Lava rock + pleco

[Laurie Dear]

Hi,
I'm new to aquascaping, and i bought some quite big pieces of lava rock and it is quite rough. I was wondering if it would be safe for a BN plec. Won't scratch or anything like that. Or would it be best to just sand the rougher areas?

Also, have many people had BN plecs ruin their scapes? it's another little concern of mine as this will be my first aquascape.

Cheers,

Laurie

 

[roadmaster]

Laurie,
I'm not a fan of lava rock for the reasons you noted.
Fishes like plecos,loaches,cory's can scrape raw area's on their mouth's/bellies.
Small juvenile bristlenose would not be able to damage plant's or aquascape as readily as adult Bristlenose.
I have three adults in heavily planted tank and most of the plant's are anubia attached to large wood piece's and some crypt's along with some Ludwigia Repens.
They pretty much leave my plant's alone but are prone to digging on occasion near the wood piece's.
I have kept the bristlenose for a long time and believe some are more likely to munch plant's than other's but keeping them fed well helps keep damage to minimum.
Adult bristlenose could easily displace fine leaved or sensitive fragile plant's simply by lumbering about in search of food's.
Hope this helps a little.

 

[Laurie Dear]

Hi
thanks for the reply. It was very useful. I have an adult bn plec with an attitude and a passion for digging... I'll have to rethink my hardscape. Any suggestions on some inert rock (obviously safer for plecs).

Also, around my area there aren't a lot of places which have a decent range of plants, I'm assuming online would be my next option. Any suggestions for decent quality and quantity of a range of plants?

Cheers!

Laurie.

 

[andyh]

evening

Not to be one to disagree but i am a big fan of Lava rock and use it within my pleco setup. The Plecs love it and use it as a feeding ground as it regularly traps small food particles on its surface and also the algae grows well on the rock. I keep a variety of plecs including L46's, L134 and L014 all in the tank with the Lava and haven't experienced any damage to the fish. Remember a lot of these fish come from environments were rock is prevalent and plants are few and far between. BN plecs are big fans of wood and that should be your first choice.
Cheers
Andyh

 

[Laurie Dear]

Thanks Andyh,

I understand what you're saying and it is very useful to have an opinion from another POV. I have wood ready to be put in, i was having a mixture of both and was a little worried about the lava rock. I think i will change my rock, simply because i do not have another tank that would be suitable for the adult BN plec in case i need a back up. But thank you for you sharing your experience with lava rock + pleco

An example of the lava rock i have is:
http://www.acmesand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/lavarock4.jpg

Cheers

Laurie

 

[GreenNeedle]

That kind of lava rock would be fine for plecs and other softbellies. It is the 'honeycomb' sort of Lava rock that is like a ball of razor blades that is more of a problem.

 

[andyh]

Thats very similar to mine, if not the same.
Works great.
Andyh

 

[Laurie Dear]

thanks for all the replies.