Pleco Advice?

[somethingzfishy]

K, my husband has three tropical tanks and has helped me set up a cold water tank. But he has recomended that I get some advice for this question; What type of pleco, if it all, can I get for my tank?

He's quite sure that bushynose are CW but then there's the issue of tank space. I have:

55gl tank with 2 60gl filters
4 goldfish
4 dojo loaches
1 albino clawed frog
1 ghost shrimp (im just waiting for the day my goldfish get big enough to eat him)


I have some live plants in there, and the tank is doing wonderful; regular water changes, water chemical testing, and filters etc. But I need an algea eater of some sort. Any ideas?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Its probably best not to get a pleco, the only pleco you can really get is a common pleco, but no pleco's are true coldwater fish and it would be better to keep it at sub-tropical temps either way, but a common pleco may outgrow a 50gallon tank, and even though they eat algae a lot when juveniles, they poop a great deal and this can sometimes contribute to algae problems (because of all the nutrients coming out of the pleco's poop) even if the pleco is eating a lot of algae.

Personally i would advise you keep the tank stocking as it is, and if you get any algae problems, ID the type of algae you have and deal with the root cause of the algae (too much light, too little light, excessive nitrates etc) and get rid of the algae that way .

 

[somethingzfishy]

Hm.... thanks Any idea where I could find that information? It seems to mainly be growing directly above my grass.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Can you describe the appearance of the algae ?

 

[somethingzfishy]

Can you describe the appearance of the algae ?

it's light brown, and slightly green. It seems to be inhabiting the glass right above my grass, and on all of my decorations. It's quite a pain, I have to take everything out of the tank and clean it all.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Can you describe the appearance of the algae ?

it's light brown, and slightly green. It seems to be inhabiting the glass right above my grass, and on all of my decorations. It's quite a pain, I have to take everything out of the tank and clean it all.

It sounds like brown algae, i think it is caused by a lack of light and too many nutrients in the tank, probable best to test the tanks nitrate levels, people in the plant section of the forum should be able to help you out .