Are Plecs Ok In Sand?

[newtankgirl]

Hi,
I love plecs, I used to have a sailfin who I unfortunatly had to rehome a few years back as he got too big for my tank but he was such a character. I would really like another plec but a smaller species and I welcome advice on this. I have a 174 litre tank right now and I wondered if this is ok for eg a bristlenose? I really dont want to rehome another fish!- I would rather find a more suitable species from the outset rather than have them suffer because they get too big.
My other question is that I was planning to go from gravel to sand - is this a bad idea with plecs as I know Dougal(the sailfin...) was really messy! I'm fine with regular cleaning etc but if it will just mix the sand up too much so I can't see them then maybe I need to think again!(in terms of sticking with gravel)
Thanks

 

[Jallen]

Hi,
I love plecs, I used to have a sailfin who I unfortunatly had to rehome a few years back as he got too big for my tank but he was such a character. I would really like another plec but a smaller species and I welcome advice on this. I have a 174 litre tank right now and I wondered if this is ok for eg a bristlenose? I really dont want to rehome another fish!- I would rather find a more suitable species from the outset rather than have them suffer because they get too big.
My other question is that I was planning to go from gravel to sand - is this a bad idea with plecs as I know Dougal(the sailfin...) was really messy! I'm fine with regular cleaning etc but if it will just mix the sand up too much so I can't see them then maybe I need to think again!(in terms of sticking with gravel)
Thanks

Bristlenose will be fine and it will be fine with sand.
They kick the sand up a little but I feel it adds to the characteristics of the look of the tank.

Here you can see it's dug away under the wood for shelter, and I think that's great. If you want a perfectly flat substrate, sand is not for you. If you want a substrate formed by the fish and water current in a natural looking way, then go with sand.

Edit:
Oh, and they don't burrow and hide in the sand, they just dig it away and kick it around a bit. I personally think it looks great and you will be missing out on seeing some pleco behaviour if you stick with gravel.

I tried sand a couple of months ago, never going back.
Clean, beautiful, brings out otherwise unseen characteristics in fish.

 

[newtankgirl]

Thats really helpful, thanks - sounds like sand is the way to go

 

[Liam50]

yer sand pretty good specially as plecs are so messy i found that the poop kinda get "eaten" by the sand quicker also my plecs like to dig under rocks and wood and have made one or two of their own caves, which the clown loaches have now stolen.