are plecos aggressive?

[aussietroy]

im very keen on getting a pleco, only ones available are common and sailfin or leapord plecos at lfs,
i have heard they are aggressive, and poteionaly eat other fish?
what fish can you keep with plecos?
im asking you guys cause yous are the experts who keep these fish,

thanks for your time

 

[pat3612]

im very keen on getting a pleco, only ones available are common and sailfin or leapord plecos at lfs,
i have heard they are aggressive, and poteionaly eat other fish?
what fish can you keep with plecos?
im asking you guys cause yous are the experts who keep these fish,

thanks for your time

For me I have never had my plecos attack another fish, they will eat eggs and fry I have 3 a Royal a common and a leapord with 6 catfish Ive had them over 3 years I aslso have Jack dempseys and giant danios with them.

 

[Linus_Cello]

A more important concern is the size of your tank and the amount of filtration. The plecos you mentioned can get quite large (10 to 16 inches), and will need a lot of filtration and/or water changes.

If you have a smaller tank, I would look for the clown plecos: Panaque maccus (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=734). They stay small (about 4 inches max), may be found in LFS, and are not aggressive. Another pleco you may want to look for is the rubbermouth or bulldog, Chaetostoma aff. milesi (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=407), though they get a little bigger at 5 inches.
Lastly, another "pleco" are Otocinclus (like, O. vittatus). They stay very small, and are great algae eaters (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=107).

However, I realize that you may be limited in your selection in Australia; here in the USA we can find these plecos occassionally in most LFS.

 

[Warborg]

Plecos will fight with each other if there are not enough hiding places.

Also the myth of them eating other fish, this only happens when they are underfed, some owners think plecos cleaning the tank is all the food they need... which is false. Plecos need their own supply of food in the tank.

 

[jconley]

Most Pleco are certainly capable of defending themselves when threatened, but rarely do you come across a truly aggressive one. It does happen occasionally though. I have seen very well fed plecos chase down and pin goldfish to get at their slime coat. I have also witnessed a common pleco pouncing on and eating an Angel fish.
They will definitely be aggressive towards each other when arguing over territory. Watch your hands when dealing with any of the bigger pseudancistrus sp. as they can cheerfully take a swipe at your hands with their spiny bodies( had more than a few big Cactus and Scarlets do this over the years!).