I want a small unusual guy. He needs to stay small, He will be the only tank mate for a male betta. Right now the tank is 5 gal but if I need to go to a 12 for him I will. I like the zebra ones but they are kind of hard to find. I would like suggestions on any other type that would work if I can not get a hold of the other. I have looked on the net and most seem to get to large. Any personal favorite is will love to look in to. Thanks
Small Plecostomus?
- Thread starter lreilly
- Start date
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Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I love my Rubber Lip pleco. He has been with me for well over a year and is 4-5".
grimlock3000
Aquarium Advice Addict
Bristlenose or Rubberlipped would be good, neither will get much bigger than 5 inches. Use the 12g tank and give the Pleco some natural driftwood and places to hide.
Raimeiken
Aquarium Advice Activist
get a clown pleco, they're pretty common and they stay around 4"
I have a peppermint in my 29 gallon who is about 3 inches long. She supposedly will get 4-5". But she's also a terrible algae eater! Hubby bought her on an impulse and she was pretty pricey--about $40. All she ever does is hide under a log. 
Pretty, though.
The pitbull was pretty inexpensive as fancy plecos go. I think I paid $8 for him.
And he is a little eating machine! My 12 gallon Eclipse is spotless. I have to supplement him with veggies, he eats so much.
Pretty, though.The pitbull was pretty inexpensive as fancy plecos go. I think I paid $8 for him.
And he is a little eating machine! My 12 gallon Eclipse is spotless. I have to supplement him with veggies, he eats so much.
By the way I notice that you have a Oceanic cube. I was planing on picking one of those up. I think is looks neat. How has it been for you have you run in to any problem caused by its shape? Like seeing things or what not?
puffergirl
Aquarium Advice Freak
The clown plecos are really nice too and stay quite small. However they are not good at algea control, mine just likes to hid in the rocks. But he's a pretty little bugger.
lreilly said:
I like my cube a lot. Mine is heavily planted, and I have a huge ozelot sword that likes to take over the tank if I don't keep it pruned, but I like the fact that you have multiple viewpoints to the tank. Its got good viewing from three sides.
lreilly said:
Completely. He LOVES Romaine lettuce, though.
By the way, Puffergirl, my clown plecos are great little algae eaters. I had one of them in my 12 gallon Eclipse before he outgrew it. I just think a 3-4" fish is too big for that small a tank.
Thanks for all of the help. I think that the little guy is what I am looking for for this tank. Then next week I am going to set up a 29gal to replace one of my tens(just too small) and I will get a clown for that one.
violet
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I want a pitbull pleco!!!! Do they go by any other names?
madasafish
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ireilly. Does your LFS have a "All the L-Numbers" or "Most Beautiful L-Numbers" book by Ulrich and Wolfgang Glaser? This is a great resource for looking up Loricariids (plecos all fall under this large taxon). I've been using LFS's copies for a while, and finally bought a copy myself. It's a great resource to have.
Truth is... though plecs are very popular, they're still in many ways poorly understood and documented. And all the genetic variation between the strains (I won't say species, because a lot of species are contested or as yet unclassified) makes it very hard to determine what kind of plec you have. This book is about the most comprehensive resource for this, though.
Some other suggestions: Mega Clown Peckoltias are amazingly beautiful. If you can land a specimen, try. Queen Arabesques and King Tigers are astoundingly marked--labarynthine lines extending over the entire body. Gold Nuggets add wonderful color, and are a little more affordable than most other spp. Some of the bushy-bristlemouth variants are quite repulsively ugly, but others are incredibly cool. Look these up. I've seen one of these referred to as a "Medusa" or "Medusa-head" pleco. I think these are quite neat, and they have a more diamond-shaped body than your average plec. Some of the Pleco auctions on www.Aquabid.com are a good way to aquaint yourself with the rarer species.
One caveat: a large number of Plec species/strains are nocturnal and marginally diurnal. I think you'll find that all but the common plecs and some of the bristlenose plecs seldom show themselves during the day. For me, this is the most exciting part about my Queen Arabesque (L-200) and Quasi-Snowball (L-142). When I see them, I really appreciate their presence in the tank. I never tire of them this way.
Truth is... though plecs are very popular, they're still in many ways poorly understood and documented. And all the genetic variation between the strains (I won't say species, because a lot of species are contested or as yet unclassified) makes it very hard to determine what kind of plec you have. This book is about the most comprehensive resource for this, though.
Some other suggestions: Mega Clown Peckoltias are amazingly beautiful. If you can land a specimen, try. Queen Arabesques and King Tigers are astoundingly marked--labarynthine lines extending over the entire body. Gold Nuggets add wonderful color, and are a little more affordable than most other spp. Some of the bushy-bristlemouth variants are quite repulsively ugly, but others are incredibly cool. Look these up. I've seen one of these referred to as a "Medusa" or "Medusa-head" pleco. I think these are quite neat, and they have a more diamond-shaped body than your average plec. Some of the Pleco auctions on www.Aquabid.com are a good way to aquaint yourself with the rarer species.
One caveat: a large number of Plec species/strains are nocturnal and marginally diurnal. I think you'll find that all but the common plecs and some of the bristlenose plecs seldom show themselves during the day. For me, this is the most exciting part about my Queen Arabesque (L-200) and Quasi-Snowball (L-142). When I see them, I really appreciate their presence in the tank. I never tire of them this way.
madasafish
Aquarium Advice Addict
Oh, and if you're budgeted for $60 worth, you might be able to get 2 smaller specimens of the gold nugget, clown, and possibly even Queen Arabeque. I got my QA when she was tiny for $25, and my snowball for the same.
My Lfs is well less than impressive to say the least. I did how ever just get a new one that seems much better and the owner will order any he can for me. I will look in to that book. I have been checking in at aquabid to no avail as of yet. They did have six zebras, but they were together and the price when over $450 last time I checked. I have two common right now one I see quit often during the day and the other I have to hunt down every other day to make sure he is still there. Most bushy bristlemouths leave me with much to be desired,just a little to unique for what I want. I will look at the other you suggested. thanks
Well, I ordered a Queen Arabesques and will get him next thursday. I am so excited. This is the first fish that I had to get delivered just for me. My new lfs is just getting better and better. I have my fingers crossed.
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
Can you post a pic? How big is he?
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