Are plecs ok in community tank

[Glyn Oliver]

My wife came back from the lfs with 2 plecs, or suckermouth catfish, she had not asked for these as she wanted 2 octocinclus which must have been in the same tank, anyhow the assistant bagged the fish then put the bag in a brown paper bag and the fish were then brought the 15 miles home..... My question is, are the fish going to be ok in my 55 gallon tank with guppies, corys, tetras and 2 shrimps, and will they end up growing 2 foot long...... I am thinking about taking them back as they are not what we wanted really......

Taff

 

[josh7]

They will eat the shrimps and probably hurt the cories when they get large. I would highly recommend getting rid of those 2 plecos. Since its common Pleco they get to big for a 55 gallon. I would get 2 Bristlenose or clown plecos instead if you want plecos.

 

[Coursair]

I would return them. If your wife asked for Otos by name and not "algae eaters" I'd tend to complain and ask for 6 Otos for the price you paid to cover your gas.

Otos are best in large groups and 6-8 would be very happy in your tank. Just check for good weight and healthy fins. They are all wild caught.

QT is ideal, but at least check them out well.
They may need blanched veggies/greens at first.
They are great fish !

 

[Glyn Oliver]

Hi, thanks for that, I think it was a case of pointing and saying can I have 2 of them please........ and the bloke netted the wrong ones, they are only small so hope they will be ok for tonight until we return them tomorrow, my concern is we have baby corys in the tank.....

 

[josh7]

They should be fine for the night tommrow though I would get them out of there.

 

[Coursair]

Hi, thanks for that, I think it was a case of pointing and saying can I have 2 of them please........ and the bloke netted the wrong ones, they are only small so hope they will be ok for tonight until we return them tomorrow, my concern is we have baby corys in the tank.....

They won't hurt Cories at this size. But they grow fast and poop tons and get territorial.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with Coursair. They are not a good match for your tank long term, but, they should be fine for now until you can return them.
For future reference, I do like otos, but some other good species for a tank like yours would be pitbull plecos, rubberlip plecos, or bristlenose plecos. Another fun one is the farlowella. All those species stay far smaller than a common pleco and do fine in community settings in my experience.