Non wood-gnawing plecos?

[Big Vine]

Are there any of the 'fancier' varieties which fit this category?

I'm looking for pleco(s) that are robust enough to house in my 55 gal. with a spawning pair of salvini cichlids. Ideally I'd like to find a type of pleco that will scavenge-up a lot of the uneaten food (esp. fry food) that settles at the bottom of the tank.

There's lots of driftwood in there, and I don't want them making a mess of things by gnawing driftwood (I've got lots in this tank) and getting little bits of it all over the place.
Or do the so-called 'wood-gnawing' plecos really even make a mess of driftwood as I have just described, or am I over-reacting?

Figuring out whether or not they'll survive in with spawning salvini will also be part of my mission prior to deciding on a pleco. Basically I'm searching for a sturdy, robust, yet handsome-looking pleco that will help clean up the food at the bottom of the tank.

Thanks.
BV

 

[FroggyFox]

Can't really say anything to help ya out on this, except that my pleco gnaws on the driftwood and doesn't make noticeable mess. Lets put it this way, his poo is a bigger mess in the tank than anything with the wood

For cleaning up food on the bottom though, have you thought about just trying an apple snail in there? They're great at scavenging.

 

[Big Vine]

his poo is a bigger mess in the tank than anything with the wood

Hehe...well then I guess I probably don't need to worry about the driftwood/mess issue. Probably I was just a little paranoid on account of housing crays in tanks with driftwood---they gnaw at it quite a bit and make a huge mess. Of course, the crays are probably just after tiny organisms in the driftwood as opposed to the actual driftwood itself (whereas the plecos actually would eat the actual wood, right?).

For cleaning up food on the bottom though, have you thought about just trying an apple snail in there? They're great at scavenging.

I have, actually.
How exactly do you distinguish between an apple snail and a mystery snail?

Once upon a time the Petland in my area had tanks labeled with both types of snails...seems to me that the 'apple snail' tank had bigger snails with mostly black on them and black bodies. Are they always predominantly black with some faint stripes on their shells?
(I've seen ones like this more recently, but they've never been labeled as 'apple snails'; sticker always says 'black mystery snails')

Thanks, Froggy.


Back to plecos...
Forget the thing I said about no wood-gnawing (it probably doesn't make as much of a mess, if any, as I thought).

I'm looking for a fancier type which is robust enough to survive long-term in with what will eventually be 6" spawning, aggressive CA cichlids.

BV

 

[Pure]

L66 King tiger gets large enough to handle himself well in this situation, As far as I know non of the hypancistrus eat wood, they are all meat eaters and will do a good job of scavaging uneated fry food. The L66 is one of the largest hyps there is reaching 6 or so inches.

 

[Big Vine]

Thanks Pure...carnivorous plecos are definitely a plus. Omnivorous plecos with highly-carnivorous tendencies would also work well.

I'm not too worried about the wood-eating aspect anymore, because I don't think it would make the type of mess that I was envisioning.

Know of any 'robust' plecos that would be more readily available locally?

Maybe I should just look up a bunch at the LFS's around here and report back on any questions I have on specific species; after I've researched them myself, of course. There seems to be thousands to choose from on the online species profiles over at Planetcatfish, so I think I'll just see what the LFS's have.

BV

 

[Pure]

It will also help to inquire as to what they can get in on the import sheets. Wright it down then come back and tell me what you can get. The only messy wood eaters are the royals. Man they make a mess and have turds as big as a pencil that float.

 

[Pure]

Duh omniverous with carnivor tendancies LDA33 are commonly available, ask for "snow ball plecos" They also do not hide and often stay out in plain veiw, but get up to 9 inches. Your 55 should be able to support that. If your looking for something smaller that you will put in a fry tank L134 is another one that fits your description.

 

[FreshwaterJeff]

I was about to say - where's the Peckoltia recommendation?

I'm still looking, btw...

 

[Big Vine]

Salvini and tetras are fed a highly carnivorous diet which also includes some omnivorous foods; hence why I made that specification.

omniverous with carnivor tendancies LDA33 are commonly available, ask for "snow ball plecos"

So anything labeled "snow ball pleco" should fit the bill here? I'm assuming there are several varieties/color variants? I've seen what are essentially very dark plecos with white/light spotting all over them, and I think they were selling these as "snowball plecos" of some sort.

I guess I'm trying to ask---is the specific LDA33 number absolutely critical, or is anything labeled as "snowball pleco" a safe bet? lol

The 9 inches shouldn't be a problem.
In all likelihood I'll be getting rid of a number of the tetras anyway---either by choice (to reduce the bioload) or not by choice (salvini devour them). Both scenarios will lighten the bioload and should allow the 9" pleco fairly comfortably.

The only messy wood eaters are the royals. Man they make a mess and have turds as big as a pencil that float.

LMAO...I shall avoid these like the plague!

Thanks again, Pure. If you could get back to me on the concerns I had about the snowball pleco, that'd be great. Other than that, I was thinking maybe gold nuggets, but I've heard they can be pretty touchy/sensitive. I'm not even sure about their diets either.

I've also got 2 clown plecos in a tank that is way too small for them.
They're a bit beat-up from having been housed with spawning convicts and crayfish.

Not sure on how carnivorous they get. They hide a little much for my liking though.

BV

 

[Pure]

Yes LDA33 is an important number, study this link PlanetCatfish::Cat-eLog::Loricariidae::Baryancistrus sp(lda33) so you can readily ID them, the shape of the 4 plates of the mouth is an important form of identification.

Gold nugs are no good for your intentions as their diet is mostly going to be the biofilm that forms on everything in the tank. They may eat flake ect out of starvation but it isn't natural for them. The clowns are also no good as they are a wood eating species and 90% of their diet should be from wood munching.

 

[Big Vine]

The only thing that concerns me is what the PCF site claims about their feeding...which doesn't sound a whole lot different from the gold nugget description. Here's what they say about LDA33:

An omnivorous grazer of biofilm. Shows a fondness for sweet potato and algae wafers.

Is this correct and, if so, does this make for an unsuitable choice?

Other than that, I looked at a ventral pic with it sucking on the side of the glass, and the 4 'feeding plates' were fairly obvious---only challenge will be to get it to suck on the front of the glass at the LFS.

What do you think about the PCF site's claim about their feeding primarily off of the 'biofilm'?

As for my 2 clown plecos...
I do have about 11 pieces of Malaysian driftwood in the 55 gal. tank---would that be suitable for them? I suppose the only problem is that they wouldn't clean up any uneaten foods that settle on the bottom, which is the main goal I'm after.

Either way, I'll try to get some info. at the LFS's over the next few days and then report back with what I find. I'll check them against PCF first though.

BV

 

[Pure]

Doh my bad, it's a Baryancistrus sp, the same as a gold nug. I don't know why I thought it had carnivorous tendancies....no one is perfect

Any of these will work PlanetCatfish::Cat-eLog::Thumbnails of species L025 and L114 being 2 of my favorites. Both seem to be readily available at the moment how ever you may have to turn to aquabid for one. Your dealer may be able to special order one.

 

[Big Vine]

That L025 a.k.a. 'Scarlet Pleco' looks pretty cool, but I think it gets a tad large for my setup. Even when I do get a bigger setup down the road, it still might be too big (PCF claims 17.0"+). Unless of course they grow really, really slowly.

If it weren't for the size issue, this would be my # 1 choice.

As for the L114 a.k.a. 'Leopard Cactus Pleco'...
Seems like a much more appropriate size, and is fairly colorful as well. I'll probably go with this one. Matter of fact, I think I recall seeing some labeled as "Leopard Plecos" at an LFS---probably the same thing then, right? I'm a little confused as to why PCF also lists LDA07 for this particular species.

Either way, I think we have a winner! Thanks, Pure! *thumbsups

BV

 

[Pure]

Different L, LDA numbers given to the same species is due to them being found in an unrelated tributary, stream, ditch, what ever. L numbers are assigned by apearance and location of collection. Hey it's not a perfect system but it works.

 

[Big Vine]

Makes sense though...thanks for clearing that up.

I'll be hitting some LFS's today to look for a "leopard pleco" (L114 and LDA07 will be the numbers I insist upon---if it's anything else, I'll pass, because I won't know what the hell it is).

Sound like a plan?

Thanks again, Pure!
BV

 

[Big Vine]

Leopard Pleco!

No luck yesterday because the stores I wanted to check out were closed for Easter...of course the big chains were open, but they're useless when it comes to plecos.

No worries though, because I got out this morning and picked up an L114. It was in a tank with another L114 and some sort of 'snowballish-looking' pleco.

Now I'm a happy camper again.
BV

 

[Big Vine]

When to add to salvini tank?

EDIT:

Let me re-phrase this...
I plan on adding my new 2.0" leopard pleco to the 55 gal. tank (with the 3.5" and 3.0" salvini cichlids) tonight---right at lights-out.

There are tons of hiding spots for the pleco, so I'm sure the sals won't pester him too much, if at all. He's only been in QT for a couple days, but I wanna make sure I add him before the sals start spawning again.

IF you *coughPurecough* think this is a bad idea, please let me know what I should do differently. Otherwise, I'll let you know how it all turns out.

BV

 

[Pure]

I think it is an excelent idea. And he should be ok. I thought you were keeping him in the 3 gal because you wanted him to get a little larger before putting him in with the Sals, but like you said he should be ok.

BTW slate caves are VERY easy to DIY.

 

[Big Vine]

Awesome, thanks Pure.
In retrospect, putting him in the 3 gal. was probably unnecessary. I was thinking QT, but then I only left him in there for about 2 days, lol.

I stuck a bunch of food in the 55 gal. right before adding him, and then turned out the light as soon as I dropped him in the water. The male sal chased him, but quickly left him alone as he squished himself between a rock and the side of the tank.

I haven't looked for him today, but there's plenty of hiding spots, so I'm not too worried about his safety. He also appears to have been feeding while in the 3 gallon tank (of course he would never do so while I was sitting patiently after lights-out; watching intently for 20 straight minutes ). The morning after feeding some bloodworms, I found a bunch of hollow skin-casings...the pleco is the only critter in the tank, so he must have eaten them.

Any idea on (roughly) how quickly I should expect him to grow?

BV