K so I have a dilemma. I have a baby florida gar 8" and 2 bichirs. One 4 inch senegal and a 10-12 inch delhezi. I also have a 4 inch bristlenose pleco and a 6 inch common pleco. I love all these fish and i admit i didnt do alot of research before buying them. I have now come to hear that plecos dont do well with gars due to they suck the slime coat off. I know that bichirs have the same scales as gars but i havent heared much about plecos sucking on bichirs. I feel like bichirs are more in danger due to the plecs and them share space alot. Whats everyones opinions? I have seen no signs of aggression or damage as of yet. thanks.
Gar and Bichir and plecos
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I have a 9" pleco with a 6.5" senegal and they don't even mind each other...
As long as it doesn't seem to be a problem then I wouldn't worry about the pleco.
- If it does become a problem, go forth with a better outcome.
Good luck!
As long as it doesn't seem to be a problem then I wouldn't worry about the pleco.
- If it does become a problem, go forth with a better outcome.
Good luck!
hey awesome. your name is kyle too. lol. thanks for the reply. I feel like keeping the plecos well fed also they wouldnt have a reason to "eat" my gars and bichirs. does that sound logical or reasonable?
bichers tend to chase off plecos, but i have 2 gar each about a foot and have kept plecos numorous with them numorous times.. i this it only becomes a promblem when the gar's girth exceeds 7 inches or so, they tend to become very lazy the fatter they are
make sure your plecs are getting their vegies and they should leave your other fish alone. they seem to wanna suck on slime coat when they have something missing from their diets.
Here is where the problem is; the slime coat is basically like addicting to fish that eat algae and whatnot. It may not ever be a problem. But if it is, then the pleco is going to suck your gar clean in one evening and it will die. Once it learns that the slime coat is a food source it will never stop.
Not an advisable combo.
Not an advisable combo.
The bristlenose pleco should be fine as I never had once a problem on sucking on my bichir and gars. The common pleco however is a hit or miss and is a number 1 for sucking on bichirs and gars slime. Any pleco that are from genus "pterygoplichthys" are notoriously known to suck on slime. So if you want to keep plecos stay away from any pterygoplichthys species as you may run to a risk of lost slime of your bichirs and gars. You can get other pleco species and even more colorful.
never had a problem w/ Panques... i agree... Commons are notorious slime suckers ( I have lost fish in the past to them) I kept my royal with spiney eels, a bichir, and gar for a few years and never had any issue with her. atm I keep a flash pleco (another panque) with my aba aba knife.. other then an occasional fin being shredded when the aba gets hungry and won't wait.. they are surprizingly good tank-mates. there are a few tank-mates that would e suitable imo... but a common is not one of them.