What Pleco To Buy?

[raeburter]

Hi..I Want to get a locarid that wont grow bigger than 15cm for my cory tank.I have a lot of dift wood and a lot of caves.....I noe they will not eat my java fern but i want a pleco that would not destroy my diftwood so much

 

[nmonks]

It's difficult to fault the standard issue bristlenose plec, Ancistrus spp. They're tough, stay fairly small (around 10 cm or so), eat algae as well as catfish food, and largely ignore their tankmates. There are other options, but many of them have their flaws. Clown plecs such as Panaque maccus are delicate when first imported and need a wood-rich diet. Rubbernose plecs, Chaetostoma spp. need well oxygenated water since they come from mountain streams. Otocinclus are small, individually have hardly any impact on algae, sometimes eat the mucous from the sides of bigger fish, and tend to be short lived if water conditions are not exactly right. Common plecs, typically things like Liposarcus pardalis, get too big for the small aquarium.

Cheers,

Neale

Hi..I Want to get a locarid that wont grow bigger than 15cm for my cory tank.I have a lot of dift wood and a lot of caves.....I noe they will not eat my java fern but i want a pleco that would not destroy my diftwood so much

 

[jarmado]

check this:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=132656

 

[raeburter]

What im trying to say is that wad looks good and have the above quality(i dun want otos..Have them alrdy)

 

[dwarfgourami]

A nice contented bristlenose can look very good indeed. My male is extremely handsome with his dark colouring, white spots and white tips to his tail. Looking specially good now as he is bringing out his fry and clearly feeling pleased with himself. Don't worry if the colours look a bit dingy in the shop- these fish do show stress colouring.

 

[nmonks]

The other way of looking at this is how experienced are you? A lot of the smaller plecs are quite difficult to keep, and often very expensive. Everyone wants a zebra plec, but they're not the perfect fish for every aquarist. One thing about Ancistrus is they are adaptable, and will even breed if kept with a little care. As dwarfgourami says, healthy specimens, especially males, are very impressive indeed. They also seem to lose a lot of their shyness, which is good if you want to see your fishes.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[raeburter]

Thanks alot.I think ill get a bristlenose and just feed him wif peas and cucumber?

 

[nmonks]

A bristlenose will happily eat peas and cucumber, as well as carrot, celery, broccoli, courgette, bok choi, lettuce, and spinach. Basically anything green. I'd also recommend giving plec food (algae wafers/pellets) a couple of times a week as well. In the wild these fish eat a variety of things, including insect larvae and dead fish, so they need a mixed diet in captivity. Some catfish experts believe bogwood is helpful, too. They can't digest it (as Panaque spp. can) but they do use it as a source of fibre.

Cheers.

Neale

Thanks alot.I think ill get a bristlenose and just feed him wif peas and cucumber?

 

[raeburter]

I have some cories too and will they eat the algae wafers? and for brocolli does it also eat the stem???

 

[nmonks]

Cories eat some algae and decaying vegetation in the wild, so I'm sure they'll eat a bit of the algae wafers. They just aren't able to "scrape" them quite as well as plecs. As for the broccoli, as far as my Panaque is concerned, that's the best bit! She likes her veggies to be crunchy! For a bristlenose, you might want to blast them in the microwave to make the stems a bit softer.

Neale

I have some cories too and will they eat the algae wafers? and for brocolli does it also eat the stem???