Oscar safe Plecos

[Drachos]

Hello everyone,

I have a 6x2x2 foot tank and I am currently putting a short list of plecos together that can live with an Oscar for my room mate to look over. The list will go through price pruning shortly (just reaching out to a few people to get a local price list, I am not putting a fish worth over $1500 with an Oscar, even if its the friendliest Oscar to ever exist, and being in Australia prices are very different from the US) but I figured I would reach out to you all to see if there are any that stand out as a bad idea.

Either with an Oscar or in a tank that is only 6 foot long.

Green Phantom (L200)
Green Phantom High Fin (L200a)
Blue Eye Red Fin Pleco (L137)
Polka Dot Cactus Pleco (L097)
Peppermint Bristle-nose (L071) (And other large bristlenoses)
Three Beacon Pleco (L091)
Leopard Cactus Pleco (L114)
Vampire Pleco (L007/L029)
Para Pleco (Peckoltia sabaji)
Rhino Pleco (Pterygoplichthys scrophus)
Gold Spot Pleco (Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus)
Golden Sailfin Pleco (Hypostomus luteus)
Titanicus Pleco (L273)
Red Fin Cactus Pleco (L024)
Leopard Cactus Pleco (L600)
Typhoon Pleco (LDA105)
Albino Common Pleco (Pterygoplichthys...something)
Scarlet Cactus Pleco (L025)
Sailfin Pleco (Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps)

All of these seem to get large enough, and also do so relatively quickly, while eliminating anything that gets to big (Although gibbiceps might need to be cut, not sure how I feel about the fact it will get over 18 inches) or needs to be kept in groups. Many of these I KNOW are to expensive...

But if you have any thoughts about this list that I have failed to consider, please let me know?

 

[Jexnell]

Did you look at any of the Royal plecos? From the Panaque sp.
Maybe you skipped for size or price? They are quite beautiful.

I tried to house one with a Amphilophus saggitae, didn't work, but they are from the same area as Oscar's so...it may work.

 

[Drachos]

The main reason I skipped them was actually growth speed. (Which I suppose is price in a different form)

Now obviously growth speed is controlled by a lot of factors and some of those are inside your control, but there are limits. I can buy a 7.5cm/3" Sailfin Pleco and know its probably going to be at 13cm/5" in roughly 2 months.

I buy an L27 (or any other Panaque) that's 7.5cm/3" and from what I read their was good odds that 12 months latter it would only be 10cm/4".

Its for this reason the Honeycomb, the Blue Phantom, the Magnum, the Gold Nugget and the Sunshine (among others) aren't on this list.

But finding out growth speeds is... difficult and inaccurate. Thus its definitely possible I missed one that gets to 13cm/5 Inches within 6 months of normal purchase size.

(Obviously you can buy one at that size and if I find one reasonably priced I will definately consider it.)

As an aside before it comes up, no Pinecone Pleco is on the list because to the best of my knowledge they are not available in Australia. Which sucks cause they look really ****ing cool.

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Baryancistrus grow reasonably quickly if given the pristine, warm, oxygen-rich rivers where the young are often found, with near-constant availability of food for ample grazing... conditions that are difficult and in some aspects near impossible to replicate well in a small volume of water as a fish-tank.

Hemiancistrus spp. grow at a fairly reasonable pace; not fast, but not terribly slow. L128 and L200 are both Hemiancistrus subviridis (in my opinion) and I see no reason to consider one to grow faster than the other by a noticeable margin.

Honeycomb- I assume you mean Hypostomus faveolus, L037- grow reasonably fast IME, somewhat faster than H. subviridis if fed well and kept a tad warmer.
I think a little faster than L014.

What is your budget? You mention fishes growing too slow- so I assume you intend to buy a small one to cut corners on costs- but there's a wide range in the market-value of fishes you listed.
What, also, is your filtration-system? Some of those fishes are going to put more strain on the system in terms of bio-load.

 

[Drachos]

Hello Fallen_leaves and thanks for responding.

Budget:
1-1.5k Australian is probably my limit for a pleco. I wish it could be higher, there are some really cool Plecos out there. I have contacted some sellers to get an idea of what prices currently are in Aus.

Filtration:
The tank comes with a sump that's going to be particularly fluidised. (If I can make it work.) If I had to guess the fluidised section is made from a 33 gallon long (4'x1'x1') and there is a 15 gallon box before that that's designed for some form of static media. (I think. Need forum input but I wanted to get a few posts under my belt before starting a thread full of pictures)

As for L200 and L128, that was the consensus I first read in the catfish of the month but planetcatfish cat-o-log has L200 and L200a scientifically described as not just two different species but 2 different geniuses so I wasn't sure if the consensus had changed.

Yeap Honeycomb I meant Hypostomus faveolus.

So, making sure I am not reading to much into your words:
You think L128, L037 and L014 should grow fast enough to fit the list
But keep L018 and L047 off and remove L200a as they are all Baryancistrus.

While I have you, I also removed L255, L076, and the Chubby Pleco (Parancistrus aurantiacus) from the list for growth speed reasons. Do you have any insight into them?