pleco for a red devil tank
- Thread starter joedodge
- Start date
i dont see why not.... im pretty sure most pleco species would work.. dont quote me on that.... im no pleco expert
I just sold a 10" silver saum out of my 75 for ripping a huge chunk out of my 10" L-600's dorsal fin. Not saying it wont work, but I personally can say a larger cichlid with a larger pleco in a 75 CAN create issues. I'm glad I bought the silver saum at a large size because if I had grown that thing up for 3-4 years to find out I had to get rid of it, I'd be more gutted than I already am. I noticed when most of the issues occured were at night when the pleco was cruising the tank and would go up over decor. I watched the saum inquisitively peck the L-600's eye at one point.
plecos have that tough skin, my grandma once had a common pleco n a rd, no problems at all, but watch out
While this is true in most cases, this also gives the false impression that plecos are literally bullet proof to attacks. They are not. I have seen many plecos whose eyes were poked, belly scraped, fins torn to pieces, etc. This simply stresses the pleco more and eventually kill it. Wingate is correct. Err on the side of caution. If you feel the combination may not work, don't do it.XB aro;3343930; said:
XB aro;3343930; said:
I'm not saying it wont work. I'm saying I know first hand that it has the potential to not work. What works for one wont always work for another. As far as super tough skin, mine is a psuedacanthicus sp. . That is about as tough as they come and he was still getting beat up. That tough skin still did'nt prevent a 1.5" square from being ripped out of his dorsal fin. Like Lupin said, plecos are'nt invincible.
I've yet to have any luck with Cichlids and Plecs. I finally gave up and gave the Plecs their own tank. I've tried a Green Terror, 2 Severums, a FH (similar to RD in temperament), Oscars....all with bad results except for a couple of the Oscars. These attempts were all in 125-150 g tanks. I'll go so far as to say I'll be very surprised if a RD will allow a Plec to live in a 75 g tank with him. Just not enough room IMO.
My red devil breaks my skin on a regular basis when I clean his tank. A pleco wouldn't last a night in his tank - which is also 75 gallon! 
Mind you my red divel is 13 inches of pure adrenaline.
Mind you my red divel is 13 inches of pure adrenaline.Depending on how aggressive the RD really is, maybe.
In a 75 you could house a hypostumos punctatus, one of the "common" species would be fine. They don't get overly large. My small RD male left it alone in the quarantine tank.
It would be stressing the tank a bit, but a sailfin would work too. Although two large rather aggressive fish may be a problem. Sailfins can reach 18" so it isn't the best option for a 75 gallon tank.
If you get a smaller RD or trimac then you can choose a pleco that you like. I'd get something that is a bit hardier just in case. Cichlids typically have their mean juvenile period so a lot of the fancier plecos probably won't survive that stage even with cover.
Starting out with them together from the beginning gives you the best odds of having both fish live together. At least that has worked well with current RD and pleco living together now. Cichlids tend to ignore bottom dwelling fish as they get larger, but they tend to dislike new tankmates and can be extremely hard on them.
In a 75 you could house a hypostumos punctatus, one of the "common" species would be fine. They don't get overly large. My small RD male left it alone in the quarantine tank.
It would be stressing the tank a bit, but a sailfin would work too. Although two large rather aggressive fish may be a problem. Sailfins can reach 18" so it isn't the best option for a 75 gallon tank.
If you get a smaller RD or trimac then you can choose a pleco that you like. I'd get something that is a bit hardier just in case. Cichlids typically have their mean juvenile period so a lot of the fancier plecos probably won't survive that stage even with cover.
Starting out with them together from the beginning gives you the best odds of having both fish live together. At least that has worked well with current RD and pleco living together now. Cichlids tend to ignore bottom dwelling fish as they get larger, but they tend to dislike new tankmates and can be extremely hard on them.