Are plecos helpful or just neat to watch?

[KyleBradley]

Lotus, I've noticed in looking at your tanks that you seem to be fond of plecos, and some of the other members, as well. I've always liked them and they've always been one of the first fish I bought when starting my tanks out, but a few aqaurists and one salesman at PetCo have told me that they produce more waste than they take care of and that when they get bigger they get lazy and don't help much at all.. They end up selling me other stuff, and that's how I got hooked on corydoras.. And I have this other little tiny guy that is a sucker fish-sticks to the side of the aquarium, but I don't remember what he is.. I was just told that he won't get very big, so he won't produce much waste.. Any idea what he might be? I'll try to get a picture.

I was also told that plecos will get huge and that I shouldn't have one in my 20-gallon.

Is this accurate, or have I been led astray.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

there are many different breeds of dwarf plecos that get no bigger than 3", 4", 6", 8", 12", and all the way up to 18" give an inch or 2 depending on conditions and tank size. i like my clown pleco that gets no bigger than 3". he seems to do a lot and so does my hifin but he only comes out after 10pm and is back in his cave in the castle by time i wake up in the morning at 7:30am. but dont get me wrong i still want to add some botia loaches probably 3 to help clean up the tank and main reason im getting them to kill the snails that are in my tank on top of that any others that want to hitchike on and plants that i buy in the future.

i do got to say though plecos seem to be a lot lazier than say a chinese or gold algae eater or cories or loaches or most of everything. but i do think they do their job pretty well. in wise of when they get big they get lazier, i dont know ive never kept an extremely large one, the hifin in my tank currently is the biggest ive kept.

if you do get a pleco or 2 for your 20 its best you probably get ones that get no bigger than 3" or get a bristlenose that gets no bigger than 6" and they are very hardy and do good with a planted tank if thats what you have or plan on doing

 

[FroggyFox]

Your little guy is probably an otocinclus or "otto"...they stay pretty small and are "cleaner" than other plecos.

While plecos do get lazier when they get older, they are still pretty cool I try to balance my tanks out so that they don't have to work TOO hard to keep the place clean. Cories are awesome, but they dont eat algae. I probably wouldn't put a pleco in your hex unless you really have room for it...most of the dwarf plecos arent readily available unless you buy them online.

 

[KyleBradley]

Your little guy is probably an otocinclus or "otto"...they stay pretty small and are "cleaner" than other plecos.

While plecos do get lazier when they get older, they are still pretty cool I try to balance my tanks out so that they don't have to work TOO hard to keep the place clean. Cories are awesome, but they dont eat algae. I probably wouldn't put a pleco in your hex unless you really have room for it...most of the dwarf plecos arent readily available unless you buy them online.

Now that you mention it, I think he is an "otto cat," as the salesman put it.. He is tiny-was when I bought him 6 months ago and is still..

I think I'll buy a pleco for my 35 gallon for the glass work, but I don't know which type to buy.. I have the cories to keep the gravel clean, and I just want a pleco that will control the glass algae..

 

[FroggyFox]

If you can find a bristlenose or bushy nose, they are pretty neat little guys and dont get real big like common ones do. Take a look through the ones available at your local stores and check out online how big they get. Some of the coolest little ones are really expensive.