Plecos In A Planted Tank?

[Ben M]

hi, i have a 4ft community tank, it measures 120cm x 40cm x 45cm, and holds 216l. i am currently heavily planting it. but i also would love to have a few plecs in it. is that possible without them eating the plants? i currently have 3 otocinclus sp. which i have had for a year or so, but i would like some bigger, more colourful plecs. the temp is 24c, and i am increasing the flow in the tank with a koralia in the near future. the current fish in the tank are: 20 Trigonostigma hengeli, 5 SAE'S, 3 otocinclus, 5 normal harlequins, 4 serpae tetras, 8 cherry barbs, 5 cardinal tetras, 4 rummy nose tetras and 4 kribs. however, i am selling the kribs, as they are getting too aggressive, and i will be adding a shoal of corydoras trilineatus and possibly some rcs. i can feed courgette, potato, peas and many other veggies regularly. so, are there any reasonably priced plecs, preferably more colourful then the ottos at about 52 or less, suitable for a heavily planted tank with small fish and shrimp, and would they breed?

cheers

 

[Haych]

are you in the UK or US?

but I think they do eat plants, yes.

 

[Wills]

Some plecs eat plants but some dont. Plecs are quite a varied family of fish, some are particularly carnivorous rather than plant eaters. The main problem people have with plecs in planted tanks are a mix of them being clumsy and digging. You might need to do a search through planetcatfish L number library as it comments on how well they do with plants or how much damage they cause. The only one I know to have a good reputation for being plant safe is L235 but I know there are others.
Wills

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/numbers.php?mode=l&thumbs=16&start=240&genus_id=0 <--- thats a link for the library

 

[Ben M]

thanks, i'm in the uk. i hadn't thought about them digging. i'll have a look at the l number library. oh, and i'll post this on the planet catfish forum aswell.

thanks

 

[Haych]

what kind of bigger plecs you after then?

 

[Ben M]

well, i'm not really sure. i like the whip tail catfish, but other than that, i'm just looking for a relatively cheap (£10 max), interesting medium sized catfish that won't harm plants of fish/shrimp. and one that i could possibly breed. do you have any recommendations?

cheers

 

[Ian H]

I have a common, male bristlenose, L134 and L201 none of them eat any of the plants. I had a golden nuggest plec and he was also fine but would eat riccia as soon as it was put in the tank

 

[Ben M]

thanks. i'll have a look at those.

 

[JenCliBee]

IME no plec really has the taste for plants, as long as there diet is varied and the food is readily available to them they usually leave plants alone. They may damage a few plants from sucking things of the leaves but they don't tend to eat the plants themselves.

The problem you will have regards to alot of small varieties like hypan species is temp, they would prefer more of a temp in the low to mid 80's.

Have a look around at what takes your fancy and then post here what you have found and im sure you will get info on compatibility.

 

[Haych]

I have a sailfin pleco that I need to rehome...

 

[Ian H]

the op only has a 4ft tank so a sailfin would be way to big, plus you dont really want monster plecs in a planted tank. They will rip up the plants and what not