Clown Pleco?

[Fishyfanatic]

I went to the lfs to get a pleco for our 29 gal tank. They didn't have any in stock but said they would be getting some in on Tuesday and they would order me one. I told the sales woman that I needed a good algae eating pleco beacuse we are having a boost of algae in the tank. She recommended the Clown Pleco and she ordered us one. I got home and started doing some research but found that the Clown Pleco is not an algae eater. Can anyone confirm this or are they really algae eaters?

 

[penpitt]

It depends. My clown plecos are peckoltia vittata and they are more of an omnivore. I dont think they do anything with my algae.
At planetcatfish.com they have a pleco with a common name of clown pleco but the scientific name is panaque maccus and it eats wood, with some veggies. Whether or not it eats algae i couldnt say.

 

[megladonsharky]

I had one a few weeks till it got caught in the filter.... it did eat some wood and bloodworms no algea that i knew of but i dont have much

 

[Fishyfanatic]

So basically I need to go to a different store to pick out a different type of pleco? I was really excited when she said that he would only grow to 4 inches (perfect size for a 29 gal).

 

[Fluff]

There are other algae eating plecos that stay small. Try the pitbull pleco. They max out at 2" and are great algae grazers. They are also safe for plants. Also, the bristlenoses and bulldog(rubberlipped) plecos stay at around 5" or under. HTH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I've never seen a pitbull pleco at the lfs. They only carry Common Pleco's but will RARELY get in something different. I got lucky and found a Sailfin Gibbiceps. The woman said that they were getting in a couple clown pleco's and she would mark one as sold for me. I think I'll call back today and cancel it and see if they could order me something. They are not very good at ordering though. I went in about 8 months ago and ordered about 6 Cichlid's (different exotic types that i have never seen before online or in the store). I had asked them to price them and then get back to me with the prices before they ordered. They said they would get back to me in a couple days. Well, two months later they called and said the Cichlid's were in stock. I prefer not to order from them, but I'll try a different store, see if they are any better. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I just read some info about pitbull pleco's online and the website says that they like to be kept in groups. Is this true?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Also, what is the price of a pitbull pleco? I'm not finding prices online, only descriptions.

 

[penpitt]

I have a pitbull pleco and got him for 5 bucks at a lfs

 

[An t-iasg]

Did you read that profile on Planet Catfish? That's about the only online info I saw on pitbull plecos. I've had one for about a month now. I only have one, and he's in a 5.5 gallon tank by himself. He used to be in with a betta, but the betta is now in his own tank.

Other members here only have one pitbull pleco per tank (from their sig lines) and some members have some other bottom feeders like cories also with the pitbull. Mine seems fine by himself. He alternates with being very active, and then "sleeping" during the day. He eats well, and when he's active, he loves to explore. I got him at a hatchery that specializes in "oddball" fish, and they said he would be fine alone. I think he was about $6.50. When he was with the betta, he ignored the betta, although the betta was pretty curious about him! They were together for just a few weeks until I could get another tank up for the betta. I may get the pitbull another tankmate (probably not another pitbull) but I have to be careful not to overstock the 5.5 gallon tank.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That's the thing. We wanted a pleco to go in the 29 gal beacuse we've been having quite a bit of brown algae lately, and it's mainly on the back of the tank and heater. We can get the stuff in the front and sides with an algae magnet but the stuff in the back is practically impossible to reach. I didn't want to get a pleco that was going to grow too big (My sailfin got HUGE in a couple month's time so we had to move him to the 55) but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. I am done with spending a lot of money on a pleco. We bought a Gold Nugget Pleco for $40 from the lfs and he died the next day. We couldn't bring it in until two days later so they didn't guarentee the fish so we are looking for something that's going to be cheap but not get huge like the common pleco's. We are going to be pushing it on fish size so I wanted something to stay under 5 inches.

 

[Menagerie]

Rubber lip, bristle/bushy nose or clowns should be fine. I know I got two clowns for a steal at $4 a piece, but you should be able to get any of these plecos for $10 or under.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I read that the clown's are not real good algae eaters. Is this true?

 

[Fluff]

Planetcatfish.com has them listed like this....

"A wood eating fish, the tank should be decorated with several different types of driftwood. These fish really like to have something to chew on and squash, cucumber and other vegetables should be readily available to them (yams are a favorite). Supplement two to three times a week with frozen foods."

That would lead me to believe that they will consume some algae but it's not their main diet. I wouldn't depend on them exclusively for algae control. JMO

 

[black udder]

I have some common plecos that I need to remove (they're getting too big), but they're pretty darn good algea eaters. Also have a couple golden algea eaters who seem pretty hardy and eat a ton. They get to about 5-6 inches.

The common plecos are like $2.00 so if there's a fish store in your area that would take them after they're too big, you might 'rent a pleco' for awhile until you can decide

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We had a pleco in a 10 gal tank. I bought him when he was just a baby ( 2 inches) and he grew MASSIVE within months. When I say massive, 5 inches. We had to take him out and put him into the 55. So now we have 2 pleco's in the 55 and would like to put a pleco in the 29 that won't grow out of the tank. I have become quite attached to my pleco's, the sailfin being my favorite (he was in the 10 gal and is very pretty). I just want something nice looking that won't get so big that we have to put him in a bucket to take back to the lfs (I have seen two of them at the lfs that had to be brought in in a 5 gal bucket each).