Pleco and plants

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skywhitney

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Are Plecos typically hard on plants? I've heard a few people at the lfs blaming their plecos for the "disappearing" of swords and ferns but i dont know how much i trust those comments. Anyone have any insight on this?
 
I don't think I've heard of them eating plants. They may dig them up and knock them around when they get to rooting around looking for food. But since they're omnivores, they could nibble on them. If you're worried about it and want plants, Java moss, Java ferns, and anubias seem to be pretty fish-proof--supposed to be bitter tasting, I think, and usually either anchored or free floating rather than planted in the substrate.
 
I currently have java moss and java fern and my guy seems to leave them alone, but i'll be moving to a 60 gal soon so i was thinking about some swords or other leafy type of plants (I'm still not to familiar with the different plant species) and wanted to start doing some research so i dont end up wasting a ton of money..
 
absolutangel04 said:
I have heard some stories about some species of pleco being hard on plants. It isn't all plecos though.

Happen to know what kinds? I have a young sailfin.
 
Articles say so long as they're well fed, they don't try to eat them. The issues you may run into is him just knocking into them as he gets bigger just because he's big. So if he's little and you plant now, by the time he gets big enough to start uprooting by being clumsy, they may have enough of a root structure that you don't have to worry about it nearly as much.
 
KaylNeko said:
Articles say so long as they're well fed, they don't try to eat them. The issues you may run into is him just knocking into them as he gets bigger just because he's big. So if he's little and you plant now, by the time he gets big enough to start uprooting by being clumsy, they may have enough of a root structure that you don't have to worry about it nearly as much.

Perfect, he navigates through the plants in the 10 gal with no problem at all right now so hopefully that'll be a habit he continues. When i do the aquascaping i'll try to guve him a little more room between the plants just to help out though.
 
Or do bunches, then space, then bunches. Too much space between individual plants looks weird. Unless that's what you meant, in which case ignore me >.> :lol:
 
he will out grow a 10g. plecos are not mentioned for that size tank

my BN pleco in my 60g. the only sucks on my onion plant. leave the other 7 kinds of plants alone
 
generally plecos don't mean to hurt plants... but sometimes it's like the human equivalent of being forced to walk through a dense field of grain without damaging the grain lol. if they have a cave to hide in, are fed properly, and an open patch in the tank where they can roam free, they will usually not damage any plants.
 
KaylNeko said:
Or do bunches, then space, then bunches. Too much space between individual plants looks weird. Unless that's what you meant, in which case ignore me >.> :lol:

Lol thats what i was planning on doing :) maybe scape a path through the tank...

rreekers said:
he will out grow a 10g. plecos are not mentioned for that size tank

my BN pleco in my 60g. the only sucks on my onion plant. leave the other 7 kinds of plants alone

I know he'll out grow the 10g. Im getting ready to upgrade to a 60g. Maybe i'll avoid the onion plants then :)

blackmolly said:
generally plecos don't mean to hurt plants... but sometimes it's like the human equivalent of being forced to walk through a dense field of grain without damaging the grain lol. if they have a cave to hide in, are fed properly, and an open patch in the tank where they can roam free, they will usually not damage any plants.
Awesome, that'll give me a good set of things to keep in mind while i design the layout of the new tank :)
 
generally plecos don't mean to hurt plants... but sometimes it's like the human equivalent of being forced to walk through a dense field of grain without damaging the grain lol. if they have a cave to hide in, are fed properly, and an open patch in the tank where they can roam free, they will usually not damage any plants.

Or a cow in a china store. So smooth and elegant, yet sometimes his tail flails and knocks something over. I have an albino bristlenose with many different plants. Only the odd runner that I broke off and replanted is uprooted by the pleco. That's because they're small and the roots haven't grabbed hold yet.
Yours is going to get a lot bigger than mine though, and I recommend at least 75g down the road.
He'll knock over any delicately placed ornaments/rocks when he gets bigger, so careful nothing heavy can fall on him.
Always have driftwood in the tank too with plecos.
 
Koikid88 said:
Or a cow in a china store. So smooth and elegant, yet sometimes his tail flails and knocks something over. I have an albino bristlenose with many different plants. Only the odd runner that I broke off and replanted is uprooted by the pleco. That's because they're small and the roots haven't grabbed hold yet.
Yours is going to get a lot bigger than mine though, and I recommend at least 75g down the road.
He'll knock over any delicately placed ornaments/rocks when he gets bigger, so careful nothing heavy can fall on him.
Always have driftwood in the tank too with plecos.

Once he outgrows the 60 we're planning on actually upping to either a 125 or 150 :)
 
skywhitney said:
Once he outgrows the 60 we're planning on actually upping to either a 125 or 150 :)

wonderful :) the plants are good for them.. as are vegetables .. I wont worry about a nibble here or there. you can early even tell. keep him well fed and he will leave your plants alone. my BN is sill so small his whole body fits consealed on 1 side of an onion leaf

I have more of a.problem with my other fish nibbling rather my pleco
 
rreekers said:
wonderful :) the plants are good for them.. as are vegetables .. I wont worry about a nibble here or there. you can early even tell. keep him well fed and he will leave your plants alone. my BN is sill so small his whole body fits consealed on 1 side of an onion leaf

I have more of a.problem with my other fish nibbling rather my pleco

Awesome, thank you! Thats good to know cause i was getting a little nervous since i want a moderately planted tank lol
 
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