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- Thread starter Cloudk
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knifegill;5042728; said:Well, if nobody else is going to post it...
Not just sig worthy,that's av worthy.This is from ATPs website about keeping plecos with turtles:
Plecostomus – eat algae & commonly kept with turtles. Comes in many varieties & some (like the Zebra Pleco.) don’t eat algae. The common pleco. can get huge at 18 inches in length; this is what most people have used. The Bristlenose pleco. gets 5-6 inches, is fairly large-bodied for its length, and is a great algae-eater although I’ve not heard of people keeping them with turtles. Clown pleco.s stay small at 3-4 inches, and are fair (but not great) algae eaters. Some people say get a pleco. larger than your turtle. Some have kept pleco.s successfully for years. Some have had turtles kill the pleco, eat the pleco, bite the pleco.’s eyes off, etc…a feeder until proven otherwise. Tom C. knows of one turtle who’s shell was bored into by a pleco.; rare, but if you have a large pleco. watch for this (Tom stated “It (the Pleco) was found latched on to the carapace of a young Mississippi Map. This turtle was kept by Kent who was in the process of experimenting with numerous types of pleco.s to keep with turtles,” and “I found a smaller one latched onto the face of a smaller turtle. The pleco. had been chewing the eyelids off. Obviously both were removed, but only one returned. The eyelids have grown back completely and there seem to have been no side affects from the ordeal. What is really odd, is that this is another E. subglobosa. Rather a dramatic difference between this passive specimen and the other, more aggressive one.”
The fact that the pleco can cause harm to a turtle would give me reason to not keep it with a turtle. Common pleco's should be banned IMO. Why would you risk a turtle for a common pleco anyways?
As for the pleco that rasped a chunk out of acrylic, it was not my pleco, but it was a MODERATORS pleco- he's by far a better fish keeper than you or I- so I do not believe that the pleco was starved like you stated.
I keep turtles, and fish including several species of plecos. I have had 2 ft plecos eat holes in 3 mil thick epdm liner- and they were not starving.. Rasping is their nature, regardless of the surface they are on.
My turtles do not get housed with any fish other than minnows for food to give them the natural instinct of hunting.
Algae on a turtle shell is not a bad thing, but it is a sign that your turtle doesn't bask enough, which can cause SCUD/Shell Rot.
In all seriousness, just because you have been keeping turtles since you were 10 or 13 doesn't really mean you have been really "keeping" them for that long. As a 10 year old kid I found a turtle outside and I brought it home, and it lived in a bathtub for 3 years. I was merely keeping it alive. Now that I am older, I know how to properly house them.
It is strongly advised against keeping a turtle with large aggressive cichlids. In all honesty, I would give the turtle it's own space- it would be much happier.
Another thing about the pleco that I would worry about is when your turtle sheds his scutes. They are like fingernails attached to skin until they are fully ready to come off. Your pleco could easily tear one off if loose enough, and that would seriously hurt your turtle.
We are trying to give you advise and prevent your turtle from being snacked on. Pleco's especially commons can be brutal.
Plecostomus – eat algae & commonly kept with turtles. Comes in many varieties & some (like the Zebra Pleco.) don’t eat algae. The common pleco. can get huge at 18 inches in length; this is what most people have used. The Bristlenose pleco. gets 5-6 inches, is fairly large-bodied for its length, and is a great algae-eater although I’ve not heard of people keeping them with turtles. Clown pleco.s stay small at 3-4 inches, and are fair (but not great) algae eaters. Some people say get a pleco. larger than your turtle. Some have kept pleco.s successfully for years. Some have had turtles kill the pleco, eat the pleco, bite the pleco.’s eyes off, etc…a feeder until proven otherwise. Tom C. knows of one turtle who’s shell was bored into by a pleco.; rare, but if you have a large pleco. watch for this (Tom stated “It (the Pleco) was found latched on to the carapace of a young Mississippi Map. This turtle was kept by Kent who was in the process of experimenting with numerous types of pleco.s to keep with turtles,” and “I found a smaller one latched onto the face of a smaller turtle. The pleco. had been chewing the eyelids off. Obviously both were removed, but only one returned. The eyelids have grown back completely and there seem to have been no side affects from the ordeal. What is really odd, is that this is another E. subglobosa. Rather a dramatic difference between this passive specimen and the other, more aggressive one.”
The fact that the pleco can cause harm to a turtle would give me reason to not keep it with a turtle. Common pleco's should be banned IMO. Why would you risk a turtle for a common pleco anyways?
As for the pleco that rasped a chunk out of acrylic, it was not my pleco, but it was a MODERATORS pleco- he's by far a better fish keeper than you or I- so I do not believe that the pleco was starved like you stated.
I keep turtles, and fish including several species of plecos. I have had 2 ft plecos eat holes in 3 mil thick epdm liner- and they were not starving.. Rasping is their nature, regardless of the surface they are on.
My turtles do not get housed with any fish other than minnows for food to give them the natural instinct of hunting.
Algae on a turtle shell is not a bad thing, but it is a sign that your turtle doesn't bask enough, which can cause SCUD/Shell Rot.
In all seriousness, just because you have been keeping turtles since you were 10 or 13 doesn't really mean you have been really "keeping" them for that long. As a 10 year old kid I found a turtle outside and I brought it home, and it lived in a bathtub for 3 years. I was merely keeping it alive. Now that I am older, I know how to properly house them.
It is strongly advised against keeping a turtle with large aggressive cichlids. In all honesty, I would give the turtle it's own space- it would be much happier.
Another thing about the pleco that I would worry about is when your turtle sheds his scutes. They are like fingernails attached to skin until they are fully ready to come off. Your pleco could easily tear one off if loose enough, and that would seriously hurt your turtle.
We are trying to give you advise and prevent your turtle from being snacked on. Pleco's especially commons can be brutal.
**** happens. I had an agressive pleco. If anyone got in his cave, he'd go after them. Rare accidents can happen. It's a fact about having animals. Turtles are tough and for whatever mysterious reason those turtles didn't try to get the pleco off. Obviously there are factors that isn't known. A healthy turtle won't just sit there if it's in pain. Why the turtle that had it's eyelids munched on, didn't suck his head in is beyond me. If common plecos are often kept w/ turtles like the article says, and the vast majority has lifelong success, I'm not worried. I keep an eye on my turtles. If I see something happening, I'll stop it. So the very rare occuance has 4 or 5 hrs to happen while we sleep. I'll make sure and keep you all updated on how well everyone is doing 
Cloudk;5044071; said:**** happens. I had an agressive pleco. If anyone got in his cave, he'd go after them. Rare accidents can happen. It's a fact about having animals. Turtles are tough and for whatever mysterious reason those turtles didn't try to get the pleco off. Obviously there are factors that isn't known. A healthy turtle won't just sit there if it's in pain. Why the turtle that had it's eyelids munched on, didn't suck his head in is beyond me. If common plecos are often kept w/ turtles like the article says, and the vast majority has lifelong success, I'm not worried. I keep an eye on my turtles. If I see something happening, I'll stop it. So the very rare occuance has 4 or 5 hrs to happen while we sleep. I'll make sure and keep you all updated on how well everyone is doing
What size is your tank?
240gal and about 1ft(under platform) has been blocked off for fish. A fish sanctuary I guess. Its egg crate zip tied onto the pvc platform structure, w/ holes cut in not big enough for turtles. Edges of the cuts are filed smooth to make sure its safe for fish. Its turtle proof, but fish accessible.
But the agressive pleco was in their old 125gal. Had 2 turtles, large pleco, and 3 or 4 large goldfish(like 5-6in).
Cloudk;5044146; said:
I see... in all honesty, I would put the turtle in a tank alone just so that no issues could ever happen to anyone.
I hate common plecos, but my ornate bichir bit through and killed a little one I rescued, and I was still upset.
Plus, from your other post- its been suggested that the turt was snacking on the oscar- which you stated the turtle can't catch even a goldfish.. goldies are much more agile that a large oscar.
but best wishes.
keep us posted.