anyone know of a small pleco that eats algae???

[lamby248]

Can anyone tell me if there is such a thing as a small pleco that is an algae eater? I would like to get a pleco abuot 4-5" that helps keep algae down in the tank but have not been able to find one yet. Someone at the lfs suggested a gold nugget pleco but I just read online that they can get up to 8". That is too big.

Any help with this would be muchly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[TaffyFish]

Sure is lamby, you want an ancistrus or bristlenose catfish.
I'll bet "someone at the lfs" told you hold much you'd expect to pay for a gold nugget pleco?

 

[ecotank]

A true Gold Nugget won't get to more than 6", there are some plecos that look similar that will get up to 13" though, so make sure you get the right one. One of my favorites for a cleaning crew pleco is the rubberlipped pleco aka rubbernose pleco, they only get to about 4" and really seem to work on the glass and rocks in the tanks we have them.

 

[lamby248]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into those and see which one suits me best.

How much does a gold nugget pleco cost? Usually at the lfs where I go plecos range anywhere from 10.99-69.99 depending on which one it is. I paid $35 for a blue panaque L232 but he doesn't eat algae. Common plecos are around 5-6 bucks.

 

[Purple]

L200 - Lemon spot Pl*co - 5 inches fully grown - very pretty fish - loves munching just about anything - I would suggest a price in the range of up to $50 for a full grown one - maybe cheaper if it's smaller - don't see them often, but the colours are gorgeous - and they're not as shy as some either, so you get to watch them during the day

 

[Lotus]

What kind of algae is it that you're having a problem with? Plecos don't eat every kind of algae, even if they like some algae.

 

[Erik]

i would suggest a pit bull pleco

 

[ecotank]

A pitbull pleco will not clean algae off the glass at all though. It will clean the gravel extremly well, as it spends most of it's time on the bottom.

 

[wayne]

And a gold nugget will never touch algae

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Bristlenose. Works in the tanks at my house.

 

[lamby248]

It's just the usual algae. I don't have an algae problem, just know that when I have a pleco in a tank, that is stays pretty clear and when I don't it does not stay clear. I have a common pleco but that gets humungous.

I've seen the L-200 Lemon Pleco at my lfs. It was going for $38.00 but I don't know if they got rid of it yet or not...

Thanks for all the info...What do you think about a butterfly pleco? Someone suggested that one to me..

 

[wayne]

It's not a pleco and it doesn't eat algae. It's a loachlike fish from slightly cooler hillstreams in SE Asia

 

[lamby248]

I checked on PlanetCatfish...There are two different types of Butterfly Pleco - L052 & L168. L168 says eats algae....L052 does not.