I'm not actually planning on getting any plecos anytime soon, but just for future reference and out of curiosity, how bad is aggression between plecos? I have read that it can be pretty serious. Is this just between certain types or between all plecos? For example, how easily could you keep several BN plecos together? Or say a BN with another similarly or smaller sized pleco like a zebra pleco or an L260? And do plecos, especially the ones that like meat, eat smaller bottom dwelling fish like otos or corys? Sorry for all the questions, but I can't seem to find my info on this, probably because there are so many different species of plecos.
Are Plecos Aggressive?
- Thread starter Eines
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Davo86
Cichlids, Catfish and Oddballs
Hi eines
No pleco (that i know of) is predatory to other fish but certain species can be quite territorial and protective other a certain cave or section of the tank,
I currently have 3BNs and a L008 in a four foot tank and all live together ok, The biggest BN sometimes shows aggression to my clown loach's or catfish at feeding times but no harm is done.
As long as you have territories for all of them you should be ok adding more than one, although a species like the zebra is best kept alone as they may not be able to compete for food against something like a boisterous bristlenose for example
No pleco (that i know of) is predatory to other fish but certain species can be quite territorial and protective other a certain cave or section of the tank,
I currently have 3BNs and a L008 in a four foot tank and all live together ok, The biggest BN sometimes shows aggression to my clown loach's or catfish at feeding times but no harm is done.
As long as you have territories for all of them you should be ok adding more than one, although a species like the zebra is best kept alone as they may not be able to compete for food against something like a boisterous bristlenose for example
thanks for the tips. Hmm...somehow I got the impression that plecs were extremely aggressive, but I guess I was wrong. Good to know though, thanks! Hopefully I'll have enough space for a pleco eventually...
Naw!!!... Plecos aren't aggro.... Just a little impatient (non tollerant) at times, but not to the extent they'd hurt any other...
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Depends on how you define "predatory" or "aggressive".
As Davo86 said above, no loricariid actively consumes whole fish, except perhaps fry/eggs. But several species of Otocinclus are confirmed mucous eaters, so they're certainly "predating" on large fish. Under some circumstances, other, bigger loricariids have been observed doing the same thing, e.g., towards oscars.
Except for the smaller schooling species, such as Otocinclus, and the apparently gregarious whiptails, most loricariids are territorial under aquarium conditions. This may or may not be the case in the wild. The amount of aggression varies, but certainly dominant specimens of Pterygoplichthys, Panaque and Acanthicus have been reliably reported ripping the skin/fins from conspecifics. Because they are large (in the case of Acanthicus for example up to 1 m) it is likely impossible to provide them with enough territory that they will tolerate their own kind (or possibly similar-looking fish either). Small Panaque as well as the small Ancistrus species tend to be easier to house in groups simply because each fish only defends a relatively small patch, perhaps just a cave and its immediate surroundings.
Cheers, Neale
As Davo86 said above, no loricariid actively consumes whole fish, except perhaps fry/eggs. But several species of Otocinclus are confirmed mucous eaters, so they're certainly "predating" on large fish. Under some circumstances, other, bigger loricariids have been observed doing the same thing, e.g., towards oscars.
Except for the smaller schooling species, such as Otocinclus, and the apparently gregarious whiptails, most loricariids are territorial under aquarium conditions. This may or may not be the case in the wild. The amount of aggression varies, but certainly dominant specimens of Pterygoplichthys, Panaque and Acanthicus have been reliably reported ripping the skin/fins from conspecifics. Because they are large (in the case of Acanthicus for example up to 1 m) it is likely impossible to provide them with enough territory that they will tolerate their own kind (or possibly similar-looking fish either). Small Panaque as well as the small Ancistrus species tend to be easier to house in groups simply because each fish only defends a relatively small patch, perhaps just a cave and its immediate surroundings.
Cheers, Neale
I had a common pleco eat the eyes out of a goldfish before
However once I moved him to a trop tank he wasn't a problem, he just tore up all the plants with that big tail.
Ye know..... cause they are scavengers and will "suck" at the remains of any fish that had died in the tank, I've often heard from "customers"..... "No ways!!!..... I've seen him kill the fish and eating it live"..... I just cannot see a Pleco eating the eyes out of a Goldfish, (and I bet the goldfish could'nt see that either).... There must be some other explanation...
I had a common pleco eat the eyes out of a goldfish before
However once I moved him to a trop tank he wasn't a problem, he just tore up all the plants with that big tail.
Ye know..... cause they are scavengers and will "suck" at the remains of any fish that had died in the tank, I've often heard from "customers"..... "No ways!!!..... I've seen him kill the fish and eating it live"..... I just cannot see a Pleco eating the eyes out of a Goldfish, (and I bet the goldfish could'nt see that either).... There must be some other explanation...
I found it hard to believe too, I'd heard from several others that common plecos will go after goldies but I didn't listen. I had a fantail lose an eye and figured he did it on an ornament or something, then a few days later came home and saw the pleco sucking on the poor thing's head. When I tapped the glass he swam away and my fish was eyeless. The goldie was a very elaboratly long-finned fantail so he was slow, that was the only explanation I could think of. I've kept commons with comet goldfish before with no issues at all.
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Precisely so. Plecs are generally good with fast moving cyprinids, whether they're barbs, danios or regular goldfish. (After all, a goldfish is just a big barb.) But your fancy goldfish are hopelessly crippled, and any opportunistic fish -- particularly if its hungry -- will view them as fair game. That's why fancy goldfish shouldn't be mixed with other fish, even regular goldfish.
Cheers, Neale
Cheers, Neale
Exactly, fancies have been selected so much for their looks, function has long been forgotten. I do know people who keep bristle noses with them with no apparent issues, but I wouldn't risk it.
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