stocking plan in progress...which pleco to get?

[happygirl65]

OK I know I NEED/WANT a pleco....but there seem to be billions of them! Any suggestions?

55 gal long, PFS, Rocks, driftwood, a couple of fake plants

probably will have bala sharks and/or tiger barbs

thinking about clown loaches too, not set on that though.

 

[justrelax]

check out some dwarf pleco's. most others get too big for a 55. bristlenoses are my personal favorite. or a rubberlip, or a candy stripe, or a snowball.... LOTS to pick from in the pleco department!

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree with justrelax..there are lots to choose from. It depends on how much you are willing to spend to get it. There are lots of fancy plecos out there...check out Exoticfinds.net. They have alot of fancy plecos, but you'd have to order them online.

Bristlenose plecs and Rubbernose/bulldog plecs are fairly common at some LFS and reasonably priced, atleast in my area they are.

You don't need a pleco...but they are fun to have!

Stay away from common plecos...usually sold in LFS as "pleco"...they get around 18 inches...so too big for a 55g.

And bala sharks get too big for a 55g...unless you plan to upgrade in the next year or so. Clown loaches will get to big as well!

 

[Alshain]

Try Yo-Yo loaches instead. They only get about 6".

 

[Ichthyologist]

If money is no object, Zebra Plecos are incredibly beautiful and fun to watch. They have become exceedingly rare in recent years, both in the wild and in captivity, so expect to pay a fair amount for one.

 

[cappieBridget]

I love my candy stripe! I was tired of falling for the "common pleco" that pet stores sell as most of the time when I bought them, they either had ich or died shortly after coming home. I also never knew they grew so large. I asked when fish shopping what other kind of plecos they had and was shown the candystripe adn immediatly thought is was the coolest looking pleco I have ever seen. I really like my otto's for cleanup to and noticed they do a really great job at cleaning!
here's a site I just found with some different ones:
http://www.kallidan.com/aquarium/Plecos/index.html#

 

[happygirl65]

awesome ideas....I never realized there were so many plecos....they are really incredible! I love all the different stripes and even the spotty ones. Definitely need to find a dwarf for sure because every one I ever had before go too big too fast.