Pleco for my friends 65 gallon?

[Kristian Tombs]

Hiya i have doubt checked, if its the Gold Nugget pleco that im thinking of then max size is 14 inches cos I had to do a research cos I wanted one as loved the colouring of the nugget... and I know if it ever get to the full size I will have to upgrade my tank and ive got the same size tank and filter as your friend they do say its rare it get that big but you do have to take that in to account due to the footprint of the tank he will not be able to turn well but they are suppose to be slow growers so it should be years before they get that big but who knows the choices is totally up to your friend as I made the choice of having one in mine for now he is perfectly happy but years to come maybe not and im aware of it.

The lfs claimed it was 6 inches max size.

 

[newbietofishes]

The lfs claimed it was 6 inches max size.

If that is true then ill be happy that I will never need to upgrade my tank

 

[Kristian Tombs]

That's great

 

[Surfer]

If that is true then ill be happy that I will never need to upgrade my tank

I apologize.

If your friend has a 65 I'm inclined to tell you a royal pleco would be an excellent fish for him. They take a long time to grow, I mean a LOOOONNGGGG time. As for a second fish, a gold nugget pleco would be a good choice if he keeps his water pristine, since they're all wild caught and hard to keep alive the first few weeks to months. Perhaps even a peppermint BN, which I believe is l-180 many kinds of plecos can be housed in a 65, not all of them are Scarlets and spiny monsters.

 

[Baddog671]

Saw some enormous plecos at my LFS today. Biggest was a good 12", maybe more

 

[Kristian Tombs]

Saw some enormous plecos at my LFS today. Biggest was a good 12", maybe more

That's kl most LFS have tiny juvenile plecos because if they housed the 12 inch monsters at full size I doubt many would buy them.

 

[Oohitsae]

I kind of skimmed through this thread so I don't know if this has already been said, but be careful with the gold nugget. It's very easily stressed and fragile, kind of like the German blue ram of the pleco world. Same with starlights - Out of 10 starlights I've never had a starlight survive. Most are also wild caught, I believe, so if you do decide to go with the GN make sure it's been in the store a while and it's belly isn't sunken in

I'd go with the Green phantom. They are gorgeous, I've always wanted one, and more hardy than the gold nugget. They are also less shy and since they get a bit larger than the average ancistrius would do really well at cleaning in a 65. Just make sure she provides driftwood for either species and along with algae and veggies gives them some protein in their diet like bottom feeder pellets on occasion.
Most of these guys are also WC, but do a bit better in captivity.

 

[Surfer]

I kind of skimmed through this thread so I don't know if this has already been said, but be careful with the gold nugget. It's very easily stressed and fragile, kind of like the German blue ram of the pleco world. Same with starlights - Out of 10 starlights I've never had a starlight survive. Most are also wild caught, I believe, so if you do decide to go with the GN make sure it's been in the store a while and it's belly isn't sunken in

I'd go with the Green phantom. They are gorgeous, I've always wanted one, and more hardy than the gold nugget. They are also less shy and since they get a bit larger than the average ancistrius would do really well at cleaning in a 65. Just make sure she provides driftwood for either species and along with algae and veggies gives them some protein in their diet like bottom feeder pellets on occasion.
Most of these guys are also WC, but do a bit better in captivity.

Yup, I mentioned how the goldnugget is very finicky. As I also said a decent alternative to a starlight is an l-180, they are very hardy bristlenoses. Green phantoms aren't exactly easy to keep either, but they definitely are more hardy than GNs as you said.

My Green phantom was very shy at first, but since the tank is in an area with alot of foot traffic she came out alot more since the moving people outside the tank became normal. As with any pleco, they just need to get used to you.

 

[Oohitsae]

Yup, I mentioned how the goldnugget is very finicky. As I also said a decent alternative to a starlight is an l-180, they are very hardy bristlenoses. Green phantoms aren't exactly easy to keep either, but they definitely are more hardy than GNs as you said.

My Green phantom was very shy at first, but since the tank is in an area with alot of foot traffic she came out alot more since the moving people outside the tank became normal. As with any pleco, they just need to get used to you.

Sorry for repeating you!

 

[Surfer]

Sorry for repeating you!

Hey, you give great advice though hahaha

 

[Kristian Tombs]

Hey, you give great advice though hahaha

Agreed. I'll edge him towards a green phantom and if he does take good care of it I'll we'll see about a GN. Also a pleco that everyone overlooks when it comes to fancy is the long finned brittlenose pleco which is gorgeous it's just like the regular BN but has long flowing fins and grows an inch bigger. You can even get an albino of the long fin

 

[Surfer]

Agreed. I'll edge him towards a green phantom and if he does take good care of it I'll we'll see about a GN. Also a pleco that everyone overlooks when it comes to fancy is the long finned brittlenose pleco which is gorgeous it's just like the regular BN but has long flowing fins and grows an inch bigger. You can even get an albino of the long fin

On that note there is also an l-144. These aren't as popular as normal BNs but look very similar and have blue eyes in addition to being naturally yellow. They're a good starter pleco on the scale as well.

 

[Kristian Tombs]

On that note there is also an l-144. These aren't as popular as normal BNs but look very similar and have blue eyes in addition to being naturally yellow. They're a good starter pleco on the scale as well.

My dream plec would be the zebra pleco they are gorgeous but thy are so rare an expensive in England

 

[newbietofishes]

My dream plec would be the zebra pleco they are gorgeous but thy are so rare an expensive in England

Mine too... always see them in my lfs but price is shocking £160 it was going for... but know nothing about them dare not to incase I realise I could care for them but i am guessing they are worse to care for the the gn
surfer... sorry to be off topic here, since you got the gn out of curiosity is there a time where you got less "worried" and felt he will do fine in your tank or are you always on your guard with the gn compared to your other plecs, just that mine when I first got it i was scared that he wasnt going to make it but till recently I never see him move but for the last week or so he seems more bolder and pop out from his hiding place and im starting for feel comfortable that he may be okay in my tank but im not sure if im allowing myself to be more off guard than I should as you say they are easy stress plec...

 

[Surfer]

Mine too... always see them in my lfs but price is shocking £160 it was going for... but know nothing about them dare not to incase I realise I could care for them but i am guessing they are worse to care for the the gn
surfer... sorry to be off topic here, since you got the gn out of curiosity is there a time where you got less "worried" and felt he will do fine in your tank or are you always on your guard with the gn compared to your other plecs, just that mine when I first got it i was scared that he wasnt going to make it but till recently I never see him move but for the last week or so he seems more bolder and pop out from his hiding place and im starting for feel comfortable that he may be okay in my tank but im not sure if im allowing myself to be more off guard than I should as you say they are easy stress plec...

Im not as on guard with my gold nugget as i used to be, i keep him in the 55 with the larger plecos because of his aggression. I believe thats the point you should wait for. Once they begin actively competing for food and claim a territory, that in my opinion is when you should be able to ease up.

 

[Kristian Tombs]

Im not as on guard with my gold nugget as i used to be, i keep him in the 55 with the larger plecos because of his aggression. I believe thats the point you should wait for. Once they begin actively competing for food and claim a territory, that in my opinion is when you should be able to ease up.

How many plecos do you have in your 55 gallon

 

[T1KARMANN]

Pleco are all about price

I could name a few I have had but they are very expensive

L56 xanto
L095

Both over $100

 

[Kristian Tombs]

Pleco are all about price

I could name a few I have had but they are very expensive

L56 xanto
L095

Both over $100

Did they last long?

 

[Surfer]

Pleco are all about price

I could name a few I have had but they are very expensive

L56 xanto
L095

Both over $100

Good for you , but I'm sure his friend is looking for something on the less expensive side that still looks good.

Also tombs I have 4 plecos in my 55 and about 15 small ones in my 40. (Filtration is amazing though, I think I spent about the same on filtration as I did on the plecos)

 

[T1KARMANN]

Did they last long?

All my fish last long

Every fish in my tank is over 14" long the shortest time I have had any of my fish is 4 years and the longest being near 9 years so your point is