is one pleco enough?

[cogburn]

do you think one common pleco is enough to keep the algae under control in my 180 gallon tank?... im magna floating every day but now its growing on the decorations... its got a few hours a day of direct sunlight i knew it was going to happen eventually... when plecos get bigger do they eat ALOT of algae... i.e. should i look for one thats already big or are juvies good? and is one enough? thanks in advance...

 

[WhiteDevil]

Actually when they are yoiung yes, however when they get older they tend to stray away from algae as a primary food source.

What other fish are in the tank? the best algae eaters ive found are chinese, they will eat till its clean then they will eat algae wafers and pellets.

 

[cogburn]

oscars, tinfoil barbs, banded leporinus, clown loaches, and jack dempseys... dont think chinese algae eaters will make it long

well... okay... what would you guys recommend as a large species that would be able to live with those tankmates that would eat alot of algae and clean up my tank?

 

[asudavew]

oscars, tinfoil barbs, banded leporinus, clown loaches, and jack dempseys... dont think chinese algae eaters will make it long

My Chinese algae eater lives with 2 Oscars, a Jack Dempsey, a Firemouth, and a Convict.

The only fish that messes with him is the small Firemouth.. But the algae eater doesn't put up with it and retaliates... Then it goes back to eating algae...

He's a pretty aggressive fish when bothered.

I was surprised.

 

[asudavew]

Just make sure you buy larger sized ones.. mine has grown up with the other fish.. So he is to big to eat... (for now)

But you probably need several.. Mine has a hard time keeping up in a 55 gallon... So when I move everyone over to my 110.. I'm going to buy more as algae growth increases.

 

[cogburn]

hmmm... did not know they could hold their own... interesting i may have to find one or 2 now

 

[asudavew]

Worst scenario... a $3 treat for your Oscar.

I tried adding a silver tipped catfish... barely got it out of my Oscars mouth!

 

[WhiteDevil]

Chinese algae eaters have a bit of a mean streak to them too, they will hold their own, they are alot faster swimmers too.

They are kinda like the rainbow.red-tail shark of the cleaner's world.

Its hard to keep them seperated though, dividers dont do much with them and those little breeding plastic things dont really offer it anything.

Id try one at first then see how it goes. get the biggest ones you can find though.

 

[cogburn]

the smaller oscar already munched on a clown loach was in the oscars mouth for about 10 mins... oscar finally spit it out when he realized he couldnt swallow him... clown loach lived for 2 days... then finally died... his face was kinda screwed up knew it was gonna happen... so hear that... ill try to find some bigger chinese algae eaters... will be searching tomorrow thanks for the input...

 

[WhiteDevil]

Some LFS's take in bigger fish from customers, check with them first, you might be able to get a very healthy, very hearty. very protective of itself algae eater.

I personally give my big fish to my local LFS, they use them in huge display tanks and such.

 

[cogburn]

yeah thats what im thinking

tomorrow the search begins

 

[bs6749]

Get about 10 BN plecos and you should be good to go.

 

[WhiteDevil]

^+1, I didnt clarify that I was talking about common pleco's


dont BNP's stay under 12"?

 

[cogburn]

ummm... you want me to get 10 foot long fish?... is that a joke or serious?

 

[cogburn]

sorry bn= bushy nose... i dont think 4.5" is big enough for my oscars... they arent even fully grown and one tried to eat a 4" clown loach gonna have to go bigger than that

 

[WhiteDevil]

no 10 as in quantity.

 

[bs6749]

The max size for BN plecos is around 4.5" and that's generally for males. I have a female that is 4.5" or slightly larger though. I've had her since July of 2006 and she was about 1.75-2" at the time if I remember correctly.

 

[RWaltman]

check out a sucking loach....these bad boys can hold their own no worries...and they usually do a better job at actually eating algae where the plecos just suck n' poop constantly...

Algae eater / sucking loach - Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, with pictures / photos