Small Plecos

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#1
Mar 22, 2010
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#1
I recently had to rehome my common pleco because I bought him not knowing any better, and he grew to 10 inches in about six months. I traded him to a pet shop one town over for a plant, and since then, my tank has been without an algae eater.

I've been told to stay away from CAE, and SAE just don't look that appealing to me. Same with Ottos; I'm sure they do a good job, I'm just looking for a fish that looks cool to me too.

I've decided on getting another pleco, but of a variety that will stay around 5 inches when it's fully grown. I'd also like it to be relatively cheap. I've been considering a bulldog, a pit bull, a clown, or a rubber lip. I know that bristlenose also stay small, but their "hairy" noses creep me out a little so I'd like to stay away from them.

Does anyone else know of any other small plecos that won't cost too terribly much? Availability shouldn't be too huge of an issue since the local pet shop is willing to order one for me, and I imagine they can get pretty much anything.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#2
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
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#2
I think you have the list as far as the dwarf varieties of plecos. There are other fish that eat algae besides what we consider as 'algae eaters.' The American Flagfish comes to mind.
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#3
Mar 22, 2010
858
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#3
I've really got my heart set on a pleco. I just think they're cool looking fish, and my last one had a lot of personality. I'll let you guys know what variety I end up ordering and try to post some pictures of it whenever it gets here and get acclimated.
 

lstorns

lstorns

Medium Fish
#5
Aug 8, 2010
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#5
all the price friendly ones I would suggest are unattractive to ya. and the others are pricey but I will say this if you have to rethink the unattractive ones the oto cats do the job and stay very small so you can keep em in small schools and almost any fish look a lot cooler in schools.

ps I would stay away from the CAE , SAE as they get aggressive when they get bigger.
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#7
Mar 22, 2010
858
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#7
The only one that'd I'd say I don't like is the bristlenose, its just that I prefer a pleco to all the other species. Ottos look cool, I just want something a tad bigger that doesn't need to be in a school.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#8
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
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0
Northern Arizona
#8
I just got a clown pleco and he's adorable. They only get to be about 2.5-3". I REALLY love my bristlenose pleco in the 55gal. I don't know how well my clown pleco eats algae, though, as I just barely got him yesterday.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#10
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#10
Yeah, but how much did that gold zebra pleco cost (and are you sure it was a true zebra pleco? I googled gold zebra pleco and got nothing...could it have been a clown pleco that they put a fancy name on? 'Cuz clown plecos look like gold-colored zebra plecos...or it could have been a gypsy king tiger pleco)? Regular zebra plecos cost close to $200. :eek:

Just thought of another one for you, ryan...gypsy king tiger pleco. They only get about 5" or so.
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#11
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
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Yelm, WA
#11
I almost hate to add this because of my inexperience, but I got two otos when my tank was only going for probably three weeks - not only that but due to the lack of pure ammonia I was doing a fish-in cycle. It is now 4 month later, the tank is cycled and those two are still going strong. They are doing a good job. I do have a couple of live plants. At first I also had a couple of plants that OC told me weren't really aquarium plants, maybe that helped for the short time they survived. No way am I recommending this - it is just what happened to me.
 

bassbonediva

bassbonediva

Superstar Fish
#12
Oct 15, 2009
2,010
0
0
Northern Arizona
#12
Thyra, sometimes otos are healthy and happy and thrive...other times they die before you get them home. You've heard how otos are collected in the wild, right (you can't buy tank-bred otos...they are all wild-caught using cyanide that is put into the river. The fish float to the top, are collected and shipped)? So yeah, sometimes you get some that are extremely hardy. I had one for over a year (close to a year and a half, actually) that somehow lost an eye after I got her, but still was going strong. She survived my uncycled and over-crowded 18gal tall (the first one I had) and the uncycled 46gal bowfront (the first incarnation of it), only to die when my 55gal went Chernobyl.
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#13
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#13
Yes I read how they were caught. They are interesting little fish and certainly active. Yours obviously did well too for a long period of time. I am hoping to have some in my new tank but plan on approaching it differently and not just depending on luck.
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#14
Mar 22, 2010
858
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#14
Man, that gypsy tiger king one is cool looking, too bad it costs so much.
I'll probably end up with either a bulldog or a clown, probably just depending on what's cheaper.
I just scanned through the profiles on this site, and the Starry Night breed is cool
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#17
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#17
I paid $8 I think for my common pleco from Walmart. I keep meaning to go to the petstore and at least get prices but I keep missing them since I don't know their hours. The fact that my school mascot is a bulldog and that I'm able to buy a bulldog fish just occurred to me, so I feel obligated now. Unless there's a huge price difference that's the one I'll be getting.
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#19
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#19
As much as I wanted a bulldog pleco, I went to the store and talked it over, and it'd be Thursday until it came in. I'm incredibly impatient, so I get a Whiptail Pleco instead, which should grow to the same size. He's floating in the bag right now, and I'm really happy with the purchase.

I mean, I love my college and all, but
beats
in my book.
 

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