Bottom Feeder for Chiclid Tank - Aquarium Advice

bbaker · 01-10-2005, 07:24 PM

All, I'm looking for a bottom feeder that my chiclids wont eat. I have 4 various African chiclids in a 46 Gal Bow front. Each are about 2 1/2" long at this point.

I had a placostumus as my bottom feeder since I started the tank and all lived somewhat peacfully for many months.

As recently as a week ago, my chiclids decided they wanted "Platty" burgers and ate him.

I've been told bottom feeders with Chiclids dont last long at all.

Can someone reccomend a bottom feeder that won't be bullied around?

Thanks,

lonestar · 01-10-2005, 07:45 PM

I'm surprised that they ate a plecostomus. I've heard that even crayfish don't eat plecos because their skin is "armored" - maybe he stumbled onto some eggs or bothered a brooding female? Cichlids are territorial, and I would imagine moreso when breeding.

He also may have died for some other reason and they just lunched on him a little.

What kind of cichlids and pleco? What is your pH, and temperature, and do you have enough caves for everybody to hide in to keep stress down?

kermit · 01-11-2005, 03:05 AM

Had an african that ate a his pleco buddy.. after months of them getting along fine.

Menagerie · 01-11-2005, 10:05 AM

Hmmmm, in my 80 [acronym:d3027ba845="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:d3027ba845] tank, the cichlids have lived with a pleco for years. The biggest male cichlid pics fihgts with it, but the pleco is able to defend itself. It would definately help to know which cichlids you have, as there are few bottom feeders that can play nice with cichlids.

hopalong_70 · 01-11-2005, 10:38 AM

I found a solution for this problem in my African tank. The cichlids would kill my pleco in about 3 months. This happened a few times. I even put a big 8" pleco in there, but he didn't last either. The fix was to put 2 new plecos in at once. Aparently this confuses the ciclids because they dont know which one to attack. This has worked for me now for 8 months.

Menagerie · 01-11-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

The cichlids would kill my pleco in about 3 months.

What cichlids are you keeping?

Quote:

The fix was to put 2 new plecos in at once. Aparently this confuses the ciclids because they dont know which one to attack.

It is also true when you want to add more cichlids to an established tank. The more newbies, the less agression per fish, since the established fish can't gang up on only one fish.

hopalong_70 · 01-13-2005, 10:37 AM

I keep a variety of Africans, but the more agressive ones that were bothering the pleco's are: Demasoni,Tropheus, and Bumblebee cichlid.

Menagerie · 01-13-2005, 11:55 AM

I keep mainly Pseudotropheus species.

01-10-2005, 07:24 PM	#1
bbaker Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hagerstown, MD Posts: 8	Bottom Feeder for Chiclid Tank All, I'm looking for a bottom feeder that my chiclids wont eat. I have 4 various African chiclids in a 46 Gal Bow front. Each are about 2 1/2" long at this point. I had a placostumus as my bottom feeder since I started the tank and all lived somewhat peacfully for many months. As recently as a week ago, my chiclids decided they wanted "Platty" burgers and ate him. I've been told bottom feeders with Chiclids dont last long at all. Can someone reccomend a bottom feeder that won't be bullied around? Thanks,

01-11-2005, 10:05 AM	#4
Menagerie Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 11,266 Images: 77	Hmmmm, in my 80 [acronym:d3027ba845="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:d3027ba845] tank, the cichlids have lived with a pleco for years. The biggest male cichlid pics fihgts with it, but the pleco is able to defend itself. It would definately help to know which cichlids you have, as there are few bottom feeders that can play nice with cichlids. __________________

01-13-2005, 11:55 AM	#8
Menagerie Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 11,266 Images: 77	I keep mainly Pseudotropheus species. __________________

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01-10-2005, 07:45 PM	#2
lonestar Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 22 Images: 3	I'm surprised that they ate a plecostomus. I've heard that even crayfish don't eat plecos because their skin is "armored" - maybe he stumbled onto some eggs or bothered a brooding female? Cichlids are territorial, and I would imagine moreso when breeding. He also may have died for some other reason and they just lunched on him a little. What kind of cichlids and pleco? What is your pH, and temperature, and do you have enough caves for everybody to hide in to keep stress down?

01-11-2005, 03:05 AM	#3
kermit Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2	Had an african that ate a his pleco buddy.. after months of them getting along fine.

01-11-2005, 10:38 AM	#5
hopalong_70 Banned Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 10	I found a solution for this problem in my African tank. The cichlids would kill my pleco in about 3 months. This happened a few times. I even put a big 8" pleco in there, but he didn't last either. The fix was to put 2 new plecos in at once. Aparently this confuses the ciclids because they dont know which one to attack. This has worked for me now for 8 months.

01-13-2005, 10:37 AM	#7
hopalong_70 Banned Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 10	I keep a variety of Africans, but the more agressive ones that were bothering the pleco's are: Demasoni,Tropheus, and Bumblebee cichlid.