Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: LoveTheFishies on September 20, 2013, 07:22:27 PM
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Hi, so I have a couple tanks with various peacocks and haps. There are also syno's. I've been seeing that bristle nose pleco's do a good job with keeping algae in check. Would there be any issue putting a pleco in if there are also syno's in the tank? Just wondering
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In my 55 gal I have 4 Synodontis in with my 1 Bristlenose Pleco and they don't bother him at all.
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In my peacock tank I have 6 synodontis petricola and a bristlenose and clown pleco and all get along but I have a lot of slate rock built up and a few smaller pieces of drift wood. As longs as there are plenty of places to hide and the size of your tank you keep them in is big enough to house all the fish/cats/plecos
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Good to know. I have a 69 gal bow front (4'), with a lot of holey rock and slate. Think I'll get a pleco th keep the place cleaned up.
How many do you think I would put in a 195gal(6')?
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How many plecos? A couple 4 or 6 they don't get that big unless you wanted to get a more fancy bigger L series all depends really.
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I looked at some of the various species of plecos on aquariumlife.net. Really like the looks of the following...
Baryancistrus sp L177 aka gold nugget pleco
Hypancistrus zebra aka Zebra pleco
Ancistrus sp. l182 aka Starlight bristle nose
Any of these better than the others on "house keeping" duty?
Thanks
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I looked at some of the various species of plecos on aquariumlife.net. Really like the looks of the following...
Baryancistrus sp L177 aka gold nugget pleco
Hypancistrus zebra aka Zebra pleco
Ancistrus sp. l182 aka Starlight bristle nose
Any of these better than the others on "house keeping" duty?
Thanks
Gold nuggets and zebra plecos (I assume L046?) are both hard to keep alive if you're newer to plecos and/or don't have time to constantly monitor them. I forget what Pete Durkin said at an MCAS presentation last year about importing gold nuggets but at least at one point I think he was doing good to keep 1 out of 25 alive via the shipping process. And they can be finicky once you get them into the aquarium.
Beyond that, they are both expensive. Zebra plecos for example go for like $150+ depending on size ($200-300 each for adults at breeding size when you can even find them).
I'm not sure about the starlights.
If you want something that will clean up brown algae and leftover food scraps, the common bristlenose varieties of ancistrus (brown, albino, calico, blue eyed, lemon drop, and the like) are probably your best bet. They stay small, they're hardy, and they are cheap.
If you want to do just a pleco tank by all means go for it, but I would not mix expensive L# plecos like gold nuggets or zebras especially with synodontis or other hardier african catfish.
L# plecos are beautiful and worth keeping. But they also do best in a species tank especially for breeding, or at least a geographically oriented tank like with neons or angelfish or similar that won't bug them.
This is not only because of risk of loss, but also because of different water preferences.
SA plecos like softer water. African catfish like harder water. Synodontis like meatier foods, while most (not all) of the SA plecos are more vegetarian in their diet - cucumber, zucchini, melon, romaine, etc. Ancistrus like a bit more meat so might be a better match (e.g. bristlenose) with synodontis.
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Any of these better than the others on "house keeping" duty?
Well, H. zebra is much more a carnivore than an algae eater. ;)
If you haven't found PlanetCatfish.com, it's a great site to look up dietary requirements, approximate sizes, and other information about particular species so long as you know the scientific name or L-number of whatever you want information on.
As for "house keeping" in general, IMO it's a misnomer. I think you should keep plecos if you enjoy them. I wouldn't expect them to keep a tank algae free and be happy. (They will either be hungry or you'll have algae.)
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Any of these better than the others on "house keeping" duty?
If you haven't found PlanetCatfish.com, it's a great site to look up dietary requirements, approximate sizes, and other information about particular species so long as you know the scientific name or L-number of whatever you want information on.
You can also search by (some) common names at PlanetCatfish.com. Great site.
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Any of these better than the others on "house keeping" duty?
If you haven't found PlanetCatfish.com, it's a great site to look up dietary requirements, approximate sizes, and other information about particular species so long as you know the scientific name or L-number of whatever you want information on.
You can also search by (some) common names at PlanetCatfish.com. Great site.
One would need to proceed with caution doing that, because what you find may or may not be the correct fish. :(
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Thanks for the info guys. I looked at a dozen or so pleco's that were listed on one website. I was looking for a little variety and interest. Also, one of the posts I read last week one dealing with algae growth mentioned the bristle nose pleco as being helpful in keeping the holey rock cleaned up.
I have no interest in breeding at this point. It would be easy for me to turn into one of the people who have a fish room. Showing restraint at this time. That being said, I have a 69g with various peacocks and haps, a 60g with various smaller fish I'm growing out, and a 195 show tank that will be put in this fall.
There are some syno's I like to see scurrying around and am looking for something that will play well with the other cichlids and be a little different.
Leave it to me to pick something that is expensive and hard to care for.
I'll do some more research before I get anything.
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What do you guys think about Baryancistrus sp. LDA33, aka snowball pleco? Several sites have said they mix with African cichlids and like similar water parameters.