Common Pleco Tankmates

[Narwhal]

I have a roughly 16 inch common pleco an I am planning to do an overhaul of the tank he is in and give it some character. Right now it lives with a handful of tetras, but I was interested if discus can live alongside common plecos. From descriptions given, common plecos sound like vicious omnivores sucking the slime coat off any large fish, hence little fish may be what I would stick with. Not sure if that is just a way to discourage buying them. Any other good tank mate suggestions, that seem to do well with them.

 

[Hendre]

Apparently if they start on slime they don't stop, I wouldn't try it if I were you

 

[thefredpit]

my understanding is discus slime coats are a favorite of the common pleco if your going to get larger fish just make sure they are not scaleless

 

[Wailua Boy]

my understanding is discus slime coats are a favorite of the common pleco if your going to get larger fish just make sure they are not scaleless

Its just discus are slow moving and provide a lot of surface area for plecos to rasp them. Another consideration is maintaining water that discus require is much more challenging with a large plec. So some of the other more hardy cichlids may make better tank mates.

 

[Warborg]

I have a roughly 16 inch common pleco an I am planning to do an overhaul of the tank he is in and give it some character. Right now it lives with a handful of tetras, but I was interested if discus can live alongside common plecos. From descriptions given, common plecos sound like vicious omnivores sucking the slime coat off any large fish, hence little fish may be what I would stick with. Not sure if that is just a way to discourage buying them. Any other good tank mate suggestions, that seem to do well with them.

The truth behind the plecos sucking slime coat is because they are not getting enough food. You can't expect them to just eat leftovers. They need their own food. I've kept plecos for 27 years and they HAVE NEVER sucked the slime coat on other fish. Worse case is when I feed, if other fish try to take the plecos food, he will chase them away.

Don't be surprised if you mix them with cichlids, they will fight back(pleco).

I would stay away from having them with discus because of water parameters. Common plecos do not like temp 80 and above. They also seem to prefer ph over 7.0

 

[Dis]

Basically anything but discus

 

[Narwhal]

the discus I would get are bred and raised in water over 7.0 ph, but I can see the temperature problem being a factor