Gotta follow the pic trend

May 28, 2003
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Food Chain, Ontario
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#1
Hello all. The other day, while vacuuming my gravel (and, subsequently, lots of pleco poo) I was wondering why I keep the damn things at all! They eats lots, they poo lots, they don't clean the glass or that rock or the gravel, and they're a little skittery and are usually hiding somewhere. But, look at that, how can you not love a critter that cute?

Hold on while i figure this out...

 

Last edited:

ecotank

Superstar Fish
Aug 30, 2003
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#2
That looks like a Candy Stripe Pl*co. If it is, you won't find them cleaning the glass or anything else as they are not effective algae eaters. The best pl*co for eating algae IMO is a common pl*co, but they get huge! The Candy Stripe will only get around 4 inches. And yes they are very cute :)
 

May 28, 2003
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Food Chain, Ontario
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#3
ecotank - yes, after some research that I did *after* I bought these things (which were sold to me as clown plecos) I found out they are 'chocolate banded' plecos, which as far as I can tell, can also be called candy stripes. :D Upon further research, they are mostly carniverous. Before I found that out, I bought a bunch of different kinds of algae / sinking wafers, a zucchini clip (I detest zucchini, too!) and numerous other things that I thought would make them happy. They do go for the Hikari algae wafers, but they like Nutrafin Sinking meat tablets too. :D My boyfriend thinks I'm crazy. Perhaps rightly so. 'Why don't you get rid of them if they don't eat algae?' he says. I refer him to the picture.