What kind of Pleco do you have?

[tmcmullen]

I'm looking for a plecostomus for my tank and was wondering...

What kind of Pleco do you have?
Is yours a good algae eater?
Does it get a long with it's tankmates?
Do you have a picture?

I'm thinking a lot about the Red Cactus Pleco, Snowball Pleco, and Gold Nugget Pleco. I had a gold nugget once, but lost it a month after I got it.

I have a 75 gallon tank.

[JonasBygdemo]

We have a Pterygoplichthys Joselimaianus. It's absolutely nuts about brown algae, but not so much green. I does like algaewafers though. It gets along fine with all our critters, which are some clowns, kubotais, angelfish, bala sharks, spotted raphs, some hillstreams, and yoyos.

[tmcmullen]

Very nice Pleco. I'll have to look this one up. Most of my algae seems to be brown, so he would probably work well in my tank.

[PASoracco]

I have four at the moment. My large standard and albino sailfin plecos were great algae eaters when they were younger, but eventually learned they could eat fish food. They will still occasionally graze the softest green algae that grows around the tank, but not much else.

My bulldog pleco (L187b) is the same age as the sailfin, but a third of the size, and a fantastic algae eater. He zips around all my plants, fitting in much smaller places than the big guys, and eating more types of algae.

The last pleco is a bristlenose that I've only had for a few months. He's cleaned out the 30g tank he was placed in after a couple days, and has kept it spotless. However, I'm not sure if he will keep it up as he ages.

[tmcmullen]

PASoracco, that bulldog pleco is pretty neat looking. I had not looked into that type before. Thanks so much for sharing!

My son wants the Red cactus pleco - L114 http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/image.php?species=pseudacanthicus+cf_leopardus&image_id=2756
I wonder if anyone here knows if any type of pleco that is carnivorous would be a threat to my fish. Some have said they've never known a pleco to go after live fish, but I want to be sure it won't hurt my loaches and other fish before I get anything.

[Jyynx]

I have a L-114 and a L-52. My L-52 seems to be pretty good with algae, because his tank never seems to have any in it.

I also have a L-114. He is about 3 inches at the moment and he is currently housed in a 20 gallon with 5 green tiger loaches (I'm waiting for all of them to grow so I can add them to my larger tank). This size isn't a good judge of his temperament, but he gets along well with the loaches so far. He spends pretty much all his time under the driftwood, but the loaches seem to chum with him(sometimes he'll be upside down under the driftwood and the loaches all huddle under him)

I've never heard of plecos going after live fish. I feed mine bloodworms, shrimp pellets and special catfish pellets. I never see him eat, but he's alive and well so he must be

They are awesome looking plecs, and you can spawn them :O

[tmcmullen]

Jyynx, that's exactly the feedback I wanted to hear! I am feeling a little more optimistic about the L114 now. Thank you so much, and good luck with yours!

[JonasBygdemo]

Very nice Pleco. I'll have to look this one up. Most of my algae seems to be brown, so he would probably work well in my tank.

Yeah check them out! They are pretty cheap as well, around here they cost the same as a Gibbi, and they're pretty cheap. They won't get as big as Gibbiceps either, but still needs plenty of room as it grows. They get around 45cm if I'm not mistaken.

[tmcmullen]

Well, they're not cheap around here! I have a price from two places and they are $40 US from one place and $60 US from the other! That's a little high, but I'm still trying to decide. Are you outside of the US? If you don't want to say I understand.

[JonasBygdemo]

Well, they're not cheap around here! I have a price from two places and they are $40 US from one place and $60 US from the other! That's a little high, but I'm still trying to decide. Are you outside of the US? If you don't want to say I understand.

I live in Sweden. Are they really that expensive? That sounds very strange considering that they cost around 80SEK (~11$) in Sweden. The L-number is L-001.

[tmcmullen]

JonasBygdemo, I mixed up the two Plecos. The L114 is going for $40 plus, I'm going to a few pet stores tomorrow to find a pleco. I'll let you know what the L001 is going for if I see any of them. They are also beautiful Plecos!

[PASoracco]

I wonder if anyone here knows if any type of pleco that is carnivorous would be a threat to my fish. Some have said they've never known a pleco to go after live fish, but I want to be sure it won't hurt my loaches and other fish before I get anything.

My large plecos, 9" and 11", will suck up baby guppies like they're nothing; the albino sailfin definitely does it on purpose.

my smaller plecos will go after shrimp, but have never been able to eat anything living in my tanks.

[JonasBygdemo]

JonasBygdemo, I mixed up the two Plecos. The L114 is going for $40 plus, I'm going to a few pet stores tomorrow to find a pleco. I'll let you know what the L001 is going for if I see any of them. They are also beautiful Plecos!

Okay, the 114 is really beautiful! Check out the L-204 as well, sort of like a Hypan. Zebra in reverse.

[tmcmullen]

I went to the store and picked up a Leopard Pleco - L114. He's beautiful! I was hesitant to pay so much for him, but he really took my breath away when I saw him. I also picked up three clown loaches and another Pleco that was not clearly identified. It has some light spots all over, but it was very inexpensive, so probably not exotic or hard to find. I'll call the owner of the shop today and ask him if he can tell me the L number or scientific name. I think they were called "TP Pleco", but I may have that wrong. They're all in a QT right now to make sure they're healthy.

[JonasBygdemo]

I went to the store and picked up a Leopard Pleco - L114. He's beautiful! I was hesitant to pay so much for him, but he really took my breath away when I saw him. I also picked up three clown loaches and another Pleco that was not clearly identified. It has some light spots all over, but it was very inexpensive, so probably not exotic or hard to find. I'll call the owner of the shop today and ask him if he can tell me the L number or scientific name. I think they were called "TP Pleco", but I may have that wrong. They're all in a QT right now to make sure they're healthy.

Nice! Feel free to post a pic of the L-114 and the other one