Pleco vs cory

[neil_04]

hey guys i have almost completed my tank now. I was looking for something to take up the bottom section of the tank and maybe clean a little of the left over food up, i have 6 tiger barbs, 2 dwarf gouramis, 2 ballon mollies, and i am not sure what to put in the bottom would a zebra pleco do well? My tank is not planted but my water is great at the moment neutral ph, no ammonia. Also do the plecos need friends like corys or is one ok? i have 2 corys in my 10 gal and they are very easy to take care of so if anybody thinks i will have problems with the pleco im going with corys.

ohh i only have 7 gallons of fish left

 

[BigMike75]

I think I would go with corys because plecos are more veggie eaters. They will clean up the algae more then left over food. IMO

 

[darkmule27]

Just one pleco is fine. Mine does an amazing job of cleaning up everything...he comes out at feeding time and zooms around gobbling up food that reaches the bottom. Be aware that many are not exclusively herbivores. Mine goes crazy for shrimp...and is too funny when he gets an algae wafer. Just be sure you get a small species. Some options are: Bristlenose (what I have), zebra, clown, candy strip.
Plecostomus Fish: Plecos and other Catfish for Sale

 

[meegosh]

I've had both plecos and cories (still have cories) over the years. I really like cories because they are more entertaining to watch. They also seem to be out and about more often than my pleco ever was. Also, my pleco was a HUGE waste producer. It was disgusting how much poo I vac'd from behind his rocks. Eventually my one QT blunder (or lack thereof) killed my pleco and some other fish.

 

[HN1]

If uneaten food is the only reason to add them, I wouldn't. Just do gravel vacs more often. Either cories or a pleco will not be adequetely fed with only leftover food and would need added supplemental food specific to their need. Algae wafers, sinking pellets, etc. Also- not all plecos are vegetarian. Quite alot (including zebras) will need meaty foods in their diet. If you want the fish for the fish and not to try to fix a problem, I'd recommend cories as well. They are fun to watch and create much less waste.

 

[joy13]

There are different pleco that are considered zebra pleco the L129, L199 and L46. There is probably more than that but those are the first ones that came up when I googled them. A L46 would be really nice addition to any tank.

 

[dickwhitehead]

Definitely Cories!!!!

I've had both plecos and cories (still have cories) over the years. I really like cories because they are more entertaining to watch. They also seem to be out and about more often than my pleco ever was. Also, my pleco was a HUGE waste producer. It was disgusting how much poo I vac'd from behind his rocks. Eventually my one QT blunder (or lack thereof) killed my pleco and some other fish.

I've had both over the last ten years as well and the cories are definitely more entertaining. The plecos are just there... As for the HUGE amount of waste from the plecos, there are always long poo strings from one end of the tank to the other every morning. My largest pleco (14 inches or so) got to where he wouldn't clean up anything except algae wafers or vegies.

 

[neil_04]

is it ok to mix the two of them and have both. I would have to say that the plecos dont do much but they are great looking fish espically the zebras and candy stipes

 

[HN1]

You can mix plecos with cories, but in all honesty I wouldn't do it if I had your current stocking. Better to add to the Tiger barb school IMO. I've seen them grow out into pretty nippy fish in small numbers. My tank was most "peaceful" when I had 10 of them. I think (with good routine) you could choose a group of 4 cories or 1 "dwarf" pleco and add a couple barbs as well.

 

[neil_04]

yea i had thought about that i really enjoy the tiger barbs as well they draw alot of peoples attention, because they never stop, they are kind of like fish on red bull

 

[7Enigma]

I had bad experiences with my original tank (tiger barbs). They are great looking fish and have some cool social interactions, but are definitely on the aggressive side. So just be on the lookout for aggressive individuals. They took a liking to nipping my corys so I would hesistate to suggest mixing the 2 species. And 6 is on the light side, so I would recommend another 3-4 to keep them pestering each other and not the rest of the tankmates.

If you still want a cleanup crew I think the best choice in your case would be a bristlenose (BN) pleco. They stay small ~4", are very interesting, and do a good job at algae/food cleanup. Otocinclus catfish are another option, and stay small, but my tiger barbs harassed them as well.