New Pleco

[Coomon10]

Hi!

I am planning to re-scape my tank adding bogwood and like a pleco to be part of the new setup. I have some ottos but ideally would like the pleco to help with algae control although its not a particular problem.

A quick trip to the lfs and reading up means i am looking primarily between a gold nugget and snowball pleco. Please can anyone add their advice/experiences of these, or any other suitable pleco?

The tank is a mature 260l that has a few clown loaches and rainbowes at the moment. It is well filtered and nitrates kept low.

TIA

 

[LisaLQ]

I really wouldnt recommend either for a beginner (like me) as they're both baryancistrus and prone to dying in the early days of coming home. The reason for this is because as they're transported out of the wild (with no food) their gut flora/bacteria dies off, so when they are eventually settled and fed again, they can still die of starvation. They're notoriously hard to acclimatise, mine died despite doing everything by the book. If you are certain you want to give one a go, follow these "rules":

1. Dont buy a fish that has been in the LFS fo less than a fortnight, preferably longer.
2. Dont buy a fish with a hollow tummy or sunken eyes - these are 9 times out of 10 too far gone to save.
3. The bigger the better, dont get a 1 or 2" specimen (although some will be fine - it's not worth the risk), save your money and get a bigger healthier one.
4. Dont order it offline unless you know all of the above will be taken into consideration.

It'd be better to look for someone rehoming one from their tank that's already settled - but if not, make sure it's eating, make sure it's been in the shop for a couple of weeks minimum, and make sure it doesn't look hollow.

Another thing to bear in mind is that one species of gold nugget can get to up to 16", the other two averaging around 7" - although they do grow slowly it is best to prepare for the fact you may end up with a biggie in a few years time

 

[Coomon10]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Do you have any recommendations for a slightly hardier species then? As i say the tank is mature and i do regular water changes, but have little pleco experience...

 

[LisaLQ]

Green Phantoms (L200) are supposed to be fairly hardy, para plecs (L075) too. Bristlenoses are easy to find and very hardy (probably the hardiest), royal plecs too - they are hardy once they're settled, but like the gold nugget (although not as severely) they can be hard to acclimatise sometimes. Not nearly as often as gold nuggets though. If you get one that's eating and pooing ok - again no hollow tums - once they're settled they're apparently one of the hardiest. I was very lucky to pick up an 8" royal recently for £50, and he's had no probs - but you wouldn't have to get one that big if you didn't want to. I've just given my sister my other royal who was only 1.5" - but because he'd been in the shop a while and was eating well, he's had no problems either. Again, it's better if it's been acclimatised (either by LFS or in a home) before you buy it, and if I were to buy another, I'd go for a 2-4" one I think or one that's been handed in to the LFS - but I am super cautious lol.

You should have a look on PlanetCatfish.com and check out all the different species there are.

If you want to go mail order, Trimar are pretty good (although sometimes their fish are tiny babies - so best to check before you order) - but I'm sure someone on here will know a good plec shop near you?

Oh and I forgot rusty plecs (L077 - see my avatar pic) - mine's been through all sorts - ph crashes, whitespot, nitrate spike - the works - and he's still going strong He cost me about £7 as a 2" baby, so cheap too - especially considering how striking they are.

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

Plain old common plec cant hurt, they do get pretty big though - 14" after 9 years for one specimen I know affectiontely as Gordon

 

[LisaLQ]

Yeah, min of 48 x 18 x 18" tank for one of those as they can get to 12-18", they grow quickly, 12" in the first year not being uncommon. I've got two, beautiful ones, but not for the smaller tank (mine are in a 6ft x 2 x 2 cichlid and plec community).

I got one of mine in the middle of November at just under 2". He's now knocking on 6"