Pleco For 75 Gallon Tank...?

[vear]

Hello everyone, I haven't been here in a while. I'm wondering what type of pleco I could keep in a 75 gallon tank. It would just be him and a 5" turtle. Please keep in mind I know nothing about plecos, this is why I'm asking here. I don't want to be one of those people with a 12" fish in a bowl!! Anyway, I don't want anything too small (i.e. I have some cories in a separate tank and they're about 2 in long - that's too small!). Something that small will just be seen as food by the current resident.

Any help, suggestions would be appreciated. Also where could I get this pleco? Do chain stores carry them? I may only have seen the ones that grow to 24" at the stores! (I live in USA)

One more question - I heard plecos can jump, is this true? Only half my tank is covered, the other half is not.

 

[stoneagedinosaur]

That's 284 litres for 2 residents. I reckon looking at tank size would be a good guide. 12" is a pretty good rule of thumb for an average pleco. But they do range in size somewhat! The power of the dollar in your pocket would have a big impact on choice too. I'd love to have a royal or a zebra pleco but tank size and money are my obstacles!

I'm sure Plecostomusmad could help you here

 

[vear]

I guess a follow up question is, will a 12" pleco be ok in a 75 gallon? I guess I can't really imagine how large that would be, it's over twice as large as my turtle. So, would 75 gallons be enough for him? BTW, I'm running a Rena XP4 filter on the tank.

As to price, how much would we be talking about? Like I said I don't really know much about them so I don't know how much they go for.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ZoddyZod]

there's plenty that will fit in that size tank. The unknown quantity is a turtle....what sort of turtle is it, how big does it grow and is it known to attack fish???

 

[kizno1]

Wouldnt the turtle nip the plec? There not the most active fish so i could see it getting nipped but i dont really know much about it. The tanks to small for a common imo they should grow 18-24" given the room so i wouldnt keep them in anything under 150G.

 

[vear]

The turtle is a red ear slider, but it's a male so they don't grow as large. He has previously kept in really poor conditions. He's a bit on the small side and most likely will stay that way (max for males is about 8")but he probably won't grow over 6" if he grows at all. He definitely eats small fish (minnows, guppies,anything small enough to fit in his mouth) although not always, sometimes he's too lazy. I don't really know what would happen with a large fish, whenever there's something new in his tank (decorations, etc) he goes up to it, gets scared and swims away with its head and front legs tucked in. haha. I don't actually know if I'll get the fish or not, I really need to think about it, but I figure I might as well be ready and know more about these fish.

 

[JenCliBee]

Pretty much the short answer been no, the only plec that i would imagine could cope with the possible harassment of a turtle would be a common type plec but even these shouldn't be subject to this. The turtle may well be placid but adding another occupant to the tank could be more hassle than it's worth.
I'm far from an expert on turtles so.... what conditions does the turtle live in?, tank size ie... dimensions? 75g can be a little vague when actual dimensions are involved.

I thought turtles were very messy creatures?, this would result in a lot of waste accumulating on the level that the plec lives and wouldn't be at all ideal conditions for them.

 

[vear]

Pretty much the short answer been no, the only plec that i would imagine could cope with the possible harassment of a turtle would be a common type plec but even these shouldn't be subject to this. The turtle may well be placid but adding another occupant to the tank could be more hassle than it's worth.
I'm far from an expert on turtles so.... what conditions does the turtle live in?, tank size ie... dimensions? 75g can be a little vague when actual dimensions are involved.

I thought turtles were very messy creatures?, this would result in a lot of waste accumulating on the level that the plec lives and wouldn't be at all ideal conditions for them.

The tank is 4 feet long, 18 or 19 inches wide and the height is about 22 inches. Turtles are definitely messy, this is one of the reasons I was asking about this here. I thought it might be ok with having just the 2 of them in there and running the XP4 (and doing water changes of course) but I really don't know. I definitely wouldn't get a common pleco since I know how large they can get and my tank isn't big enough for that.

I really appreciate everbody's input on this. Thanks a lot.

 

[JenCliBee]

Pretty much the short answer been no, the only plec that i would imagine could cope with the possible harassment of a turtle would be a common type plec but even these shouldn't be subject to this. The turtle may well be placid but adding another occupant to the tank could be more hassle than it's worth.
I'm far from an expert on turtles so.... what conditions does the turtle live in?, tank size ie... dimensions? 75g can be a little vague when actual dimensions are involved.

I thought turtles were very messy creatures?, this would result in a lot of waste accumulating on the level that the plec lives and wouldn't be at all ideal conditions for them.

The tank is 4 feet long, 18 or 19 inches wide and the height is about 22 inches. Turtles are definitely messy, this is one of the reasons I was asking about this here. I thought it might be ok with having just the 2 of them in there and running the XP4 (and doing water changes of course) but I really don't know. I definitely wouldn't get a common pleco since I know how large they can get and my tank isn't big enough for that.

I really appreciate everbody's input on this. Thanks a lot.

Personally then i would say there isn't a species suitable. waste collecting and laying around untill water change day isn't the best for the plec and the fact that turtles do have a rep for nipping/biting which could cause damage with potential infections leading to problems not only for the plec but i presume turtle aswell.

It's not really down to 2 inhabitants, it's really more to do with suitability and going by what you've said and my little knowledge of turtles, they really aren't suited together.

 

[Carlovel1]

I don't think turtles and plecos or in fact any fish mix. Maybe a large robust slightly aggressive pleco could ( don't quote me) could go with the turtle. I'm thinking L25 Scarlet Pleco, Gold Nugget L085(fully grown)or maybe the large Panaques such as Watermelon Panaque L330 or Royal Panaque. But I really have no idea

 

[JenCliBee]

I don't think turtles and plecos or in fact any fish mix. Maybe a large robust slightly aggressive pleco could ( don't quote me) could go with the turtle. I'm thinking L25 Scarlet Pleco, Gold Nugget L085(fully grown)or maybe the large Panaques such as Watermelon Panaque L330 or Royal Panaque. But I really have no idea

Three problems you have with them plecs, all of them are 2 big for a 4 foot tank, most get to the same size or similar size to commons, albeit slower but still full grown like your suggesting is way to big for the tank. secondly it makes no difference on aggression of the plecs, yes they may try and fight off any aggression but a turtles jaw is quite powerful and a bite could cause some nasty damage. Lastly bigger plecs are just adding more waste to the bottom of the tank and big plecs like you've mentioned produce HUGE amounts of waste and with whatever waste the turtle produces the problems are going to be tenfold.


The other things to think about is conditions like temps, decor, foods that are required, caves, wood for the wood eating species mentioned, all need to be taken into account. Even without these, the risk of potential damage to the plec is to great to consider IMO.