Do plecos move gravel?

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Amicus

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Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed that large spaces have appeared underneath driftwood in my tank. These spaces are large enough for my full grown cories and BN plecos to hang out in. I have two thermometers in there , the bases are buried in the gravel, and they have been displaced too. I have small community fish and the plecos are the only ones I can think are able to do this. Does anyone know if this is typical pleco behavior?
 
My cories do it and scare me half to death because I'm afraid they will crack the glass
 
Yep plecos easily move gravel. Don't know how big yours are but I've seen mine literally go under driftwood and shimmy back and forth in place moving the gravel and making a pit. They don't do it often but they do it from time to time.
 
Yep plecos easily move gravel. Don't know how big yours are but I've seen mine literally go under driftwood and shimmy back and forth in place moving the gravel and making a pit. They don't do it often but they do it from time to time.

They are two BN Plecos and about 3-4" each, so I'm thinking full grown. They have done some major earth moving.
 
They can actually get about 6-7 inches. Mccoy is right so you could try putting a piece or two of PVC pipe in the bottom to see if they start using that and stop digging. You'd have to research the length and diameter you need but it's worth a try IMO.
 
I would say they are basically full grown my breeding male is roughly 4.5 and my females are around 3 at most. I would love to see one at 7 inches but I don't think that's possible. I have some in a display tank roughly 200g and they aren't even that big and they have been in there for a while now...
But it sounds to me like he is making some caves. Do you have a male and female? The male will make the breeding sites and try to get her to come in. She will then lay her eggs and leave. The male does everything. They prefer a cave just big enough for the two of them to sit beside each other. This is why the male will wiggle under stuff. He pushes the sand or gravel away just enough for them to get in.
 
Wow! I never thought of the breeding factor. I have one standard female BN and one male albino BN. They used to scuffle a little bit before but now are hanging in the same vacinity of the tank. I can post some pics of the earth moving one of them has done. It is a 72g moderately planted tank. I was actually starting to consider breeding green phantom or zebra plecos too. Kind of funny, the standard pleco is very skiddish but the albino will take food from my hand. I'll keep an eye out for eggs. If there is any advice anyone has as far as nuturing the eggs or encouraging breeding it would be much appreciated.
 
i breed my plecos in there own tanks. i put 2 female and 1 male per 10 gallon tank. i put a hob filter with a sponge on it. they like a little current. 80 degree water temp with a partial water change 3 times a week with cool water. the male will take care of the eggs till hatching time. i feed the babies baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food till they are old enough to catch and put in there own tank usually about 1 month. then i start feeding cucumber and green beans and veggie rounds. then i sell them when they reach 1 inch or so. the eggs are a yellow goldish color. i have also taken the eggs out after a couple days and hatched them in another tank
 
i breed my plecos in there own tanks. i put 2 female and 1 male per 10 gallon tank. i put a hob filter with a sponge on it. they like a little current. 80 degree water temp with a partial water change 3 times a week with cool water. the male will take care of the eggs till hatching time. i feed the babies baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food till they are old enough to catch and put in there own tank usually about 1 month. then i start feeding cucumber and green beans and veggie rounds. then i sell them when they reach 1 inch or so. the eggs are a yellow goldish color. i have also taken the eggs out after a couple days and hatched them in another tank
Sounds like its something I can do, Thanks. What kind of plecos do you breed?
 
bob mccoy said:
i breed my plecos in there own tanks. i put 2 female and 1 male per 10 gallon tank. i put a hob filter with a sponge on it. they like a little current. 80 degree water temp with a partial water change 3 times a week with cool water. the male will take care of the eggs till hatching time. i feed the babies baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food till they are old enough to catch and put in there own tank usually about 1 month. then i start feeding cucumber and green beans and veggie rounds. then i sell them when they reach 1 inch or so. the eggs are a yellow goldish color. i have also taken the eggs out after a couple days and hatched them in another tank

Do you see the pleco's eat the shrimp at all? I was considering giving shrimp to them but was told not to since they aren't really. Carnivores and prefer mostly vegetable matter... I had some little neons in with my baby pleco's and didn't see any go for the shrimp and I was also told to avoid meaty food. I just Bristlenose pleco's right now. My main diet for them is nls flake and pellets, algae wafers, and cucumber. I am going to start experimenting with other veggies but can't find a way I like yet...

Also I prefer just to leave the eggs with daddy. He will constantly fan water over the eggs to make sure they don't fungus. Either way works, it just what works better for you.

My breeding set up for bristlenose is basically a bunch of caves, pots, PVC tubes. They prefer the cave to be just big enough for them to fit snug beside each other. The one cave that gets a lot of attention that I have is and 1 1/4inch (inside diameter) cut in half glued onto a piece of rock and a piece at the end. The PVC is angled though so the front is taller then the back. They will walk themselves in backwards which I think is cool.

Anyways if you have a mature male and female just put some cave like things in and they should make some little plecos. Also my water is at 80f also. Some people say you need to lower the temperature down to stimulate the season change but I havent noticed that with Bristlenose plecos
 
I didnt mean to breed my plecos it just happened but i read you using caves i think they used a pirate ship i have in my tank haha.
 
I have a BN in my 220 and she is about 7 months old and only 3 inches even though she has plenty of room to grow.
 
My clown pleco dug itself a nice little pit under the driftwood. But I have sand, so it might be easier to move. But if the pleco is big enough, I can see it moving gravel around a bit.
 
My Plecos dug a large trench in my tank by wiggling back and forth knocking over a decoration in the process haha.
 
vanimal said:
I have a BN in my 220 and she is about 7 months old and only 3 inches even though she has plenty of room to grow.

Yes females max out around 3 inches and the size of the tank doesn't matter. My one female measures just over 3 inches and the other is basically spot on and they are in a 30g both grown out in the tank! The males reach 4 to 5 inches in length if that's what you want...
 
Hobgob said:
Yes females max out around 3 inches and the size of the tank doesn't matter. My one female measures just over 3 inches and the other is basically spot on and they are in a 30g both grown out in the tank! The males reach 4 to 5 inches in length if that's what you want...

Yeah it seems like she stopped growing. I guess that's why she is so small! Thank you.
 
vanimal said:
Yeah it seems like she stopped growing. I guess that's why she is so small! Thank you.

See if you can get a male and make some babies!
 
vanimal said:
Wouldn't my other fish eat the eggs??

What fish do you have? The male Bristlenose will do a good job at keeping them away.
 
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