Which pleco to go with?

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SerLunchbox

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Dec 14, 2004
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Location
Calgary
So in the next week or so, i will have the funds to go out and get a new pleco. Currently i believe i have a common pleco (5 1/2") for my algae eating bottom feeders. As of now, he is starting to eat my plants and leave a small amount of Algae behind (my ameca splendins are cleaning up what he is leaving behind). So now i am going to give him to a friend who has a 120 gal tank that will allow him to grow more and be a bit more happy. So here is what i am wondering. I am going to get a new pleco but i am not sure which one to really go with. I can't get one that is going to outgrow my 50 gallon aquarium so that is why i was thinking of going with either a gold nugget or bristlenose pleco. I am not sure which one i want to go with. If they both perform extremely well with algae then i know which one i would prefer to go with. Here are the other stuff to go with my tank:

pH 7.5-7.6
GH 11.5
KH 9.5
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 3ppm
Ehiem 2213 cannister Filter
Penguin 170 HOB bio-wheel filter

50 US gallon aquarium housing:
2 adult and 3 juvenile angels
1 common pleco 5 1/2" (soon to be going)
3 adult and 5 juvenive ameca plendins
1 striped rafael catfish
3 celebes rainbow
3 adult botia modesta (apx 4" long each)

I have lots of wood and plants for all the fish to hide out in. If there are any other plecos i should consider then please let me know ... any info would be awesome!

TIA

Cheers
 
I would go with Royal Pleco-10 inches long- great on algea, It should do ok in those water parameters...as far as i know...

Dan :)
 
Ok :) I have my favorite too.

BullDog Rubbernose Pleco!!

They are smaller and they are pretty darn cool too!

I have had one in my 29 gallon for 3 years and hes only 3 inches long basically hes grown about 1/4 of an inch or so. He watches me and is very active as far as mvoing around the tank and getting the algae up. I have not had any algae of any kind in 3 years.
 
I would check out the profiles on Planet Catfish before you buy.

As for my favorites ...Any of the dwarf ancistrus - they are hardworking algae eaters. I also like bristle nosed plecs for their hideous looks! :lol:
 
Rubbernose can usually be found for $5-6 at your local petsmart so that makes them attractive and they don't look half bad. I have a clown pleco in one of my tanks but he has 0 activity during the day, he never moves and what he eats is a mystery because i've never seen him do that either but he's cute and is also pretty inexpensive.
 
Depending on how much you want to spend on a pleco, you could try a Zebra (L-46) Pleco. They grow to be about 3 inches and they are very nice looking. Then again, he will run you about $200. The Gold Nugget will grow to be about 6 inches. For about the same price as the Gold Nugget you could get a Net Pleco and they only grow to about 4 1/2 inches. Try this website, they have several Pleco's to look at.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?siteid=20&pCatId=837&TopCatId=837
 
Your have so many options with a 50 gal tank. I have leopards, tigers, pitbulls, bulldogs, bristlenosed, clowns and orange spotted ancistrus. All of which will stay under 6inchs. I agree you should take time to browse planetcatfish.com. Find a few you like, then check with your lfs to see what they can get for you.
 
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