Due to a recent crash from an unexplainable cause I lost roughly 80% of my stock. Considering the few remaining fish are small, I was thinking about converting it into a pleco tank. It's a 55G. Remaining stock is a small gold severum, a small Geo. Surinamensis and a medium sized Meeki. I am running an aquaclear 110 and a penguin 350 as my filtration. Standard heater as such. Loads of driftwood currently in the tank. Now, what I am wondering is what would some ideal plecos be for this kind of set up? Obviously we would need to stay way from larger species. But as far as small ones go that will get along with each other, what would you guys recommend? I want a diverse group. Not just one species.
Pleco Tank Suggestions/Help
- Thread starter TheNewSeverum
- Start date
Take a look at finding some L204 emperors. They love to east wood and are very peaceful tankmates.
L134 Leopard frog pleco , L143 clown pleco, L046 Zebra, all these stay small 3-3.5" and can get along in groups.
Thanks for the suggestions. Zebra is out of the question as I dont have the money for that. I also forgot to mention that my waters pH is very high. 8.0 - 8.4 out of the tap. I hate using chemicals and I only do in extreme cases.(Excluding Prime for water changes) Would these fish do good in a higher pH tank? I have driftwood and peat soil in there to help lower it. But even with the water changes is doesn't make a difference.
What about the L144 albino blue eyes? I have heard they are pretty tolerant of high pH, especially if they are F1 or later.
How about getting a Water Filter for your Tap Water. I use an InstaPure filter, and it seems to give me the perfect water balance that I need for my tank. The only issue I have with my water is the Nitrate build-up, but I do regular tank cleanings/water changes once every 7-10 days (as needed). The only chemicals I add to my tank is some StressZyme after a tank cleaning. Other than that, everything is maintained through my Filter system (Fluval 406).
My tap water is 8.2-8.6 depending on the time of the year, all my Plecos do just fine in it, the only one I don't have is the L046 and I have a buddy that keeps some it the same water as me with no problems.
@Cueball, I have a water purifier as the water here in Florida is disgusting. I have tested both and the pH levels werent much different.