Plecos

[baum89]

anyone have any thoughts on the best plecos out there? ive heard the royals are good (L-190)

[Gilraen Took]

How big is your tank and why do you want one? Oh, also, what tankmates would it have?

[baum89]

im thinking of putting one in the 55
just purely for eating brown algea
there will be driftwood in there as well
as far as tank mates im really digging gars although i hear plecos may tend to suck on them! also i am interested in doing some angels

[baum89]

nobody has any pleco experience?

[Gilraen Took]

Hm. Most of my experience is that they stop eating algae as they get older. Or at least the common ones do. There are some that are strictly algae eaters, but I don't really remember which ones. . . Also they're really big waste producers, and need stuff other than just algae.

If it was for a smaller/community tank I'd say ottocinclus. They're the same general family BUT they only grow to a couple inches, and need a LOT of algae or they'll starve =/

May want to create an account at www.planetcatfishdotcom and
see if they know what sort would be good?

[icebear]

i like clown plecos... they don't get huge and the ones i have had were always well mannerd and seemed to clean up a good deal of algae
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/prof...clownplec.html

[baum89]

thank, i was actually looking at clowns recently

[Twitterbait]

Sorry i got to this thread so late.there are so many plecos out ther it really comes down to what you like. I personally like goldnuggets and zebra plecos.

[baum89]

yea thats true, its hard to have preference when they cost so much tho. things are based more on looks in that case

[icebear]

its amazing how expensive some of them can be...

[Gilraen Took]

Like the $50,000,000,000 zebras? Isn't there a similar strain supposedly? Wonder if they're ever available for cheaper? I never see my clown. He always stays under his rock and has a heart attack if I get near him XD

They will aggressively defend their territories (at feeding time, mostly) and have a tendency to eject smaller interlopers with authority.

(from that site) You've GOT to be kidding me? Mine doesn't care if the loaches swim on him, over him, run into him, steal food from his mouth. . . Same with the cories and the frogs. He just sits there and ignores him. Like an autistic fish or something O.o

[grasshopper]

Kinda late but from what I understand most algea eating fish won't touch brown algea cause it's not a technical algea.Anyways,I guess it happens in new tanks and should clear up on it's own with mild cleaning like gravel siphoning,plucking,scraping,water changes,etc.Complete tear downs cleaning is supposed to spread it though so once the tank establishes and stabolizes it should go away on it's own.

But if you like bottom dwellers with double bonuses and just want one though.Since I can't think which species that is,I'll just put in another vote in for otos and bristlenoses are relatively small normally averaging 5 inches and are pretty good for the ligit algeas.As far as agression goes never heard of most plecos doing anything like that and are normally considered the ones that stay peaceful but sometimes gets way too big for most tanks(i.e.commons and the larger black/white spotted species off hand).There are the chinese algea eaters,gold sucking loaches,etc. that start out eating algea and then turns aggressive/predatory that I do know of though so try to avoid them.

[Corigan]

Otto's, bristlenose, or rubberlip/rubbernose pleco's are my choices for a pleco that stays kinda small and will do ok as an adult in a non-crowded 55g.

[Hop]

I have to agree that I like ottos! I had a few in my planted tnak along with a clown pleco. They do a good job and the otos have some serious personalities