Clown Pleco

[nigel bentley]

I fancy getting a clown pleco for my 400 litre tank.
I have plenty of bogwood for grazing and hiding. I'm just a little concerned he or she will eat plants.
I would offer cucumber and algae wafers to help but I was wondering if anyone else had any positive or negative experiences?
Thanks in advance
Nigel

 

[Mattant1984]

I kept one in the past and they are lovely looking but literally never saw it, even if I put in algae wafers etc it never came out. I gave it to someone in the end as I thought it was better to get a second bristlenose, they come out all the time

 

[mort]

I've seen more than one species called clown plec but normally they are this species

Panaqolus maccus • Loricariidae • Cat-eLog

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www.planetcatfish.com

If this is the one you are looking at then my experience, I had one for over a decade as a kid, was that they don't do any damage to plants. I had it with big fleshy leaved amazon swords and most other common species and it didn't, to the best of my knowledge, do any damage. The tanks with the ancistris on the other hand showed notable destruction of sword leaves.

I do echo the above that you won't see it much (same with pretty much any of these plecs) but I could find mine if I really looked. I'd happily have another.

 

[nigel bentley]

Thanks for your replies. I have taken on board all the advice and just purchased two juvenile bristlenose catfish. They seem to like hanging out with my ottos.
Whilst I still like the clown Pleco, in a 400l tank, they would be elusive.
Thanks again Nigel