Pleco Species for community 75G?

[Nomi]

I am a bit lost when it comes to all the pleco species (especially the L-numbers), so I would love some suggestions for a good small to medium pleco species for a planted, community 75G!

Tanks still sitting empty, but the planned stock list is a pair of angelfish, a school of rummys, a school of sterbai cories, some roseline barbs (puntius denosonii), a couple rams or apistogrammas and a few otos. Heavily planted, and with lots of driftwood.

I could always fall back on a good ol' bristlenose, but I would kind of like something a bit odd or exotic.

 

[frnchjeep]

L002. They are cool looking and stay small. They need lots of wood to chow on. Crap a LOT!

 

[Nomi]

That is a neat looking little pleco! Is mopani wood their preferred nom of choice?

 

[frnchjeep]

Hmmm I'm not sure. All my driftwood is locally collected, but mine loves to chew on it all.

 

[Yellow_Perch]

the pleco i would say is bristlenose but others would be like one of my favorites king tiger pleco L-066, clown pleco its numbers are L-104 and L-162 those are 3 good choices..

 

[Linus_Cello]

I guess some other parameters to consider (and have you seen planetcatfish.com? It has a lot of helpful info):

What is the ph and hardness of your tank?
Some fancy plecos can tolerate some higher ph and hardness than others, namely L204 or "flash" pleco.

What is the temperature of your aquarium?
Some prefer cooler temps, like the Blue Phantom Pleco (L128) or Green Phantom Hemiancistrus subviridis L200*; while others prefer warmer temps like Pseudacanthicus cf. leopardus (L114).

If you're primarily interested maintaining a planted tank, then a bristlenose pleco would be your best choice: Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus. The clown pleco is also a good choice (moapani wood is very hard; it's ok to have some, but a softer wood would be better for it to feed on, like bogwood; you can also supplement the feedings with zuchinni).

I have a 75 gallon tank with 2 Pseudacanthicus cf. leopardus (L114), along with some Apisto borelli, upsidedown cats, diamond tetras and congo tetras. So far my plecos stay in their logs/caves, and have not disturbed the plants. (Not the story with my tank with my 3-beacon pleco, L91 Lepro. triactis) I plan to add some L333 Hypancistrus sp.; hopefully they won't bother the plants either.

What Apistos do you have? What plants do you have?

*As for the L numbers, it can get confusing. Not all plecos have L numbers, like the common bristlenose. The common bristlenose has been known to science for a while. Once all these new plecos were discovered, but not yet taxonomically identified and named, they were assigned L numbers. There is some debate whether some plecos with different L numbers may be the same species, but they just look a little different based on where they were found, like L128 and L200.

 

[Nomi]

I guess some other parameters to consider (and have you seen planetcatfish.com? It has a lot of helpful info):

Wow, very helpful post! Yes, I have looked around planetcatfish a bit, but mostly just for the pretty pictures.

What is the ph and hardness of your tank?

The tank is still dry (I have a few more things I need to get before I can start the fishless cycle), so any information I have is hypothetical for now. The pH of my tapwater is 7.6.

is the temperature of your aquarium?

I plan to keep it at around 28C (82.4F).

Apistos do you have? What plants do you have?

Not sure yet on which apisto I am going to go for. I was also entertaining the idea of blue rams.

 

[Allan01230]

I have a pair of L-114's pseudacanthicas cf leoporadus in a 50 breeder and they tear the tank up.. I just have gravel and bogwood but they throw the gravel all over the place. May not be a good choice for a planted tank imo. Clown pleco bushynose or blue or green phanthom may be a better chioce.

 

[Jackson]

I have a pair of L-114's pseudacanthicas cf leoporadus in a 50 breeder and they tear the tank up.. I just have gravel and bogwood but they throw the gravel all over the place. May not be a good choice for a planted tank imo. Clown pleco bushynose or blue or green phanthom may be a better chioce.

I agree

I'm not a fan of trying to keep plecos who might eat plants in planted tanks. IMO best choice is hypans or other small to medium sized plecos that lean more towards meaty foods.

 

[Linus_Cello]

I have a pair of L-114's pseudacanthicas cf leoporadus in a 50 breeder and they tear the tank up.. I just have gravel and bogwood but they throw the gravel all over the place. May not be a good choice for a planted tank imo. Clown pleco bushynose or blue or green phanthom may be a better chioce.

So I guess this is what I get to look forward to once they grow up more? Right now my largest L114 (4.5 inches SL) stays hidden in a log, waiting for me to drop food through the observation hole.