View Full Version : pleco vs acrylic
Does anyone know if a large pleco will scratch cellcast acrylic? It would be great to have a few plecos to help keep the algae down. How about other algae eaters? Any experience?
Thanks
KNH
MATTCB
12-26-2005, 9:24 PM
if you like your tank, dont do it.
DeLgAdO
12-26-2005, 9:25 PM
pleco's dont do **** for algae
your better off with a mag-float
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/Picture_254.jpg (http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=2/medium/Picture_254.jpg)
rayman45
12-26-2005, 9:31 PM
the ... chinse algea eaters are great
cougar579
12-26-2005, 10:10 PM
I have a large acrylic tank as well. Algae is a concern for me. I have free floating plants in my sump which help control algae. Make sure you have some good lighting to keep the plants healthy. I have a large bio-load so this makes the plants happy.
Ornatapinnis
12-26-2005, 10:17 PM
Some pleco's like Panique species will scratch acrylic aquariums with thier mouth.
Big "hyposyomus" species might not be as bad but still may be able to make some minor scratches.
The "chinese" algae eater does not seem to have such an abrasive mouth. I also like common old black sharks (the one that looks like a red tail shark with out the red tail) for algae clean up. Procholodus are great algae eaters too.
As per the algae magnets, the mag-float that is acrylic safe is the "blue" colored one. You must be very careful that it is very clean on both the inside and outside magnet "pad" and also make sure the pad has not shifted. If the pad shifts or moves a little, bade plastic will be exposed to your tank while your cleanng and will scratch your tank. Be very careful down at the gravel too so you don't pick up any "grit" while cleaning.
Joel
DeLgAdO
12-26-2005, 10:41 PM
Some pleco's like Panique species will scratch acrylic aquariums with thier mouth.
Big "hyposyomus" species might not be as bad but still may be able to make some minor scratches.
The "chinese" algae eater does not seem to have such an abrasive mouth. I also like common old black sharks (the one that looks like a red tail shark with out the red tail) for algae clean up. Procholodus are great algae eaters too.
As per the algae magnets, the mag-float that is acrylic safe is the "blue" colored one. You must be very careful that it is very clean on both the inside and outside magnet "pad" and also make sure the pad has not shifted. If the pad shifts or moves a little, bade plastic will be exposed to your tank while your cleanng and will scratch your tank. Be very careful down at the gravel too so you don't pick up any "grit" while cleaning.
Joel
blue huh?
wtf its black and the package said it was for acrylic :confused:
rayman45
12-26-2005, 10:42 PM
the blue one is for plastic... i got the white one for glass
rallysman
12-26-2005, 10:45 PM
blue huh?
wtf its black and the package said it was for acrylic :confused:
Yours looks blue to me :ROFL:
DeLgAdO
12-27-2005, 12:57 AM
Yours looks blue to me :ROFL:
ohhhhhhhhh i thought you meant the scrubbing part
silly me :grinno:
Bizdaddy
12-27-2005, 11:55 AM
Have any of you personally had a pleco scratch acrylic, or just heard about it? I kept a Royal Pleco(in the Panaque genus) in a 125g acrylic tank for about 7 years with no problems. That tank is still up without scratches(at least from the pleco).
Any first hand experience with scratching out there? I'd love to hear about it.
Justin
CentralMayhem
12-27-2005, 1:38 PM
Delgado. how can you say plecos dont do **** for algae. that is 100% false. at the beginning of this year i took out my pleco from my 90 gallon and put him in my 300. i had never had an algae problem in my 90 so i figured i didnt need him. well i went to idaho for a week and when i returned i came home to a green swamp inside my tank. if you dont feed your pleco other **** and he doesnt get enough food from the regular tank feedings then i guarantee you that they will eat algae. some may be better than others, but the common pleco and the sailfin plecos are great diatom( brown film on glass) consumers. they may not eat hair algae very much and dont do that great of a job at getting the green encrusting algae off the glass, but you should come to my house and check out my tank and then take my pleco home with you and come back in a week and you will see the bayou that my tank turns into without my pleco. i have my tank right in front of a huge window and i run 4- 96 watt pc bulbs on it. it dont take long for the algae to over run it. so a pleco may not eat ALL algae but they do a very good job at eating the algae they like. i would never be without one. and mine have been in my acrylic tank and i have no problems with scratching. but then again mine arent 2 ft either
pleco's are cool , but what type of fish are you houseing.. ?? some cichlid's need a little algee in there diet ... Imo pleco's unless decorative ex: golden nugget , zebra, brushy nose , royal , etc SUX A$$ ... my experience with them is they make hella lota poop... that's not twine or fishing line trailing from it's rear... some one mentioned CHINESE ALGE eater's , they are good Imo :D and good placement of the tank help's control! not stop! all together .. and intensite of light ,and oh yeah don't put light's stolen off the L.A freeway on your tank!! either..... :D lol
CentralMayhem
12-27-2005, 4:17 PM
plecos do crap a lot but as long as you are doing your water changes all the time then it shouldnt be a problem. i vacuum my gravel every time i do a water change so it isnt a problem that they ****. they **** because they are eating your algae!!!
DeLgAdO
12-27-2005, 5:21 PM
the only problem I have I a thin film that developes on the acrylic, ive never had an algae problem before and my tank is next to my front door and a window
Yes pleco's can scratch acrilic, but not all of them will. I would get something that stays smaller because as mentioned before a big Hyposthomus doesn't want to climb the wall to eat and wont do jack for you. Stay away from Panaque as they will definatly eat your tank! Ask to see if someone has kept the pleco you are looking for because if they eat driftwood their equiped to eat your tank.
Suggestions
L-116
L-231
Royal FORLOWELLA
Ptersturiosoma microps
Bushynose pleco's
Chaetestoma sp (rubberlip, bulldog, pittbull pleco)
If you have other small gentle fish with them you can also do a shiz load of
Oto's
Chinese Algea eaters are great on algea, but heed my warning. FLAT SLOW FISH are going to get their slime coat eaten. They do a lot of moving around and can stress some fish out. CAE's are actually a member of the loaches, and like high protien mixed in so they don't get the problems pleco's might if they are fed high protien.
DeLgAdO
12-27-2005, 5:58 PM
i wonder if odballs 35'' pleco has ever chewed a hole through his tank if it was acrylic :D
Acanthicus are a bad idea.....
I've had a 15-17" Common Pleco in my large acrylic tank before and never had any problems with them scratching up the inside of the tank. Actually he was a great algae eater, i never had to scrub off any algae that was inside the aquarium, he kept it looking really clean!
But now i have 2 12" Pleco's in there.. 1 is the common and 1 is the SailFin Pleco, and they do a hella of a great job too, no algae whatsoever! :D
So about Pleco's scratching up acrylic tanks... I've heard of it before, but i don't believe in it.
Bizdaddy
12-28-2005, 11:39 AM
Panaque DO NOT scratch acrylic. I had a Royal Pleco in my 125 for about 7 years, no scratches.
Again, does anyone have any REAL first hand experience with plecos scratching acrylic tanks?
Justin
Ornatapinnis
12-28-2005, 11:53 AM
I disagree about panaque, my blue eye did scratch the inside of an acrylic tank. THis was many years ago (10 or so) and better acrylics exist now than back then so perhaps that had something to do with it.
I had another pleco that scratched the inside of an acrylic tank, I think it was a pseudocanthus leopardus (not positive but I'm thinking that's what it was)
Anymore I keep little plecos in acrylic to be safe....
Bizdaddy
12-29-2005, 11:36 AM
This tank is definately not new. I bought it 10 years ago, and it had already been around the block...a few times. The Royal Pleco was about 7-8"(long story, but I got him stunted like that, and he didn't grow more than 1" in the 7 years I had him). I've also had Sailfin Plecos(P. Gibbiceps), Clown plecos(small, but a wood eater), and Gold Nugget plecos in acrylic tanks, never had a problem.
I'd love to see some pics of pleco damage if anyone has some. I'd like to see what it looks like.
Justin
Ornatapinnis
12-29-2005, 11:50 AM
My sailfin was never a problem either nor were my clown pleco's.
The tank started looking foggy in a couple areas, upon closer inspection, the foggyness was hundreds of tiny scratches being caused by the blue eve cleaning off the surface. THis tank got direct sunlight on one of the ends so it allways had algae on it so the blue eye was constantly working that area.
I don't have the tank anymore so I can't take a picture of it. Even more sad, I don't have the Blue eye anymore either.
I am amazed at some of the things I have seen with fish causing scratches. I have a 300 acrylic right now that has scratch markes in it from a large clown trigger swimming back and forth in it. His body was abrasive and left tiny scratches the whole lengh of the tank. He (the clown trigger) has scratched up the end panel of a glass aquarium with his teeth. He can seea another trigger in an aquarium next to him and is trying to get to it. That same aquarium (the 300 acrylic) has a large puffer in it right now. The puffer gets excited when people are at the tank, he's thinking he's going to get fed. He daily puts big scratches in the tank with his teeth. Cool fish but annoying.....
Get a UV sterilizer if you are so worried about algae.A chinese high finned loach does wonders for algae also.
Ornatapinnis
01-02-2006, 8:42 AM
A U.V. sterilizer will not prevent or retard algae from growing on your glass & decorations. I will kill suspended algae though....
I think that if a pleco could eat acryllic he would probably be able to rasp away the cilicone siding on glass tanks too. So far my two royal plecos or rubber plecos have done neither.