Help me with a 55 gallon pleco please

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Jen, I'm having a heck of a time lol What's hard about making a list is I'd have to post pics of each one. I kept getting lost. I kept going back to a Snowball though because they're so cool looking-they look like the Vampire's that Wingate mentioned (I think). I have no idea on the shyness in each one though. And keep in mind most all plecs are going to be super shy for the 1st few months at least. They seem more sensitive than most fish.
 
A 9" pleco is too large for a 55G tank. Plus it will add a lot to the bioload. Clown plecos are cute and stay small, but are very shy. The snowball pleco comes from black water area of the Rio Negro river in Venezuela. It really should be kept in a black water tank for success , even if tank raised. I would suggest one of the bristlenose varieties. You could actually easily keep 2 bristlenose plecos in that tank. They grow to a length of 3.5"-4", and some to 5" with the long fins. They are excellent tank cleaners and can tolerate a wider range of tank temperatures. I raise L144-long finned blue eyed yellow bristlenose and they are a gorgeous, non-plant eating peaceful pleco. I have lots of pictures over on aquariacentral same user name.
 
I would do a Snowball in a heartbeat if they won't tear up plants. I don't mind one that hides for a while- I just had a Clown Plec once that I literally saw maybe twice in like 6 months. We would search for 30 minutes and finally catch a glimplse of his tail.

Bristlenose is an option too.
 
My clown plecos did the same thing, half the time you didn't know if they were alive or not.:)
 
I think we can all see what's coming...I'm going to end up with some 6 inch lazy, purely decorative carniverous pleco that doesn't hang on the tank or eat algae, and I'll end up setting up a 29 gallon or soemthing in my son's room so he can have a smaller pleco that hangs on the tank.......you know it's going to happen.

Fish are evil.
 
Welcome to Plecs:ROFL::ROFL:
They've actually got their own personalities though. I've got 8 LED lights on my Plec tank and I'll sit there over an hour before I go to bed watching them. I put their veggies in and sit real still and watch. I love em'.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Snowballs are carnivore, correct? Jen, I really can't see a carnivore bothering plants at all. I've got a Bristlenose that I've had over a year and I've literally seen him less than 10 times. I've never seen him during a waterchange, even. He's my topmost 'invisible' fish. He never comes out and never moves around. I don't think you'd be happy with one, I can't even find mine in the tank.
 
Well then I will get a Snowball if it wouldn't mess with my plants! My clown pleco drove me insane! I am an obsessive fish counter- during the day, at waterchanges, before bed- I'm always counting fish. I'm constantly worried one will be dead and cause my water quality to plummit suddently. He really freaked me out. I can't tell you how many times I would rearrange decor to find him, then I'd freak becuase I almost squished him because he was under a huge rock. I finally just had to learn to live with not seeing him, but I didn't like it!
 
That's exactly the point I got to with my Bristlenose. I have to actually SEE every fish I own every day. I can't tell you how many times I had a "Bristlenose mourning" only to find him way later. So now I just hope he's ok and move on.
 
Well crud-there's several different Plecs they call "snowball". The one I was thinking of is an LDA33/ L142 at http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=31
Except they're not carnivors and they get to almost 10 inches.
Maybe it was the Vampire (L029) I was thinking of, I think Wingate mentioned that one? They look similar but the Vampire is a carnivore. He gets to almost 10", too. Now this is driving ME nuts. There's a black w/white spots Plec that I could've sworn was a carnivore but stayed under 6". Anyone?
I LOVE these-the L239 Blue Panaque. They've got a torquoise sheen to them but they're dark gray, only get 3-4". I got mine from a not-so-great fish shop and he died the next day. Check them out at
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=42
Matter of fact I'm going to go see if I can find one right now :-)
 
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