Getting mixed opinions. Pleco

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Lady_Alia said:
I've got a pleco in all 5 of my tanks and never had a problem. I ALWAYS buy 5" guys, otherwise they die due to cichlid picking. I din't even acclimate them, just floated the bag half an hour and dump them in. My pleco has been with my mbuna for over a year....

Try it
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I REALLY REALLY want to Lady! I'm nervous my guys or the Synodontis will attack or kill it! I want to add a pleco so bad!! A really really nice one! I saw some nice ones at this fish store about 40 minutes from me beautiful one sailfin I think then they one that had a white dots and some white on the tail.

So you didn't drip acclimate it? Just float the bag and shoot it? (I call drooping it in the tank shooting it in)

I may try this tomorrow. May take that ride and go get it all the LFS around me the plecos are small maybe 2-3 inches.
 
I've had 2 common plecos in my Malawi tank for over a year as well and they're doing just fine. My dominant male will sometimes chase it away if it gets close to his "territory" but its nothing bad. I think you should give it a try. :)
 
The biggest problem with plecos are they get big. You can grow him out in your 75 but have a plan for him. The pleco skin is like sandpaper. My fish never mess with him. But hes too big for my 75 now. My pleco also drops stringy poo like 5 inches long all over. Its mostly lead i think because my vac wont pic it up easily. I have to go in a pull it out by hand..Its gross.
img_1718190_0_bc6c3d22c0dbd13bf461c7e8b8466403.jpg
 
Ya mine out grew too... I had to give him away. Sad day. But rt thing to do... And it was a 75 gallon also.
 
Convict2161 said:
I REALLY REALLY want to Lady! I'm nervous my guys or the Synodontis will attack or kill it! I want to add a pleco so bad!! A really really nice one! I saw some nice ones at this fish store about 40 minutes from me beautiful one sailfin I think then they one that had a white dots and some white on the tail.

So you didn't drip acclimate it? Just float the bag and shoot it? (I call drooping it in the tank shooting it in)

I may try this tomorrow. May take that ride and go get it all the LFS around me the plecos are small maybe 2-3 inches.
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I think you should go for it.
Just don't get a small one. Anytime I've put small ones (3-4") they've killed it. It's almost like the bigger ones have a tougher skin so the mbuna can't hurt it.
My largest pleco (about 8") and Skittles go round and round sometimes when Guss (pleco) gets to close to Skittles's love log but no damage is ever done to either of them. Skittles basically just pushes Guss around like he's another mbuna.
And I never drip acclimate anything lol. I practice the float and release technique.
And plecos can and do get large and eventually you might have to rehome it but I've had Guss for probably 2 years and he's only 8"ish long. So it's not like you'll have to rehome him in 6 months.
All this said, I think if you want a pleco.....go get you a pleco!!! just not a small one!!!!
 
Lady_Alia said:
I think you should go for it.
Just don't get a small one. Anytime I've put small ones (3-4") they've killed it. It's almost like the bigger ones have a tougher skin so the mbuna can't hurt it.
My largest pleco (about 8") and Skittles go round and round sometimes when Guss (pleco) gets to close to Skittles's love log but no damage is ever done to either of them. Skittles basically just pushes Guss around like he's another mbuna.
And I never drip acclimate anything lol. I practice the float and release technique.
And plecos can and do get large and eventually you might have to rehome it but I've had Guss for probably 2 years and he's only 8"ish long. So it's not like you'll have to rehome him in 6 months.
All this said, I think if you want a pleco.....go get you a pleco!!! just not a small one!!!!
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Guss is the perfect name for a pleco..I love it..We named our Zues
 
Common plecos are huge waste producers and your tank is already heavily stocked... plus, you do not have the means to house this fish properly in the long term. Rehoming a huge pleco is not always an easy task. I see people all the time talking about how they're going to give a fish to a public aquarium or LFS, or find a home on Craigslist when it gets too big... but having worked at a shop for a few years, I can tell you it might not be that easy- many shops are simply inundated with requests of "hey, can you take my pleco"? and often, the answer is no. Common plecos should be much LESS available in the hobby, IMO, as very few aquarists have the means to house them properly in the long term.

As always, JMHO and I mean no disrespect.
 
here's my pleco right next to my yellow lab tank boss(back). this was about 2 months ago both have gotten bigger. the lab has had fry(just stripped his female today) so he's definitely sexually mature & agressive as ever but the pleco gets along fine. occasionally my RTS will give the pleco some crap but he shows the RTS who's boss.







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Lady_Alia said:
Ohh then you could totally do a 3" pleco and be golden!
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I agree. Just keep your tank as dark as possible for a couple days. Maybe add it in the middle of the night while the Cichlids are chilling. For acclimation, I float fir about 20mins, then put the in a bucket with about half tank water and half water they came in. I add a cup of water every 10 or 15 minutes for about an hour, then net them out. I like your drip method though.
 
Fish grow. That tank full of juveniles is going to look pretty crowded once those fish get some size on them, not to mention the surge in aggression level you'll experience once they hit sexual maturity.

Yes, the filtration is awesome, but the issue is that 75 gallons really isn't that big of a tank, and only affords those cichlids so much room for territory. I've seen plenty of threads where people wake up one day to a pleco missing eyes... not saying it happens to everyone, by any means, but it certainly does happen.
 
It's great that you want to ask our opinions before putting fish in your tank but the problem is we're not all gonna agree.

What it boils down too is this, you know your tank. You know how your fish are interacting with each other, we don't.

If you want a pleco, try it. Some of us say yay, some of us say nay...but it's your tank, your fish, your decision.
 
Yeah I'm thinking maybe not then. I mean yeah they "seem" settled down now but we know what's happened in the past. They killed everything that has entered that tank. They let a red tail live, my Synodontis's and the Giant Danios, everything else they gave 20 minutes to 2 hours.
 
Convict2161 said:
Yeah I'm thinking maybe not then. I mean yeah they "seem" settled down now but we know what's happened in the past. They killed everything that has entered that tank. They let a red tail live, my Synodontis's and the Giant Danios, everything else they gave 20 minutes to 2 hours.
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I can't believe they left the danios alone. What is your total stock now? Mine have yet to murder any new arrivals and about half of them are at maturity. The danio thing is interesting imo.
 
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