Cleanup Crew for Aggressive Central American Tank

[duanes]

I agree with the others that poo poo Plecos.
They produce more waste in comparison to any clean up they accomplish.
If you want them for what they are, or for ability to slightly use up algae, that's one thing, but as a clean up crew for other stuff,?????
Certain Plecos become more carnivorous as they age, and will suck the slime coat off large cichlids as they sleep,
I also agree with those using cone snails, they break down metabolism by-products, making these more readily available for bactria in the filters, loosening the substrate, and keep it from caking and going anoxic.

 

[skjl47]

I agree with the others that poo poo Plecos.
They produce more waste in comparison to any clean up they accomplish.
If you want them for what they are, or for ability to slightly use up algae, that's one thing, but as a clean up crew for other stuff,?????
Certain Plecos become more carnivorous as they age, and will suck the slime coat off large cichlids as they sleep,
I also agree with those using cone snails, they break down metabolism by-products, making these more readily available for bactria in the filters, loosening the substrate, and keep it from caking and going anoxic.

Hello; This post says pretty much what I might say so I strongly second it. Double on the use of snails part.

 

[neutrino]

I've had a variety of pleco species and ime species vary significantly in the amount of waste they produce. In other words, the big waste producing species give the others a bad name. It's a bad assumption to extrapolate what a hypostomus or royal pleco does to smaller species or to something like a green phantom and its relatives, but that's what seems to happen. Another source of the misconception may be a misunderstanding of what some species should actually eat, as well as the junk 'algae' wafers some people feed their plecos. For example, here's a partial ingredient list of a well known 'algae' wafer:
Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Wheat Germ Meal, Starch, Dried Seaweed Meal, Dried Bakery Product, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate Dehydrated, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Soybean Meal...

Starch, soybean meal, 'dried bakery product', or some of the other ingredients hardly fit the bill for wood scraping species (which means they get a lot of their nutrients from the flora and fauna consuming the wood) or carnivorous leaning species. It would be no wonder if they produced extra waste on such a diet.

I kept an L001 in different tanks and with a variety of cichlids, found him to be pretty adaptable, haps and peacocks, C. gibberosa (kapampa), severums, green terrors, other plecos; none bothered him, he didn't bother them or would stand up for himself if they tried to pester him. Don't know a lot about Texas cichlids, so I can't speak to that. The L001 didn't produce noticeable amounts of waste, certainly less than the kapampa. Mine ate enough algae to suit me but didn't keep the tank spotless like a bushynose might.

 

[Gourami Swami]

I agree that MTS are the best option for actual maintenance help. Plecos really make so much poop it's unbelievable. I fully believe the bristlenose pleco in my last tank made as much crap as the rest of the fish combined. They spend all day turning algae into poop. Algae is much better for the cleanliness of the tank than poop everywhere. I love plecos, but prefer not to keep them for this reason.

 

[skjl47]

Is there anything that can live with these critters to do algae / biofilm patrol and vacuum the bottom without getting butchered?

hello; I guess the thing is that scavengers (bottom feeders and such) are still fish and produce their own waste. The do not turn around and eat that waste. Once the nutritional portion, if any, of animal waste is used up we are left with stuff that just has to be physically removed from the tank.
Vegetarian animals often have digestive systems which are not very efficient. Cows for example make waste that might still have 50% of the food value left in it. Dried cow patties can be and are burned to cook with by folks who have deforested their land.
I had a common pleco that made copious unsightly waste. There was still plenty of food material in the plecos waste. I added some Ramshorn snails which consumed the food portion of the pleco waste and I wound up with a lot of snails. I still had the snail waste which no one would touch and which I simply had to siphon out of the tank during WC

Pipe dream?

hello; You may get some algae eaten but in the end you are the clean-up crew.

 

[Serpentine]

Lots of good advice!

Sounds like MTS are the way to go.

I love plecos but yes, they are poopy. I do carefully consider the species though. I actually breed bristlenose plecos. You get a lot of algae cleaning in a small package. They would be mincemeat in an aggressive CA tank though. The L001 and L330 were considered because they also eat algae but they are much bigger and tougher. Then again... more waste. I am obsessive about what I feed them (well, all of my fish) and avoid fillers as much as possible.

We already have an L001 in a 90 gallon who holds her own with SA cichlids and an L330 who is slated to go into a 600 gallon with a black Arowana and some Uarus. They aren't as efficient as the bristlenose and they are messy but I love them and find them fascinating. It just means less other fish in the tank.

If MTS can do the job then that's all we really need. I will see if I can reduce the light intensity without harming the plants. That will help with the algae too.

 

[skjl47]

I agree that MTS are the best option for actual maintenance help. Plecos really make so much poop it's unbelievable. I fully believe the bristlenose pleco in my last tank made as much crap as the rest of the fish combined. They spend all day turning algae into poop. Algae is much better for the cleanliness of the tank than poop everywhere. I love plecos, but prefer not to keep them for this reason.

Hello; My experience with a common pleco was similar. The poo amount was large and unsightly. Snails made a difference abut reducing the large unsightly poo to much smaller snail poo but there was still a lot of poo for me to remove.

 

[Serpentine]

hello; You may get some algae eaten but in the end you are the clean-up crew.

Yes, I know I am ultimately the head janitorial staff. I vacuum and change water weekly. The idea was to add something that would help keep the algae down so that I don't spend quite as much time getting my hands bitten and if it adds visual interest to the tank so much the better.

No, I don't expect them to do all the work for me and I realize that everything poops.

 

[skjl47]

Yes, I know I am ultimately the head janitorial staff. I vacuum and change water weekly. The idea was to add something that would help keep the algae down so that I don't spend quite as much time getting my hands bitten and if it adds visual interest to the tank so much the better.

No, I don't expect them to do all the work for me and I realize that everything poops.

Hello; Sorry for wasting your time.

 

[Serpentine]

That sounded testy (OK, it was testy) but it seems that the assumption is that I expect the fish to do all the work of the caretaker. I don't. Perhaps you didn't intend that to come across as insulting, in which case I apologize.

I do appreciate advice... after all, I'm asking for it. I usually end up taking it. Otherwise what's the point of asking?