Help - Blue Phantom Pleco in a Cichlid Tank

[CJ29DJ]

I was wondering if a Blue Phantom Pleco would survive and do well in a Central/South American Cichlid tank. The Cichlids I plan to purchase are semi-aggresive. I have a 55 gallon tank with many caves and driftwood for hiding. I have heard a lot about the bristle nose Pleco being a great fit for a cichlid tank. While that option is a still a good one, I was wondering how well a phantom Pleco would do. The blue phantom Pleco can reach 8" long. I'm worried that this Pleco may not be armored as well as the BN Pleco and that it may not thrive. Can anyone provide some inside on this subject? Also, are there any other good algae eaters to get with cichlids? I've looked into SAE's and CAE's. SAE's would be perfect for grabbing algae off of my tall artificial plants but I'm not sure if they could survive with cichlids. CAE's are capable with cichlids but turn me off a bit since they become territorial and eat less algae once they become adults. Thanks for anyone who helps.

 

[Borderlesscott]

What Cichlids will you be adding? I really don't see a problem as long as you will be adding plenty off cover - in a 55g you will probably be going with Firemouth sized Cichlids, Sajicas, Keyholes etc - if that's the case it will be fine, really depends on what your putting in. I wouldn't depend on it to clean to much algae though, a group of 4-5 Oto,s would be better if the tank is established. I've 4 in with my SA Cichlids - Firemouth & Rainbows and never seen any problems, good thing with the Oto's is they can get into everything to clean due to there size and they are a lovely little fish, mine all chill out on my Amazon sword.

 

[CJ29DJ]

I was planning on getting an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey (8" max), Green Terror (8" max), a Firemouth (6" max), and possibly 2 Rainbow Cichlids. I know Rainbows are a more peaceful, smaller cichlid but I figured this setup could work out since there will be a lot of cover and there won't be many fish in the tank.

 

[Borderlesscott]

You would be overstocked in a 55g with that stocking, along with have pretty aggressive fish. EBJD alone is recommended a 55g, I would reconsider your selection as you could have a blood bath waiting to happen once they reach maturity, Green Terrors get that name for a reason. I personally would stick to a pair of Rainbows, a single Firemouth or Pair of Sajicas or Keyholes the Blue Phantom and some dither fish like a good sized school of wide bodied Tetra and see how things go from there.
Remember It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog - and there is a pretty good fight in some of those fish.

 

[Tetra1990]

For a 55, I'd get 1 or 2 BNs. They are the workhorses of the pleco family. Or a group of ottos would work too. But Id be a bit leery of them holding their own with your fish.