A small pleco?

[maestro]

im looking for a pleco that doesnt grow very big, only a few inches for my 15 gallons community tank, ive done a little looking today and found that a clown pleco might be suitable, but dont know how easy they are to keep etc or if another variety might be better, i dont really wont corry's, i much prefer plecs but only have room for a small tenk at the mo

 

[ryan]

There are quite a few-

Flash Plecos
Tiger Plecos
Zebra Plecos
Clown Plecos

and many more....

Check out http/www.planetcatfish.com/core/index.htm. Scroll down to L on the left and you will find the L-numbers take a look at them and check out their sizes. It will give you some ideas and then we can help narrow it down for you.

 

[Alien_spawn]

Got to include the mighty bristlenose pleco for algae removal its in a league of its own

 

[maestro]

thanks guys, ive had a look and went to my lfs today and they had clown and bristlenose pleco's, i really liked the bristlenose so might get one once my tank has been set up a while, only 4 weeks so far so ill wait another month, the tiger plec's look awesome aswell but ive never seen one for sale.

a couple of q's

how hardy are these little plec's, the water in my area is moderately hard and alkaline, ph 7.8 hardness 12dh

what the best diet for them, this is one of reason why i like plec's i like the idea of preparing and giving them foods, i have plenty of bogwood i know they need that but what else do they eat?

 

[ryan]

If the smaller Plecs are kept in those conditions at your lfs then they will have adapted to it and you should be ok. They do prefer soft and acidic water. If you are in the UK try trimar.co.uk they always have plenty of rare plecs available and will deliver the next day, I recommend them having used them before.

I feed all my Plecs on Algae wafers, sinking catfish pellets and bloodworm and brine shrimp. They love all of them however, Plecs like Zebras and Tigers prefer the more meaty foods so I give them more bloodworms then the other Plecs.

Good Luck

 

[noelberg]

I'm just starting out my 20 gal tank and got 1 rubberlip pleco from PetsMart. They're a little more expensive but apparently only get to about 6 inches max. I was sold on the rubberlip as soon as the salesperson told me the difference - plus they look cooler with their big "lips" and white bellies.