Best Pleco For 20 Gallon Tank

[Mako Man111]

Now I currently have 6 tiger barbs, 6 zebra danios, and 1 dwarf gourami in the 20 and they all get along very well with no issues. I Would like to add a nice bottom feeder to the tank sometime soon though. I would like some suggestions for a pleco(or some other type of catfish thing) to go in there. I was considering a false zebra pleco or maby a Blue phantom pleco(damn its expensive!) but if anybody has any other suggestions that would be great

 

[The Lady Raven]

I've decided that I'm not going to be going for a larger tank, I'm gonig to stick with my 20 and some rather hardy fish due to how much I travel in the summer months. Now I currently have 6 tiger barbs, 6 zebra danios, and 1 dwarf gourami in the 20 and they all get along very well with no issues. I Would like to add a nice bottom feeder to the tank sometime soon though. I would like some suggestions for a pleco(or some other type of catfish thing) to go in there. I was considering a false zebra pleco or maby a Blue phantom pleco(damn its expensive!) but if anybody has any other suggestions that would be great

That seems quite a lot of fish for a 20g tank? I personally wouldn't keep that many fish in there but if you're going to have a plec you need to make sure you get one that's only going to stay small. Have a look in one of the sticky threads at the top on small plecs to give you some ideas.

 

[Mako Man111]

I've decided that I'm not going to be going for a larger tank, I'm gonig to stick with my 20 and some rather hardy fish due to how much I travel in the summer months. Now I currently have 6 tiger barbs, 6 zebra danios, and 1 dwarf gourami in the 20 and they all get along very well with no issues. I Would like to add a nice bottom feeder to the tank sometime soon though. I would like some suggestions for a pleco(or some other type of catfish thing) to go in there. I was considering a false zebra pleco or maby a Blue phantom pleco(damn its expensive!) but if anybody has any other suggestions that would be great

That seems quite a lot of fish for a 20g tank? I personally wouldn't keep that many fish in there but if you're going to have a plec you need to make sure you get one that's only going to stay small. Have a look in one of the sticky threads at the top on small plecs to give you some ideas.

Hows that too many fish, they all stay small.

 

[Spader]

Look

 

[Mako Man111]

Look

I'd really rather a plec then otos though

 

[jayjay]

you do have quite a few fish and plec are huge waste producers.

otto's possibly (even though you said not) or a rubbernose

 

[KathyM]

I wouldn't recommend a plec for a 20g, sorry. A Blue Pahtom will potentially reach 10"+ so way too big. Even the small ones produce a lot of waste. Rubbernoses/Bulldogs need cooler temps than most tropicals too.

 

[Mako Man111]

I wouldn't recommend a plec for a 20g, sorry. A Blue Pahtom will potentially reach 10"+ so way too big. Even the small ones produce a lot of waste. Rubbernoses/Bulldogs need cooler temps than most tropicals too.

Alright maby i'll just leave it the way it is. But what about a clown plec? I think they only reach 4 inches.

 

[KathyM]

Yep clown plecs get to about 4". They're a panaque species I think so eat bogwood (as well as other things) and make a lot of mess, which would be difficult in a heavily stocked tank.

 

[RadaR]

In my eyes, the best plec is Ancistrus.

 

[daspricey]

bristle nosed catfish?

david

 

[LisaLQ]

You'd have to be more specific, ancistrus covers a lot of plecs of different sizes

Eg. Ancistrus ranunculus - Medusa pleco, grows to 8", sometimes more. That would be no good in such a tiny tank, especially one that's pretty full already.

 

[RadaR]

Yes, bristle-nose plec. And yes LisaLQ i understand what you are saying.
Most places just have their bristle-noses labelled as bristle-noses. Maybe if you are lucky they will have the L number, which will make everything much eaiser.
There is loads of Ancistrus isn't there? Isnt the most common one Ancistrus temmincki?

 

[KathyM]

Most Ancistrus sold as temmincki (and the majority of Ancistrus sold as "common bristlenose") are actually Ancistrus sp. 3. True temmincki are very rarely seen.

My ancistrus (triradiatus?) was sold as a "common bristlenose" but clearly isn't a sp. 3. So it's pretty much pot luck what you get, but in the majority they're sp. 3.

Saying all that, I still doubt any plec will fit in that setup.

 

[Neal]

Personally, I definnately think you have room for a bristlenose or two, I have a severely overstocked tank with 3 bristlenose in (1 is adult rest are babys). I keep ontop of water changes and maintenance, and the only disease my fish have had is whitespot due to moving a tank and kept in quite a small container, and still it was only the neons that got it. I'm not recommending anyone should do this, and I hope to sort my stocking out, but I think you can fit a bristlenose plec into your tank, IMHO anyway.

Neal