What Fish To Stock With Pleco'S,Catfish?

[plecostomus-mad]

i want to get 2 pleco's in the near future, either of these species would be fine as i like them alot Flash Pleco, L204- 5.2" , Queen Arabesque Pleco L260, Pitbull Plec LDA25 - 2"( maybe more than 2 of these ) or 2 Butterfly Pleco, Flounder Pleco, L168- 5.6".......

what fish could i put with them that wouldnt nip there fins and annoy the crap out of them?

tank is 13.2 uk gallons 2ft x 1ft x 1 ft and a bit.

mark

 

[Wills]

I dont think any of those belong in a 13 gallon tank. Apart from maybe the LDA 25s but I think you would be pushing it with 2 of them just due to the amount of poo you get from plecs.

If you want to get plecs get a bigger tank I would say 3ft minimum for the others on the list

Wills

 

[plecostomus-mad]

duly noted. bigger tank it is then! but still, what fish would be suitable?

 

[Wills]

In a 3foot set up so for example if you go for a 30 gallon tank with a good external filter You could probably do 3 or 4 of those but then stick to smaller fish for the rest of the stock. So lets say one of each of the plecs you said and then I saw you liked black neons so a big school could work really well with them say maybe 15 of them or 2 schools of 7 I think I would do 7 black neons and 7 marbled hatchet fish if it were me

Wills

 

[plecostomus-mad]

In a 3foot set up so for example if you go for a 30 gallon tank with a good external filter You could probably do 3 or 4 of those but then stick to smaller fish for the rest of the stock. So lets say one of each of the plecs you said and then I saw you liked black neons so a big school could work really well with them say maybe 15 of them or 2 schools of 7 I think I would do 7 black neons and 7 marbled hatchet fish if it were me

Wills

that sounds pretty good i have read that some species of pleco's dont like to co-exist? im thinking if i got them young and they all grew up together, this might solve it? i like the idea of 4 different pleco's in one tank

i have tetras as they are hardy little buggers for first tanks, i do like them and a nice school of them would look good. i have 4 at the moment. if i bought more would they merge into one school or stay on there own?

i was thinking of getting a 6ft tank after christmas

 

[Wills]

Yeah if you buy the tetras at different stages their instinct will kick in and they will school together. Wow a 6 foot tank! Awesome I would wait to get your plecs when you get your 6 footer to be honest plecs are the messiest fish ever and their poo would just over load a 2x1x1 tank.

Wills

 

[plecostomus-mad]

my dad used to have a 6ft tank years ago but i intend to go a little taller if i can. i have the money for it, just not the space, and with christmas on its way fast, it makes sence to wait till after.ideally i want a 6ft x 3ft x 2.5-3 ft that will give me loads of space for several pleco's a school of fish and some vibrant mid to high's

do pleco's get lonley? if i bought just 1 for my 2ft would he be ok or better with a buddy?

 

[Wills]

Its not that they get lonely they just poo so much that the waste would just over load the filters. With a 6 foot tank your pleco options vastly change and you can start looking into big ones though if you want a few maybe look at ones that max out at 8/9 inches or you could stick with your original plans of smaller one around the 5 inch mark and get a good group going though you have to be a little careful as some can be aggressive sometimes but we can help you with which ones a good resource for plecos is this link - http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/numbers.php?mode=l&thumbs=16&start=240&genus_id=0 that is the complete library of every pleco registered in the L number system Bookmark it and enjoy it makes for good reading and you always find something new every time you look at it

Wills

 

[plecostomus-mad]

thanks very much wills