Plants With Plecos

[syder]

I'am moving house in 1 to 2 month's and was thinking of planting my tank instead of the fake one's that i have at the moment

My common plecos of which there are 2 are 10 inch in length and are 1 1/2 years old .

My question is , would they eat the plants or is there some special one's you should get for them

As of yet i have a lot of research to do on planting a tank but any advice plants and plecos would be much needed and very much appreciated Cheer's

 

[SBL]

would only be advisable with the smaller plecs, Otto's, and whip tails.

 

[snowflake311]

They do not eat plants but can move them or up root them with the wip of a tail.

 

[JenCliBee]

They do not eat plants but can move them or up root them with the wip of a tail.

Not strictly true, a few plec will eat plants if there not getting enough food, they will also damage plants while grazing on them for left over foods or if there is algae on them.

You have 2 common plecs?, what size tank do you have?.

Commons tend to be quite destructive of tanks and decor due to there size, once they get big they will be reasonably clumsy and will often uproot anything they pass.

 

[syder]

My tank at the moment is a fluval 240L Roma with external fluval 305 , 120x40x50cm , and will be buying a 100 UK gallon tank in about 2-3 months time , not only for plecos but for my BGK .

Another question for you ,

what would be the best external filter with a strong water pump flow for a 100gal tank as the pleco seem to make so much waste or any ideas on a small wave machine.

 

[JenCliBee]

As you are upgrading you know the current tank isn't big enough for the 2 commons, so that's a good start. What would be the dimensions of the new 100g?, commons will take alot of space and 100g still isn't really a huge tank to house 2 of these fish at a possible 2 foot long each. The average would be around 15-18 inch but unless the tank is 4x2x2 minimum for one but 5x2x2 would be far better when you calculate for two commons the tank size will need to be considerably increased, size wise to house 2 of them comfortably.

Filter wise would be an fx5 simply becasue the plecs would make a huge amount of waste, not sure on other brands but the TT ex2400 probably would suffice aswell.

 

[Nick16]

possible 2 foot long each. The average would be around 15-18 inch

thats quite a difference from 15 inches to 24 inches of the 2 foot you suggest!
common plecos normally get to about 14 inches in aquariums, they wont reach 2 foot.
a 4x2x2 will do them for now.

for plants, your best bet are low light simple plants like anubias, java fern and bolbitis all tied to wood.

 

[JenCliBee]

possible 2 foot long each. The average would be around 15-18 inch

thats quite a difference from 15 inches to 24 inches of the 2 foot you suggest!
common plecos normally get to about 14 inches in aquariums, they wont reach 2 foot.
a 4x2x2 will do them for now.

for plants, your best bet are low light simple plants like anubias, java fern and bolbitis all tied to wood.

Then im afraid you havent gt a clue about plecs then have you lol, commons have and can reach beyond 24 inches, often than not they dont reach more than 18 inches in the home aquarium, however ive seen various HOME AQUARIUM commons that have been 22 inches plus. Where you got they dont get above 14 inches is beyond me, i would try not advise on something you clearly and obviously know nothing about.

Many people on this forum have commented they have much bigger commons than 14 inches and check on PF and they will tell you exactly the same.

Oh by the way before trying to be clever with your comment, i said POSSIBLE 2 foot not that they would get to that size, i also said average at around 15-18 inches... average is exactly what it is AVERAGE...doesnt mean they wont get bigger, doesnt mean they wont stay a little smaller, simpley means on AVERAGE they get to this size lol. If you knew what that means you would nt have made such a stupid comment.

The OP didnt say they are in a 4x2x2 tank NOW, he said he will be upgrading, so with the upgrade of that size, the tank is probably going to be the only upgrade for anytime soon. So basically they wont be fine now, the tank currently is to small and the upgrade stands a chance of been to small for 2 commons aswell.

 

[syder]

OK i thank you for your advise FishyJake13 cheers mate , can i be a pain in the neck and ask you what size tank would be best for 3-clown loach , 3-sliver sharks , 2-common plecos , and 1-BGK , as of now the sharks are only 2 inch the BGK 5 inch and the loach's only 1 3/4 inch .

So me question is , when all are fully grown whats the best size tank ,

I now that the 100gal would be to small as the BGK will get up-to 20 inch in length (but over a long time) , a 200 gallon tank be better off for all and should be good for all when fully grown shouldn't ? .

Plus i'll have some swordtails .

 

[JenCliBee]

OK i thank you for your advise FishyJake13 cheers mate , can i be a pain in the neck and ask you what size tank would be best for 3-clown loach , 3-sliver sharks , 2-common plecos , and 1-BGK , as of now the sharks are only 2 inch the BGK 5 inch and the loach's only 1 3/4 inch .

So me question is , when all are fully grown whats the best size tank ,

I now that the 100gal would be to small as the BGK will get up-to 20 inch in length (but over a long time) , a 200 gallon tank be better off for all and should be good for all when fully grown shouldn't ? .

Plus i'll have some swordtails .

The bala's and the clown loach should be in bigger groups which again makes the tank required a lot bigger, i would say 6x2x2 (think that's about 180-190usg) would be sufficient for what you are wanting to keep, pending the actual requirements of the BGK (a fish i don't know nothing about sorry). I would imagine 200 gallon would be fine for all the fish, the commons also should be fine providing there is plenty of hiding places and the filtration is sufficient for such a big tank .

 

[syder]

I read and was told that bala's and loach's were ok in a min of was three each , so what are you saying the min number of each should be then .

I know that the BLACKGHOSTKNIFE should best kept one to a tank ( some might disagree ).

 

[JenCliBee]

I read and was told that bala's and loach's were ok in a min of was three each , so what are you saying the min number of each should be then .

I know that the BLACKGHOSTKNIFE should best kept one to a tank ( some might disagree ).

They are a schooling fish so the bigger the numbers the better, it may well be alright to keep 3 of each but to make them fully happy and probably alot less skittish more would be better. I would say personally minimum of 5 of both and that should be sufficient .

Again with the BGK i really have no idea, ive never kept one personally so i really wouldnt like to advise there, sorry

 

[syder]

Cheers mate i will look into buying some more Bala's & loach's , i suppose i have to find some the size as the others or doesn't that matter so much as the ones i have are only young themselves

 

[JenCliBee]

Cheers mate i will look into buying some more Bala's & loach's , i suppose i have to find some the size as the others or doesn't that matter so much as the ones i have are only young themselves

Good question, i would imagine they will be fine if you brought slightly bigger ones or slightly smaller ones, neither are aggressive fish as far as i know so once you have more, im sure they will interact no matter what the size.

I would get a second opinion on that one though just incase lol, but it should be fine.

Oh and im always happy to help, sorry the thread turned a little sour above.

 

[syder]

Thank's FishyJake13 for the advice , has helped a lot , as for the sour part , cheer's agian mate .

Cheer's Nick16 for the plant advice