more bottom feeders
- Thread starter jo3olous
- Start date
If you have lots of things on the bottom of the tank (rocks, logs, sunken ships, mermaids, etc) you'll be ok. The RT Shark is territorial, but the ornamentation will give him a home to defend rather then the entire bottom of the tank.
A pleco will get along with the RT. You've got a nice long tank which means that there is plenty of bottom room.
Do not get a Common Pleco. They grow way too big.
Look more into the small ones: Like the Royal Pleco and the Bristle Nose. They are gentle, smallish, and not completely nocturnal.
Start with one. If all goes well you may be able to add another a month or two later. That's going to max you out though.
Remember, the more stuff on the bottom of the tank the better.
A pleco will get along with the RT. You've got a nice long tank which means that there is plenty of bottom room.
Do not get a Common Pleco. They grow way too big.
Look more into the small ones: Like the Royal Pleco and the Bristle Nose. They are gentle, smallish, and not completely nocturnal.
Start with one. If all goes well you may be able to add another a month or two later. That's going to max you out though.
Remember, the more stuff on the bottom of the tank the better.
If I upgrade to a 55, a common pleco will be okay right. I wanted to start housing fish that will continue to grow, and after my next payday I am thinking of buying a tank stand and a brand new tank as well (55+). My current tank right now is in a horrible spot anyway as far as furniture in my room goes and it's going to be relocated/replaced. TY for your response
If you upgraded then you are entering a whole new world of fish that you can add. 
Actually Royals get very large. They are also very messy. So much so that I would say a 55 wouldn't handle the bio-load. Being a wood eater the mess they make in your tank is much more than pretty much any other fish you can own. Max length on them is 15 inches. He wouldn't be able to turn around in a 55. At the very least a 75 is needed to house one, and even then bigger is better.
IME RTS are nasty buggers. I kept one in my 90 and yeah he was territorial. That is until he became an adult fish. Then he decided he didn't want any other fish in the tank with him. So if you want a peaceful tank then no you can not put one in even a 55. It's not so much an issue with him not being compatible with a pleco, plecos can take care of themselves. It's more of a problem for the rest of the fish in the tank. And keeping him in a 20? well he is probably going to end up being the only fish in that tank.
IME RTS are nasty buggers. I kept one in my 90 and yeah he was territorial. That is until he became an adult fish. Then he decided he didn't want any other fish in the tank with him. So if you want a peaceful tank then no you can not put one in even a 55. It's not so much an issue with him not being compatible with a pleco, plecos can take care of themselves. It's more of a problem for the rest of the fish in the tank. And keeping him in a 20? well he is probably going to end up being the only fish in that tank.
In my Oscars 55, there are 2 plecos in there...bought them at the same time and they were about the same size. One has grown much larger than the other and he's downright NASTY! He goes after Oscar and Jack all the time...they go after him though too...but if they get too close to him? Watch out! LOL! So I'd definitely agree that a pleco can take care of itself w/ aggressive tankmates, but Oscar and Jack can be just minding their own business and he goes after them.
Pure,, do you have any suggestion for Jo3olous as to what would be a good pleco for a 55 gal. Oh and if all the pics you posted of the pleco's are yours,,, all i can say is wow you have a awesome bunch of fish.
i've also had bad experiences with red tail sharks. I found that they don't like their own kind in close quarters let alone anyone else. I know i will never buy another one.
i've also had bad experiences with red tail sharks. I found that they don't like their own kind in close quarters let alone anyone else. I know i will never buy another one.
oh yea, it's a fact that you cannot keep red tail sharks in pairs. I've heard of them being in groups... in rather LARGE tanks (length wise) at least so they have a chance of setting up territory. You can't even put a red tail shark with a rainbow shark, they'll go at it too. Still don't see why pure said it won't share the 20g tank though with other semi aggros, it only grows to about 5-6 inches... any how...
I did a water change today (40%), and everyones been more active. The Barb bully has been at work creating havoc, and on top of that my red tails been bullying the bully for the past hour or 2 ??? water change effect???
I did a water change today (40%), and everyones been more active. The Barb bully has been at work creating havoc, and on top of that my red tails been bullying the bully for the past hour or 2 ??? water change effect???
Sorry I was reading 2 other websites (research) wile posting this and didn't give my post the thought it deserved.
With there being so many plecos to choose it really comes down to a question of local availability or if the O.P. is willing to have the fish shipped to him. The latter of course opens the door to many more available species.
Off the top of my head, commonly available species that would be a good mix would be L200 (either species as there are 2 that look almost identical and carry the same L number) L007, L030, L204, L110, L254, L081, L183, L104, L128, L260, L046, L199, L340, L..ok ALL hypancistrus, All Peckolitas........
The list could go onto the next page if I kept going. Point being, what does the hobbyist want from this fish. Are you looking for something to eat algae? Do you want one that gets large but not too large? Do you not care if it eats algae, you just want a cool looking fish? Do you want something rare that few have seen yet alone kept? Give me some input and I can recommend something more appropriate. Even better, give me input and then tell me what is available on your LFS stock sheet. (just because they don't have them in stock doesn't mean they can't get them) Then I can say what would be suitable for this tank.
Yes the fish I post on here are all mine. Or were mine at one time. A few of my fish have even been documented on planetcatfish for identification purposes. Thanks for the compliment.
LOL ALYKAT! big plecs can be brutes of the tank.
With there being so many plecos to choose it really comes down to a question of local availability or if the O.P. is willing to have the fish shipped to him. The latter of course opens the door to many more available species.
Off the top of my head, commonly available species that would be a good mix would be L200 (either species as there are 2 that look almost identical and carry the same L number) L007, L030, L204, L110, L254, L081, L183, L104, L128, L260, L046, L199, L340, L..ok ALL hypancistrus, All Peckolitas........
The list could go onto the next page if I kept going. Point being, what does the hobbyist want from this fish. Are you looking for something to eat algae? Do you want one that gets large but not too large? Do you not care if it eats algae, you just want a cool looking fish? Do you want something rare that few have seen yet alone kept? Give me some input and I can recommend something more appropriate. Even better, give me input and then tell me what is available on your LFS stock sheet. (just because they don't have them in stock doesn't mean they can't get them) Then I can say what would be suitable for this tank.
Yes the fish I post on here are all mine. Or were mine at one time. A few of my fish have even been documented on planetcatfish for identification purposes. Thanks for the compliment.
LOL ALYKAT! big plecs can be brutes of the tank.
Pure - you're pix are awesome, I'm really to get my hands on some plecs that will grow, prob no more than 12in long though, I'm getting ready to make way for a 55+++ tank, possibly even larger depending on how serious this hobby gets for me. IMO, IDC if the plec cleans the tank or not, I'm just very fascinated by bottom feeders. I'm probably not willing to spend more than 20.00 on one fish though, I can say that much so that should narrow down what is viable for me. I'll check out my LFS this weekend. Oddly enough, PETSMART seems to be the most reliable/clean store out of the 4 fish stores close by
Simply put..They are jerks when they become full grown and he will claim the ENTIRE tank as his territory. Keeping him with other aggressive/semi aggressive in a larger tank will work, but you can only fit so many fish in a 20 gal. Usually keeping aggressive fish together in the confines of a tank is accomplished successfully due to the fact that there are so many other fish in there that their attentions are hardly ever pressed on one individual. Better yet, if you put 2 male African cichlids together in a 20 gallon you will end up with one fish in the end.
pure could you suggest for me a pleco that would get fair size and not be too aggressive. i've had bad luck with plecos when i first got into the hobby (think i lost 2 of them and gave up) but now with the experence i've obtained and i will be setting up 2 180 gal tanks in the next ,,,oh 6 months or so,, i think i would like to try another pleco. due to the expence of lighting i don't think they will be planted tanks. any suggestions ?
Wiskers, I can toss out L numbers until I'm blue in the face, and it won't do any good if you can't get them. Find out what is available at your LFS. With a tank this size your only limited to what other fish you want to keep with him and if you want plants or not.
Look through this list and see what perks your fancy..then ask individual questions regarding a particular fish. Preferably in a new thread. (forum etiquette n all) PlanetCatfish • Cat-eLog • Common Names
Look through this list and see what perks your fancy..then ask individual questions regarding a particular fish. Preferably in a new thread. (forum etiquette n all) PlanetCatfish • Cat-eLog • Common Names