Advice On Clown Plec's Please

[Jazee B]

Hi everyone,

I was hoping for a little advice, I'm new to keeping fish and at present I'm researching my fish whilst completing a fishless cycle.

I have a Juwel Rekord 96, 81x31x46 96litres.

I have my heart set on 2 clown plecos and thinking of 6 rummy nose tetras and possibly a couple of platys. I understand I have to go by the 1 inch per gallon rule but when adding the inches do I use fully grown 5inches for the plecs? Would they be happy in my size tank? I have some bogwood in the tank ready for them. Any advice would be gratefully received. Thanks

 

[windy 1958]

have a look on www.planetcatfish.com you should find plenty of info on there
2 clowns should be ok for a 96ltr tank

 

[stumpy57]

all i can say to you is go to all the fish shops you have near you and look at the fish and ask them that way you can get a lot of info why your waiting for your tank to be ready and you can get on fist name terms with them

 

[Egmel]

all i can say to you is go to all the fish shops you have near you and look at the fish and ask them that way you can get a lot of info why your waiting for your tank to be ready and you can get on fist name terms with them

It also means you can come back and double check the info on the web.

There's no comparison between seeing the fish in person and seeing photos on the web, for a start you'd be amazed how bad at judging sizes you can be

So do take the time to pop in to local shops, chat to them about your fishless cycle, they may have heard of it, they may not. IME those who haven't are usually interested but cautious. My old LFS would only sell me some of the fish I wanted because they weren't sure about the whole fishless cycle thing. I respect them for that and was glad to see that they had the fish's interests above that days profit.

Back to your question...

The 2 clown plecs would probably be fine, though you will have to ensure that you don't plant too heavily or have too many decorations, they'll want a couple of hidey holes but also some good swimming space.

The inch per gallon rule works well for the tetras but doesn't fit so nicely with plecs which tend to produce more waste for their length! I would be tempted to start with just the plecs and the tetras then maybe add the platies a few months down the line when the tank is more stable.

The only other thing I would question is how good Clown plecs are in a new setup, I've never kept them so don't have any first hand experience. Some fish really don't like being the first ones in, even if it has been fishless cycled!

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

take a look at the profile on clown pleco's on here... my pleco is on there

 

[barryman]

Beware; platys breed like crazy!

 

[simonas]

I have a clown plec in my sons community tank. Had him about a year now and although he rarely comes out in daylight in comparison to others, he is easy to feed and is always full bellied

 

[Jazee B]

I have a clown plec in my sons community tank. Had him about a year now and although he rarely comes out in daylight in comparison to others, he is easy to feed and is always full bellied

I've being reading up on the internet about them. Some sites say they should be in groups of 6, some say 2-3 do you find that 1 by itself is ok? I think I've read too much now I'm getting all confused with it all now!!

 

[Jazee B]

The 2 clown plecs would probably be fine, though you will have to ensure that you don't plant too heavily or have too many decorations, they'll want a couple of hidey holes but also some good swimming space.

The inch per gallon rule works well for the tetras but doesn't fit so nicely with plecs which tend to produce more waste for their length! I would be tempted to start with just the plecs and the tetras then maybe add the platies a few months down the line when the tank is more stable.

The only other thing I would question is how good Clown plecs are in a new setup, I've never kept them so don't have any first hand experience. Some fish really don't like being the first ones in, even if it has been fishless cycled!
[/quote]

Thank you for your reply. I only have 4 plants and some bogwood in the tank there is still plenty of room for swimming. Would you suggest 1 plec or are they better in groups? I'm still debating between guppies and platys do you think the plec would be ok with both?

 

[Jazee B]

take a look at the profile on clown pleco's on here... my pleco is on there

Hi thanks for pointing out the clown profile. Your clowns lovely. Have you had it long? It sounds daft but I can't believe how big they can grow all the ones i've seen in the lfs seem so small. Do they grow quite quickly? becky

 

[simonas]

I have a clown plec in my sons community tank. Had him about a year now and although he rarely comes out in daylight in comparison to others, he is easy to feed and is always full bellied

I've being reading up on the internet about them. Some sites say they should be in groups of 6, some say 2-3 do you find that 1 by itself is ok? I think I've read too much now I'm getting all confused with it all now!!

I'd never read that but to be honest just bought him for my sons tank and no more about the plecs I have in my own tank (that sounds awful)

If you were to ask my opinion on would I buy one for my own tank, I would say no and buy 2 or 3 ancistrus bristle nose instead which have more character and are out and about far more plus don't stop eating.

Ours seems ok on his own.

 

[Jazee B]

I have a clown plec in my sons community tank. Had him about a year now and although he rarely comes out in daylight in comparison to others, he is easy to feed and is always full bellied

I've being reading up on the internet about them. Some sites say they should be in groups of 6, some say 2-3 do you find that 1 by itself is ok? I think I've read too much now I'm getting all confused with it all now!!

I'd never read that but to be honest just bought him for my sons tank and no more about the plecs I have in my own tank (that sounds awful)

If you were to ask my opinion on would I buy one for my own tank, I would say no and buy 2 or 3 ancistrus bristle nose instead which have more character and are out and about far more plus don't stop eating.

Ours seems ok on his own.

sorry for my ignorance but do they still grow to a similar size as clowns?

 

[simonas]

a it bigger and chunkier but they have such character

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

I have a clown plec in my sons community tank. Had him about a year now and although he rarely comes out in daylight in comparison to others, he is easy to feed and is always full bellied

I've being reading up on the internet about them. Some sites say they should be in groups of 6, some say 2-3 do you find that 1 by itself is ok? I think I've read too much now I'm getting all confused with it all now!!

i've found mine can be a little terratorial towards any other plecos... ones even bigger than itself!
clowns vary soooo much its unreal. the only part of mine i see is it's tail as its found itself a nice little cave of wood to stay in until the lights to off theres one person on this forum who has one which pretty much stays out all the time!

if i were you, i'd get a bristle nose or 2. they breed easily, clean your tank 100% of algae. however, they may not look as nice.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you do get any clown pleco's, be sure to provide some driftwood/bogwood and mopani wood for them, as such wood forms a very important part of their diet and you will see them spending much of their time either hiding under the wood or rasping away at it etc .