenhead near me has them in stock) how many would be suitable?

The cave is quite large with a fair bit of space.

Another question, would botanicals help out?


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## Conort2 (3 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> So, I have all the hardscape sorted and have made a very nice cave made from landscape rock and redmoor wood.
> 
> I was looking over the pleco's suggested and have ruled out the zebra plec, mainly due to the temp requirements compared to the fish I currently have.
> 
> ...


Id say a group of four or five would be suitable. Make sure you have lots of driftwood as these are panaques and feed on wood. Nothing too hard though like Mopani! As for caves google pleco caves, plecos like long narrow tube like caves shut off at one end. Should be easy enough to order from ebay. Also if you do get the l397 make sure they have plenty of veg, these aren’t carnivores like the hypancistrus and could get bloat if fed too much meaty stuff.

Good luck! 

Cheers, conor


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## richard brown (3 Sep 2019)

Conort2 said:


> Id say a group of four or five would be suitable. Make sure you have lots of driftwood as these are panaques and feed on wood. Nothing too hard though like Mopani! As for caves google pleco caves, plecos like long narrow tube like caves shut off at one end. Should be easy enough to order from ebay. Also if you do get the l397 make sure they have plenty of veg, these aren’t carnivores like the hypancistrus and could get bloat if fed too much meaty stuff.
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Cheers, conor



Well the cave is quite long, the whole ceiling of the cave is made from redmoor wood, there is a small gap at the back of the cave but could easily block that with a small piece of rock if need be, the entrance is facing the exact point that the current bounces off the front bottom corner and moves across the tank too so the cave has nice flow through it, will try and get a picture later.

In terms of food, am likely going to stock up on half a cucumber a week and suppliment with wafers. in terms of feeding cucumber do you just drop a slice in with an anchor?


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## Conort2 (3 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> Well the cave is quite long, the whole ceiling of the cave is made from redmoor wood, there is a small gap at the back of the cave but could easily block that with a small piece of rock if need be, the entrance is facing the exact point that the current bounces off the front bottom corner and moves across the tank too so the cave has nice flow through it, will try and get a picture later.
> 
> In terms of food, am likely going to stock up on half a cucumber a week and suppliment with wafers. in terms of feeding cucumber do you just drop a slice in with an anchor?


https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Pleco-Cave/66789/bn_7023491774
These are more like the thing you’ll need, more of a tube than a cave but these are what the males use to breed in and will be sitting at the entrance to these most of the time with their tail sticking out.

In regards to food I’d skip the cucumber as it’s mostly water. Courgette, sweet potato, melon and loads of others are suitable for panaque, along with some suitable veggie pellets or wafers. And yes just stick a tea spoon or something suitable through them to make them sink.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (8 Sep 2019)

What about bristlenoses, how many of them could I keep?

If anyone could answer because I am thinking of going to maidenheads later today.


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## Conort2 (8 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> What about bristlenoses, how many of them could I keep?
> 
> If anyone could answer because I am thinking of going to maidenheads later today.


I’d go for a trio, one male and two females. 

More than one male will probably cause carnage, Bristlenose can be quite aggressive when they want to be.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (8 Sep 2019)

Conort2 said:


> I’d go for a trio, one male and two females.
> 
> More than one male will probably cause carnage, Bristlenose can be quite aggressive when they want to be.
> 
> ...



What is the best way tell when they are juvenile?


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## Conort2 (8 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> What is the best way tell when they are juvenile?


Can be difficult, however males should still be showing a few bristles if the fish aren’t tiny. Try and look for the fish with the most bristles and then two that are completely ‘bald’.

If the fish are really small and too small to tell maybe get a group of six and grow them on. Once you know the sexes for definite return or sell the surplus.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (8 Sep 2019)

Got 5 as like you said due to age was impossible to tell.

We got a terrarium kit too :S

Once I make sure its sorted will be getting 2 musk turtles, could any of the bristlenoses that turn out to be male be homed in there once it is ready for life?


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## Conort2 (8 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> Got 5 as like you said due to age was impossible to tell.
> 
> We got a terrarium kit too :S
> 
> Once I make sure its sorted will be getting 2 musk turtles, could any of the bristlenoses that turn out to be male be homed in there once it is ready for life?


I’d say no turtles are the extremely messy and like to take bites out of things.

Cheers

Conor


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## richard brown (9 Sep 2019)

Ref the terrarium, they should be ashamed giving people the terrible filter that comes with these kits, ordered a u3 for now.

The bristlenoses are settling well though in my main tank, they are the common spotted ones.


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## alto (9 Sep 2019)

richard brown said:


> We got a terrarium kit too :S
> 
> Once I make sure its sorted will be getting 2 musk turtles,


Unless the footprint of the aquarium portion is at least 90cm x 45cm I’d not add more than one turtle
(very tempting to add more turtles in smaller spaces when they are baby turtles  )

And even that is rather small for 2 males (who will want their own territory once mature)
Keeping male and female can also be challenging once they mature to mating size (male can easily harass female in confined space)

A single should have at least 60cm x 30cm swimming area 

A decent musk turtle article


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## richard brown (10 Sep 2019)

alto said:


> Unless the footprint of the aquarium portion is at least 90cm x 45cm I’d not add more than one turtle
> (very tempting to add more turtles in smaller spaces when they are baby turtles  )
> 
> And even that is rather small for 2 males (who will want their own territory once mature)
> ...



I have been reading the exact same thing, thankfully we have no turtles yet despite the guy trying to sell us 2 there and then, quite shocking really for a normally trustworthy retailer.


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## alto (10 Sep 2019)

Retailers experience high pressure sales tactics too 
- likely the musk turtle supplier is the information source for the shop
which isn’t really an excuse but happens ... if you go back in, I’d bring a printout of the article and hope that educates the staff 

A Betta would likely be a better candidate for your terrarium (unless you decide to return it) - hopefully the shop at least mentioned proper reptile UV lighting and heating would be needed 

Turtles, lizards etc are very attractive to kids as they can hold and interact with them (unlike fish) but most need fairly expensive setups to thrive ... and always ask for a feeding demonstration before buying 
Many “calm” reptiles are actually sick reptiles


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## richard brown (10 Sep 2019)

alto said:


> Retailers experience high pressure sales tactics too
> - likely the musk turtle supplier is the information source for the shop
> which isn’t really an excuse but happens ... if you go back in, I’d bring a printout of the article and hope that educates the staff
> 
> ...



Will get a turtle still but prob only one and not until the thing is cycled/ready for life, dumped some substrate from my main tank in so far to help, looking at the other equipment that came with it seems ok, heater keeps it a constant 25 and it came with a basking light.

The tank is actually 60 x 45 currently filled about 6inch deep.


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