I Need Help....

[guppyluvr]

Hi! Can you put pleco's int he tank with guppies and tetras? I would like one to help maintain my tank.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Depends on the size of the tank and the type of pleco you are thinking of. The common and the sailfin plecos grow very large (1-2 foot) so you need a pretty massive tank to accommodate one of those. A bristlenose plec (ancistrus) can fit into a 20-25 gallon tank, as long as you're prepared to do extra cleaning. A trio of otocinclus (these need to be in groups) could fit into a 10 gallon, but should not be put in a new tank as they are sensitive.

None of these should pose a threat to tetras and guppies.

Whatever you get, don't expect the catfish to do your tank cleaning for you. Any one of the fish I mentioned will eat algae, but what goes in must come out- expect to have to do more gravel vacuuming in return. Otos are not too messy, being small, but the other fish I mentioned do poop lots. There is no fish that will clean your tank for you, any more than you can buy a dog that does the gardening or a cat that clears the kitchen.

 

[guppyluvr]

Depends on the size of the tank and the type of pleco you are thinking of. The common and the sailfin plecos grow very large (1-2 foot) so you need a pretty massive tank to accommodate one of those. A bristlenose plec (ancistrus) can fit into a 20-25 gallon tank, as long as you're prepared to do extra cleaning. A trio of otocinclus (these need to be in groups) could fit into a 10 gallon, but should not be put in a new tank as they are sensitive.

None of these should pose a threat to tetras and guppies.

Whatever you get, don't expect the catfish to do your tank cleaning for you. Any one of the fish I mentioned will eat algae, but what goes in must come out- expect to have to do more gravel vacuuming in return. Otos are not too messy, being small, but the other fish I mentioned do poop lots. There is no fish that will clean your tank for you, any more than you can buy a dog that does the gardening or a cat that clears the kitchen.

I understand that...I just want one to help maintain, not do all the work for me LOL.Thanks for the info, sounds like i need a pair of otocinclus.

 

[helterskelter]

yes u can use smaller pleco's and oto's but i've seen them catch small fry befor.

 

[guppyluvr]

If i seperate, that would help minimize that problem right? Like have a seperate tank for the fry's? Or would they also try and eat my adult guppies?

 

[helterskelter]

no they will only eat dead fish and fry so a little pleco would be fine, a bristlenose only gets 6 inch and otos' are good

 

[mommyof2bettas]

and by little plec, not a baby common or sailfin plec, unless you have a bigger tank for it when it gets bigger. A small species.

 

[theotheragentm]

Plecos are very peaceful fish and won't harm anything else generally.

 

[guppyluvr]

Thanks guys! So what i'm looking for is a smaller pleco or that weird name...oco?

 

[theotheragentm]

I'm not that familiar with Plecos, so I can't tell you which one to pick up. I know the Bristle Nose Plecos stay relatively small. Is this Pleco going ot be used to take care of algae buildup? No fish that is meant to fit in a tank is large enough to deal with a true algae problem in that tank. It may help out, but if it's a significant algae problem, the source of the algae should be taken care of, not just trying to get fish to take care of it. Try reducing the amount of light the tank gets. Also reduce feedings to eliminate extra resources algae thrive off.

 

[guppyluvr]

No no, my tanks fine No algea or nothing, i just thought it would be nice to incorporate this type of fish to help prevent it from happening....Is that even possible?

 

[dwarfgourami]

No no, my tanks fine No algea or nothing, i just thought it would be nice to incorporate this type of fish to help prevent it from happening....Is that even possible?

Ah, in that case you may want to check on the subject of otos in the catfish forum, as I just read a post stating that it can be difficult to keep otos alive if you haven't got a constant supply of algae; apparently some of them refuse to take substitutes. But mind I'm not speaking from experience here. My experience of bristlenoses tells me they don't mind what goes in their greedy little tummies, as long as they get a good proportion of vegetable material (including algae wafers) and some bogwood to keep them regular.