Pleco recommendations

[rayw]

I recently lost my beloved albino longfin bristle plec (L-144?). I’ve had this little guy for over 6 years and she did a great job keeping my glass spotless. There was a bit of a mishap during my week long vacation and I lost a few fish.

It’s been a month or so and now my glass is getting really dirty and I’m looking for a replacement.

Can someone recommend a cool plecostomus? Something that will max out around 10”, cool looking, and kinda rare

It will be going in my 150G 60x24x24. The current inhabitants are (2) Mono PB, and (4) NTT Dats.

Thanks
Ray

 

[jbarbaresi]

I recently lost my beloved albino longfin bristle plec (L-144?). I’ve had this little guy for over 6 years and she did a great job keeping my glass spotless. There was a bit of a mishap during my week long vacation and I lost a few fish.

It’s been a month or so and now my glass is getting really dirty and I’m looking for a replacement.

Can someone recommend a cool plecostomus? Something that will max out around 10”, cool looking, and kinda rare

It will be going in my 150G 60x24x24. The current inhabitants are (2) Mono PB, and (4) NTT Dats.

Thanks
Ray

depends on what you mean by "cool looking" and "kinda rare"... if you actually enjoy seeing your pleco, my favorite is the pterygoplichthys joselimaianus, L001, sometimes called a "gold spot" pleco. they typically max out between 10-12", if you can find them properly labelled in stores they are pretty inexpensive, look cool (in my opinion), and are one of the least shy and most active plecos out there. should also do a pretty good job of cleaning your glass but will also need some driftwood and fresh veggies like zucchini and frozen peas dropped in.

click here

 

[StripeGirl]

depends on what you mean by "cool looking" and "kinda rare"... if you actually enjoy seeing your pleco, my favorite is the pterygoplichthys joselimaianus, L001, sometimes called a "gold spot" pleco. they typically max out between 10-12", if you can find them properly labelled in stores they are pretty inexpensive, look cool (in my opinion), and are one of the least shy and most active plecos out there. should also do a pretty good job of cleaning your glass but will also need some driftwood and fresh veggies like zucchini and frozen peas dropped in.

click here

they say they get 10-12 inches but mine is 18 and still growing.
L240 vampire plecos would get along good with your PB and dats.

 

[theunytedone]

L114 maybe?
...not TOO common, carnivorous...aggressive from what i hear though.

 

[jbarbaresi]

i don't think vampires or L114s will solve the op's algae problem. if an algae eater is not essential i would also recommend looking into the L264 sultan plecos, very cool looking, medium sized plecos.

msmasspoly, your joseli is really 18"? that's huge for an L001.

 

[fishticuffs]

as long as your tank aint acrylic i love my royal- hes always busy. i think they get a lil bit bigger than 10 , dont really remember though. make sure to give them wood though, they need it for thier digestive tract

 

[Warborg]

they say they get 10-12 inches but mine is 18 and still growing.

Quit bragging, it makes my jealously come out

To OP: They(L001) are cool looking but not so rare and it's seems most people have them nowdays.

 

[rayw]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to look into each of these.

Can you recommend a good online vendor I can buy from? Last weekend I went to a few LFS and was only able to find common sail fins locally. I think I'll need to purchase online.

 

[theunytedone]

totally missed the algae eating pre-requisite :d'oh!:

i like sultans

 

[bcarlos]

It depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for something to keep your glass clean, none of the fish above (as cool as they all are) are going to do the job that your bristlenose did. Contrary to popular belief, most Loricariids are not algae eaters, and most of those mentioned above (L240s, L114s, etc) are primarily carnivourous.

L190/191 (any of the royals, really) will get larger than 12", though it takes many years to do so. They also produce a lot of waste.

If you're looking for a pleco to clean your glass, stick with an ancistrus species. If you're looking for something cool, decently affordable and active (though not algae eating plecos) that stays under 12", L240 is a good suggestion, as is L128 or L200.