Are plecos worth it???

[Gr8KarmaSF]

I have two common plecos in my tank about 8 and 5 inchers, yet always here about plecos creating more waste than their worth.

Do you agree with this???

[jenBLKAROWANA]

It depends on the pleco...mine are algae eaters, and driftwood eaters. Some of them do tend to get lazy and eat what ever leftovers are in the tank, but in contrast to what kind you have, I only get the "fancy" kind of plecos...They add to the tanks beauty. I did have one of those kind you are talking about, and it just ate the leftover food and put out some nasty waste...lol...Other than that, I really enjoy the plecos....

Jen

[fishnthings]

the beauty of the plecos are well worth it

[Phtstrat]

the beauty of the plecos are well worth it

Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. ;)

[DanDanUK]

There very good at eating waste but also equally good at producing it !

[sandtiger]

I personally like plecos...algea eating aside, and like to own them just for the sake of owning them. If all you want a pleco for is to eat algea then they are noth worth it.

[guppy]

I don't rely on any fish for cleaning up algae, some do some don't even in the same species, all require supplemental feedeing, all produce waste. On the other hand although I consider common plecos a bit bland I like magnums, highfins, zebras, poyal panaques, and all the other fancy guys, most of them also stay a bit smaller.

[Vitaliy]

My tanks are not near any windows so algae growth is not a big problem for me and usually can take care of it by simply cleaning the glass once a week. I have gotten rid of all the Plecos, gave away my last one two days actually. They crap by far more then they clean, not all that great looking unless you got some really cool and rare one.

Anyway, I am not going to own a Pleco unless it is really something special, and if I do it will not be supported by the idea that it will clean up my tank.

[sohfatfish]

Haha.. im sure all of us have encountered the lazy pleco in our aquarium hobby that doesnt do its job. But i think we should not rear the pleco based on its ability to clean the tank but rather more as a pet.

[Hasi]

I love plecos. I find them fascinating

[cabouta1]

I love plecos. I find them fascinating
me too, have about 12 right now.

[sandtiger]

I love them as well, don't have any right now though. Unless you count the two dwarf otocinclus...LOL. I like them all, even the commons. They look so cool.

[bluedempsey]

i have 2 rhino's kinda cool looking
lazy thou..

[Gr8KarmaSF]

umm all interesting comments, think i will trade in my two common plecos for a more colorful one, maybe a vampire, zebra, or gold nugget. :)

[Steve_89]

All the plecos in my tank are GREAT algea eaters.

Without them my glass and everything else would be covered in algea.

They produce waste but its nothing a quick gravel vac cannot get rid of.

[managuense-fury]

I got to go with gold nugget plecos there cool. And of course the originals.

[Waldo]

We've got acanthicus adonis, and Flash pleco's. What tankmates would that have. Adonis get 3' but are very cool looking and hardy.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=83

[twinturbo]

common plecs aren't worth the s*** trouble. but the fancy smancy plecos are worth it. shame though, the fancier they are, the less hardy they are.

[seighten]

i think it is a matter of your personal interests in fish, actually...! some are "tied" to the latest, greatest... and, some are tied to what they know, so to speak...!! i say, if you are happy with the fish you have, and am enjoying "success" in keeping those particular. then so be it!! do not let the "common" tag throw you. by any means!!

[cabouta1]

umm all interesting comments, think i will trade in my two common plecos for a more colorful one, maybe a vampire, zebra, or gold nugget. :)
Gold nuggets are awesome. Had mine till it died during a tank transfer. Looking for another one. The best looking pleco I had then. Now my royal is my favorite.

[sen_jie]

i think it zeros down to ur passion for the particular fish.
i like plecos. so i love keeping them

cheers

[Sescil]

I think plecos are awesome ... As novice fish keepers we all thought plecos were the fish to eat algae and the left over scraps ... But after years of keeping about 100 different varieties that is definitely not true ... Their colors are amazing, habits interesting and they come in all shapes and sizes ... If you haven't given them a chance then you most certainly should ...

[mon]

no plecos are interesting i like the way they feed

[joeytoe]

I like plecos, but ive steered away from the common Snowflake plecos you can find everywhere an now only buy an keep the uncommon ones.

[sleepyflight]

If there's any leftover's in the tank they'll take care of that and have a decent handle on the algea to some extent. I atleast figure if it takes care of a few leftovers by scouring the bottom....he burns some energy rather than the leftovers creating pure rotting waste. Crap breaks down a bit faster than leftovers atleast....besides someone always wonders what the heck it is.

[DeLgAdO]

i like my pleco's but they dont seem to be growing at all.

[toxicfish]

I like one of my plecos I dont know what klind it is, it looks kinda like my common ones but is darker and has big fancy fins. It has grown abt 4 inches in 6 months, it is abt 9 inches right now. But I dont like how much waste they make.

[shoefreak03]

i like my pleco's but they dont seem to be growing at all.

i feel ya, i got my royal at 8 inch more than 6 months ago and it is still the same size.

i agree that fancy ones are worth it as a show piece.

maybe one day i can find some zebra to breed.

[fishnthings]

I love plecos. I find them fascinating

same here... ;)

[loach43]

I got my royal pleco at about 3 inches a year ago. Like all royals, he has been growing VERY slowly and is probably 4 inches at best right now. This fish poops more than any fish I've ever seen. Unbelievable amounts of waste that make goldfish look constipated by comparison. I currently have him in a 29g community tank with an assortment of tiny characins. I do a 25 percent water change roughly every week ONLY because of the pleco. Is it worth it? To me it is because eventually (when I'm a much older man) he will be drop dead gorgeous and fairly large. He will also be producing insurmountable quantities of waste by then! I must admit that I would not go through all of this for a common pleco even though I think they are pretty cool too.

[Thomascl]

They are my favorit fish.

Thomas

[quix]

no other ans to this! definitely worth it! and they are actually full of character! :D

their poop can be handled in an efficient way..using powerheads to drive them to a corner where u can use a filter to suck most of them up or simply do good ole siphoning...

[loach43]

Yes indeed! Both good poo removal techniques. I'm persistent in doing both. Blowing the waste around with a powerhead or by other means helps get it out of the tank and into the filter. Plekkis love the water movement too. Gravel siphoning is important since ammonia is an enemy to all. It's pretty unbelievable how much crap I see running through my siphon hose after only one week. I've never seen anything like it. :WHOA: The water goes from clear to opaque with dookie for so long that in order to get a decent amount of waste out of the tank I wind up changing no less than 25% of the water even while using the old "control the water coming out of the siphon with your thumb" technique.
Again...................it's worth it!!!! That's my pleco pictured under my user name (obviously altered with weird colors). I love him more than ice cream! :hearts:

[peanut]

they keep the glass clean would not be without one

[tom h]

i love plecos but they are like any other fish food in poop out. i agree that if you like the fish keep the fish for the fish's sake fancy or ordinary the real challange(and reward) is keeping them alive and happy besides i heve three of them in my 45 community tank and everyone else looks out when they chase each other around the tank

[rweedon]

they are my favorite fish in all of my tanks... other than my archer...

[bmage29]

If you don't like the sight of them, just get some plants or driftwood cover. I personaly don't mind, they just stir up the gravel and eat what falls back down. Compaired to the Chinese algae eater the pleco eats allot more that the chinese type.
:WHOA:
:swear:
:thumbsup:

[starrfish71]

I love plecos-

I tend to get the "rare" or "fancy" types- currently I have two royals, one l-47 or Mango pleco, and three tiny baby Adonis plecos!

I like their colors, shapes, and personalities. Plus most keep the glass clean!

[hemiboo]

my pleco does wonders for keeping my tank clean, poo goes down the UGF and no problems have occured since i got it two years ago. I don't feed it anything. It hides most of the time and i NEVER have to clean the glass. My one pleco goes into and out of my other five tanks regularly when they turn colors from the fine layers of muck that form. Definately worth it. :headbang2 :headbang2 :headbang2 :headbang2

[CentralMayhem]

worth it for sure. i have just common sailfin plecs but thats due to most of the smaller ones being in fear of their lifes in my tanks. i have had a pleco in every tank ive ever had. the one time i decided to take mine out i traded it in at the lfs and went on vacation for a week. when i came home i freaked out. my tank was a jungle!!!!! it was back to the lfs and i bought another smaller one. no more algae problems for me. i keep my tanks near windows and brightly lit so i DO have algae growth and i have never met anything other than a crawdad that can take care of my algae as well as my pleco!!!!

[HiJinx]

A herd of snails does well for cleaning algea. Plecs are great for looking at and holding now and then.

[scott67892002]

what differance does the mess make if your doing weekly water changes just suck it up. plecs are worth the trouble! :thumbsup:

[dapike1979]

what differance does the mess make if your doing weekly water changes just suck it up. plecs are worth the trouble! :thumbsup:

To much poop :cry: :thumbsup:

[fishnutham]

all my new tanks are cat and pl*cos keep them for there beauty not to clean up thats what maintaince is for

[Im4u2nV]

besides the so called common plecos....imo plecos are worth it...unfortunately it's VERY hard to get fancy plecos in my area...

[gomezladdams]

I like plecos mine always keep the tank spotless from algae and are good looking interesting fish