Pleco size?

[fish_face]

I have a 350 litre tank and am building up a community aquarium, but would also like a pleco or two as well as some clown loach to clean the place Do you have any suggestions of smaller plecos 'cos i've seen some real monsters in the shops! If poss, I like the patterned or colourful ones. Posted this in the wrong section before )

 

[smithrc]

well...

there are loads of smaller plecs (say 4-8")

If your looking for great colours, try an L134 - leopard frog plec 4-5"
or a para plec L075 - about 8" and look fantastic in a wood and plant tank

PlanetCatfish will be your friend for a few hours as you flick through the piccys

 

[smithrc]

Sorry - forgot to mention - most of the smaller plecs arn't algae eaters.

so if thats what you are looking for - make sure you look at their feeding habits.

 

[vdan]

Get a Bristlenose.

 

[JustinSane]

Sorry - forgot to mention - most of the smaller plecs arn't algae eaters.

so if thats what you are looking for - make sure you look at their feeding habits.

Well that's a bit exaggerated
There are several smaller plecs that are decent algae eaters, you just have to find out which ones

For starters, L-163 'Big spot peckoltia' is pretty good with algae, also a pretty and daylight active plec, one of my personal favorites
Most species of the Ancistrus genus (yea, the genus of the common bristlenose) are pretty good algae eaters too, and pretty if you find a good species!
Peckoltia genus has got some pretty nice candidates too

But fish_face, you should remember that the size shouldn't be the only criteria when selecting your plec, since there are really big differences between the species; some are omnivores, some completely herbivore, there are even carnivores, some will eat any plants they come up with, some are highly territorial, some are extremely shy, some require really really warm water (+30°celcius) while some thrive in cooler waters and some species can't survive without having some driftwood to munch. It's really quite a detective's work to find yourself a real good plec

 

[smithrc]

Get a Bristlenose.

not really filling the"patterned or colourful ones" bit though

althought they are really great fish - lively and fantastic for algae.

here is our male bristlenose

however... here is our L134 leopard frog plec

only gets to 4" - very coulourfull - but dosnt eat algae.

 

[fish_face]

They both seem lovely, the bristlenose is actually quite patterned, so I may go for one of those

 

[smithrc]

They both seem lovely, the bristlenose is actually quite patterned, so I may go for one of those

he is showing off in that piccy - he's normally a mottled brown colour.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Butterfly plecs are lovely, small and will eat algae. There are 2 kinds of them though, I have the slightly larger supposidley non-algae eating one but mine does.

Farlowella catfish are always an interesting addition to a tank as well, not a plec but a suckermouth catfish.

L134s are gorgeous, I have one of these and I love him.

 

[Snowie]

They both seem lovely, the bristlenose is actually quite patterned, so I may go for one of those

I don't know how many fish you want in your community tank but since it is 350L you may want to concider several bristlenoses.

If you get 3 you should be able to get a pair when they grow up.