If you do go the pleco route get a fancy is my suggestion. Commons just aren't worth it.
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planning your cichlid tank
- Thread starter angryamygdala
- Start date
Yeah from what I understand they are all pooping machines. The bottom of my tank is covered in poop less than 24 hours after a vac. Maybe the smaller growing species aren't so bad.
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That is so true. I had a 12'' pleco also beat the crap out of a large female h. cyano. The cyano first started tormenting the pleco and then the pleco just had enough. It was ramming the cichlid and had to get rid of it. Common plecos might seem peaceful when small, but become aggressive tanks when older. The bioload seems almost equivalent to an Oscar.
As far as stocking I don't think I would ever mix CA/SA with Africans mostly because I like to do biotype tanks. With stocking I try to raise fish at the same time, because adding later on might be difficult for aggression reasons. If I add something in an established tank I make sure it is a tough and hardy sp. at a decent size.
I've had good luck with gold dust plecos in the genus Baryancistrus (e.g., L018, L081, L200). I'd avoid the wood eaters like Panaque species (Royal Plecos) because they are incredible poop machines. I had a 4" Panaque sp in a 100 gallon tank and it clogged the filters weekly. After I removed it, the load on the filters went down dramatically. You won't have the same problem with species that feed mainly on algae. I've had no problem keeping Baryancistrus with centrals.
