Goodbuye old Pleco, Hello New Pleco.

[Newman]

As it turns out, my species of Pleco, Hypostomus Plecostomus (aka THE common pleco) is a species that loves to eat plants. no matter how much zuccini or cucumber i provide along with the algae discs, he is always annoying either the java fern or the elodia in my tank.

for being with us for 2 years, he went from 3in to a little over 6in right now. now for two years that quite pathetic for a pleco. I think hes not getting enough nutrition, or isnt happy (two years of being in a tank with constantly dying goldfish might do that to you).

So as a solution, there is no choice but to let this guy go. in his place i will buy a species of pleco (or some Cory) thats more suited to a planted aquarium. one that doesnt disturb plants, and just eats algae, I am thinking Ancistrus temminckii. it looks sorta like the common pleco in coloration, so i should be a decent substitute. OR should i go with a species of Cory? My water's gonna be alkaline (around 7.5) so what species sound good. how many Cories should i get? a school of 3 or fewer? If i decide on the bristle nose pleco i will only buy one.

So i dont really know where to give the common pleco...ive found that Petland Discounts (pet store) will accept him...but idk, ive been to numerous stores of that chain, and their fish arent that lively. im worried for his future, but this must be done. i cannot find anyone other than a pet store to take him. Should i do this?

 

[thejava1]

craigs list

 

[Newman]

Ill post an ad up on caraigs list, but im leaning toward just bringing him over to petland, since i wont be able to get any money for a 6in common pleco anyway.

ok i think Ill shy away from bristlenose plecos.
so i should've called this thread "goodbye pleco, hello corydoras cats" lol

any idea on which species would do good in water with around 7.5 pH? from what ive read, most of the species can....but idk which to pick or how many.

 

[misterking]

The issue of poor growth may be down to the fact that goldfish are coldwater, plecos tropical. If the tank isn't heated, this may have affected the growth, mine took a little over a year to go from 2 inches to a foot. If the tank IS heated, that might be what killed off your goldfish.

Corydoras also need heated tanks.

 

[thejava1]

You may already be aware, but I find Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums (drs foster and smith live fish) to have pretty good data when searching for fish. They hand you a brief discrtipn, eating habits, water conditions (temp, hardness)... I find them to be a useful too if not for buying.

 

[Newman]

Thanks guys. Yes the 40 gal became heated when the pleco was added. goldfish died by the dozens way before that so i dont think warm water killed them. i have an aranda in there right now and the tank temp often reaches 77 degrees F. its doing fine. but if it dies, that would be sad, but at the same time there would be one less plant eating fish in my tank =)

Ill try to save my pleco for as long as i can, and feed him peas, cucumber, and romaine lettuce to curb his appetite for plants. hopefully he wont touch my plants or eat them...but when he starts doing that, out he goes =(

im thinking of buying 3 cory cats, because i dont think 6 will really fit into a 40 gal effeciently.

 

[misterking]

In a 40 gal? 6 cories would work great in there providing you do actually buy corydoras, not brochis, which are often labelled as "emerald corydoras".

 

[Newman]

If i buy something like baby panda cory, do you think my 5" Spotted Raphael would try to eat them at night? lol he seems more like a scavenger more than a hunter.

are you sure 6 wont be too much? i was thinking if i was to buy 6, then i would go with the Pigmy cories. Now those are tiny fish! my raphael would totaly gulp those down lol.

what should i get? Ill be sure to get a species that doesnt really grow over 2 in.

 

[ValRasbora]

Are you looking for a bottom feeder or algae eater?
Here's a small algae-eater: Otocinclus affinis, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish
They're good little workers. It says that they grow 1.5 inch, but mine was about 2 inch.
Good luck finding the perfect cleaning-crew

 

[Newman]

I have concidered oto's but i think a school of corys will be better. hmm idk i cant really decide. Ive seen panda, peppered, albino, and pigmy cory at my LFS's

 

[misterking]

I love corys but pandas can be a bit sensitive, personally out of that list I'd go for peppered. Pandas are my favourite but I have had a hard time keeping them alive in the past.

 

[Newman]

Aww lol, i actually was leaning towards the pandas. Peppered are cool too. those dont grow too big do they? I read about 2" 1/2'
And 6 would be a good number for a 40 gal right?

 

[misterking]

Yeah, I'd call that the very upper range of their size. I used to love my peppered cories, great personalities, swimming up the big piece of driftwood in chase. 6 would be an ideal number and should work just fine in your tank.

 

[Newman]

Do you think that either my common pleco or my Spotted Raphael cat will have a problem with a group of 6 small peppered cory and a group of 4 swordtails?
The pleco is 6"
the raphael is 5"

 

[doktornowhere]

I have a 20 gal. with a common Pleco and 3 Peppered Corys. They get along fine, once in a while they get in eachother's way during feeding time. It's really funny because they all run off in different directions when they do. Like they're shocked that there is someone else who wants food.

*1st post*

 

[Newman]

welcome to the forum. Thanks for telling me that. though, ive decided to clear my tank before i add the new swordtails and cories. the pleco is now gone, and im moving the spotter raphael tomorrow.

I'm leaning toward a group of 6 peppered cory. What would be a good number of males vs females? I was thinking 4 males and 2 females.