Plecos question

[Danman4]

Opinions please?
I have always been under the impression you can’t keep multiple plecos together but when I watch videos or ask others they have multiple plecos.
Some more info would be good as I would love to have another pleco in my tank. Thanks in advance.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Males may battle over territory; a male and a female will breed...extensively

I guess maybe in a very large tank it could be OK, but....

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

The word 'plecos' covers many species.
What fish are we talking about?

 

[Danman4]

Males may battle over territory; a male and a female will breed...extensively

I guess maybe in a very large tank it could be OK, but....

This is what I always thought they would fight but people seem to get away with it

 

[Danman4]

The word 'plecos' covers many species.
What fish are we talking about?

I have a sailfin, so any other type that could possibly live with him

 

[Slaphppy7]

Those plecos can grow to well over a foot in length, what size tank is he in?

 

[Slaphppy7]

"However, these plecos can be territorial with their own kind as adults unless they grow up together, so I don’t recommend keeping multiple Sailfin plecos unless you buy two that have been raised in the same tank.
It’s important to know that Sailfin plecos do eat the slime coating of other fish, and large, slow-swimming fish such as Angelfish and Discus are particularly at risk in this regard."

Source: https://www.tankarium.com/sailfin-pleco/

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

This is what I always thought they would fight but people seem to get away with it

"Seem to get away with it"!
Depending upon the type of fish and size of tank, as well as what else the tank contains, this may be true.
Some of the smaller South American sucker mouth catfish can live together in a tank, provided there's lots of space and cover...and then there are those that would be extremely intolerant of others even of other species. (I sometimes wonder how some actually ever manage to breed! )

The sailfin plec is one of the spectacular big boys, a loner and will soon outgrow your tank. You'll either have to re-home it, or get used to the idea of buying bigger and bigger tanks as it grows up.

 

[Ichthys]

There are many different types of plecs. The carnivorous ones are defensive of their feeding territory, but generally won’t bother a herbivorous plec because it isn’t direct competition. Some of the herbivorous ones are also territorial, and some aren’t so much. So some can be kept together peacefully. It depends on the species and it’s habits.

The Sailfins are territorial and usually don’t tolerate each other well as adults, and will usually harass/bully smaller plecs.