To pleco or not to pleco?
- Thread starter Buphy
- Start date
Yes, because they are cool.
No, because their whole existence centers around producing copious amounts of poop.
No, because their whole existence centers around producing copious amounts of poop.
I have a royal pleco L191 and a L200 green phantom pleco. The royal is 5 inches the phantom is 6. That royal will poop ten times more than the phantom.
I have 2 longfin bushynose, an L14 and a L191. They are all under 4" and produce more waste than 4 medium/large SA/CA cichlids housed with them. Would I consider getting rid of them because of that? No way!
I've kept plecos and was very pleased with them. Like most things in life they aren't appropriate for everyone, much in the same way as many other fish are inappropriate.
From my experience, if you want something unusual, interesting, and fascinating with the way it looks, moves, eats, lives, I think the pleco is ideal. If you want something easy to keep that swims around like most fish, not so good. Neither is right or wrong, but some things obviously appeal to some people more that others. For me strange and unusual is appealing. Difficult is just not a major concern.
The poop issues I think are over blown (mind you I fed mine nothing but tons of greens, so poop was super abundant.) For me a fish tank is an opportunity to take a glimpse into a nature. But I'm not bothered if the tank lacks a pristine, sterile, white sandy bottom.
From my experience, if you want something unusual, interesting, and fascinating with the way it looks, moves, eats, lives, I think the pleco is ideal. If you want something easy to keep that swims around like most fish, not so good. Neither is right or wrong, but some things obviously appeal to some people more that others. For me strange and unusual is appealing. Difficult is just not a major concern.
The poop issues I think are over blown (mind you I fed mine nothing but tons of greens, so poop was super abundant.) For me a fish tank is an opportunity to take a glimpse into a nature. But I'm not bothered if the tank lacks a pristine, sterile, white sandy bottom.
Last edited:
I feel you. Honestly if having a mud bottom wasn't way too much work it's be my preference. Dream tank looks like you took a section of a lake or river and boxed it up in glass. More natural the better. I honestly think plecos aren't my thing though. Love cichlids with iridescence.
^This. The idea that you "need" a pleco stems from the notion that plecos act as a significant part of aquarium maintenance, consuming algae, uneaten food, and even detritus. As a general rule, if it seems too good to be true (like a fish that eats everything yet doesn't contribute to the bio load...), it probably is.
Some plecos do eat algae, and most will eat some uneaten food, but a better solution to algae is to reduce the lighting and/or improve your maintenance routine, and a better solution to uneaten food is to stop overfeeding. Lol. As for detritus... that's an old myth that you used to hear along with "fish only grow to the size of the aquarium," and "don't siphon all your gravel at once or you'll suck out your beneficial bacteria." Lol
You don't need a pleco any more than you need a cichlid. Some people just like to keep them. Just make sure you do some research on the specific species before you buy it, because there are over a thousand different pleco species, and their adult sizes range from 2 inches to 40 inches.