fighting fish

[emilydix]

I have had a tank for about a year now, but in the last few months i have bought what i think is a Bristle Nose / Ancistrus Pleco (sucker type fish) and two tropical frogs.
Just recently the sucker fish has started chasing the frogs and it looks like he is trying to eat them. i also found him eat a dead tiger barb before, but assumed he did not kill it.
do you think he should be removed or are they just being playful. i don't really want to get rid of him as he keeps the tank glass so clean.

Help!

 

[littlefishie]

Any pleco is likely to munch on dead fish.. that's probably why they're termed 'scavengers' in addition to 'algae eaters'. I'm pretty sure they're omnivores.

By tropical frogs do you mean African Dwarf Frogs, or African Clawed Frogs? ADFs are relatively safe and stay small, whereas ACFs will get huge and are notorious fish killers/eaters. If you have an ACF it is probably what killed your tiger barb, and the pleco beat it to eating it.

Check in the Fish Index or the Catfish forum to see what type of pleco you have, to be sure it's a bristlenose. I've never heard of them chasing frogs before, but perhaps the frogs interuppted its' meal and the pleco chose to chase them off.

 

[emilydix]

i'm pretty sure the forgs are ADF's they are not very big and i was told when i bought them from the shop that they are fine with all fish?
i'll check about the catfish though. thanks very much

 

[littlefishie]

No problem.

The only other thing I could think of algae eater wise [in terms of your pleco] would be if it were mislabeled in the LFS. If it's a CAE [Chinese Algae Eater] then that would explain its' chasing the frogs, as CAEs like to munch on the slime coat of fish. I'd assume they'd find a frog to be a delicacy. I doubt that you have that though, but someone in the Catfish forum would most likely have a better idea on the pleco.

Edited for my dyslexicness with frog and pleco.

 

[emilydix]

had a look its definatly a bristle nose and the frogs are definatly ADF. maybe they are just fighting over the bloodworms, as that was when they were mainly fighting.

 

[ferrikins]

I have a ADF, in with a BN pl*co, and there fine don't even meet that often.

what size is the tank, it maybe that there fighting over food as the tank not large amothe.