What type of pleco?
I had my clowns with a common plec. It's a different topic altogether but he was the most gentle, personal giant of a fish I ever had, and I loved, until I accidentally killed him.
But what you're describing above sounds more like a bushy nose/bristle nose or similar. They are feisty.....I've had one of them for years. He is ruling my clowns. They don't touch him...They tried................
I posted a pic on planet catfish last year and someone identified it as a hypostomus pleco. It makes sense as apparently they used to sell those more in the past whearas now I think they sell Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps or similar as "plecos" at the store.
Of course I didn't know when I bought him that they get huge: like many I bought him as an algae eater. Fortunately he only got to 12" and isn't the 22" kind. I've had him for around as long as the clown Loaches.
When I neglected the tank for years, there wasn't any conflict. They used to share the one log cave as I have pics of Mama Loach half in and the pleco half in and they'd just lay there.
The pleco bothers mama Loach (what I call the big alpha Loach) usually when the light is on and she gets too close or he wants to go in that cave. When the lights are off (lights go on at 330pm so if I look at tank in morning I'll see her out), she usually can swim by the pleco without him bothering her.
He ignores the smaller Loaches for the most part. Sometimes if there's an algae wafer by him, he'll chase the clown Loaches away from him but often he won't bother them at all even with food near him.
Pleco just seems territorial with Mama Loach especially. He won't chase her to the other side of the tank. If she leaves the cave he likes or leaves his area that he's in, he won't chase her any farther.
With the cave I ultimately flipped over (which looks like a boat now and both the pleco and the little clowns can be found laying in it throughout the day) Mama loach used to not want to.move. the pleco would just physically push her with his nose until she was pushed out of the cave.
Ultimately I think a bigger tank will solve this as there will be more space and caves and she'll have room to be active without getting near the pleco at all.
My mother really likes that pleco and named him "A-rod". I think she likes him bc she used to feed him zucchini years ago when I was away at college and when I'd go away on trips (I stopped feeding zucchini bc it makes too much of mess in my opinion). I won't get rid of him bc though he annoys me at times, I have had him a long time.
Edit:
I've seen a smaller clown Loach and panda garra sit on top of the pleco and the pleco just ignore them. I've seen panda garra rasp on a wafer near him and he doesn't react. It definitely seems to be triggered by Mama Loach's size.
