Can A Pleco Be Kept In A Planted Tank?

[RedTail123]

I want to get a planted aquarium, can i put a pleco in it? What about a Zebra Pleco?

 

[tribalbrit]

I have a candy stripe and a worm line in mine, no trouble. I think as long as you avoid the larger ones they should be ok, dependent on tank size of course.
You might get a bit of leaf damage on swords etc but if the tank is well planted shouldn't be to noticable..

 

[three-fingers]

Just watch out for them digging, especially if you have a soil substrate lol .

The smaller species are less obstructive. It's not so much that they eat or purposely destroy plants, just that they are large, armoured and clumsy fish that accidentally destroy plants by trying to swim through them.

Zebra plecs need more of a specialist set-up than you average plec though, warmer water and more current. They are also, very, very expensive - so probably best left to a species tank unless your totally loaded and can meet their temperature and water quality needs.

Could try starting off with bristlenose plecs or clown plec for something slightly more patterned .

 

[RedTail123]

Just watch out for them digging, especially if you have a soil substrate lol .

The smaller species are less obstructive. It's not so much that they eat or purposely destroy plants, just that they are large, armoured and clumsy fish that accidentally destroy plants by trying to swim through them.

Zebra plecs need more of a specialist set-up than you average plec though, warmer water and more current. They are also, very, very expensive - so probably best left to a species tank unless your totally loaded and can meet their temperature and water quality needs.

Could try starting off with bristlenose plecs or clown plec for something slightly more patterned .

I've also heard of the gold nugget pleco, they're a little bigger than the bristlenose plecos but i really like they're coloration. They're 50 dollars but that's much less than the zebras price of 500 dollars.

 

[HappyKirky]

I've got a bristlenose in my planted tank and he loves it, theres plenty of cover and many leaves for him to cling to. One thing I may say though is that I did intially have a problem with him eating the plants, I had to go through a trial and error process to find which ones he didn't eat, but now I know what he won't eat and the tank is running perfectly.

 

[Teephphah]

I've got a Rubberlip (a/k/a "Bulldog") Pleco (I think they're the same?) and he leaves my plants alone completely. Even the yummy, yummy swords. But, I also supplement with algae waffers, so he doesn't go very hungry.

If you're open to other options though, the best algae eater on the market, IMHO is a Farlowella catfish.