I am trying to decide which pleco I want to get. Right now I have it narrowed down to 4. A snowball pleco, a blue, or green phantom pleco, and a queen aberasque. I like them all, but I would like to know if any of these pleco's will achieve sizes similar to that of a common pleco? Also, is there in special feeding involved with any of these pleco's?
Trying to decide.......
- Thread starter Lund
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First thing, all plecos need special foods. Most people don't feed any plecos properly. Check here
Now size, the L200s can attain up to 12". L128s get much less in size. L260s only will attain ~4" and the snowballs will get ~6".
You definitely should research exotic plecos a lot more, as they are no where near as tough as a common pleco. Many species have very specific requirements, many can't handle salt, nor several chems/meds. Some are a lower temp 65-72, some are mid temp 72-80 and some are high temp 80-90. A few eat algae, most eat other foods, and several eat meat as a primary portion of their diets.
Now size, the L200s can attain up to 12". L128s get much less in size. L260s only will attain ~4" and the snowballs will get ~6".
You definitely should research exotic plecos a lot more, as they are no where near as tough as a common pleco. Many species have very specific requirements, many can't handle salt, nor several chems/meds. Some are a lower temp 65-72, some are mid temp 72-80 and some are high temp 80-90. A few eat algae, most eat other foods, and several eat meat as a primary portion of their diets.
Plecs can withstand meds to an extent. Largest L128 I've seen was touching on 9". Although I'm a big fan of all you've listed, particularly the last 3. But L200 seems to be somewhat of a sensitive plec, but if you have good water conditions, they aren't a problem, just like anything else. My personal favourite is the Hypancistrus sp. "Queen Arabesque". Wouldn't have a time without them. But whatever you decide, as Wyldfya stated, do your homework 
Thanks for the quick reply. I am currently in the process of doing a fishless cycle on my tank. That will give a around a month to decide indefinitely which pleco I'm going to go with. As for special requirements, I'm sure I'm up to the challenge which ever they may be. I will be doing more extensive research into the plecos' needs and dietary requirements. If anybody could give me a couple good recourses to explore, that would be much appreciated.
Oh, and on a side note. which plecos where you referring to when you listed them as L200, L128, and L260? Sorry for my ignorance when it comes to the more specialized names given to plecos. I'm still working on getting a grasp of the L### names.
Thanks again for the always helpfull information.
Sorry wyldfya. Just after posting this I realized you already gave me some sites to look up. Thanks for those.
Oh, and on a side note. which plecos where you referring to when you listed them as L200, L128, and L260? Sorry for my ignorance when it comes to the more specialized names given to plecos. I'm still working on getting a grasp of the L### names.
Thanks again for the always helpfull information.
Sorry wyldfya. Just after posting this I realized you already gave me some sites to look up. Thanks for those.
The L200 is the L number given to two fish- which are Baryancistrus demantoides and Hemiancistrus subviridis, the high and low fin. The L128 is Hemiancistrus sp. (L128) and the L260 is Hypancistrus sp. (L260). The latter two haven't been described by science and so people refer to the L number they are assigned (pleco identification from the DATZ magazine).
Here they all are:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=210
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=1805
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=223
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=229
The best places to look are people who have kept them. Planetcatfish, plecofanatics are a couple of forums with a lot of experienced members who have kept these fish, and you could hit a few key words into the forum search. Planetcatfish also has some good articles in the 'shanes world' section, including a breeding article on the L260 by Janne Ekström. http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/ Lots of cool pleco related articles there. Also of course many members on here have kept the fish, and doing a search here might get you some info too. I am undergoing a L260 breeding project currently, and Wyldfya similar but with L200s.
Also you mentioned the snowball. There are two commonly called "snowball" plecs (even though there are a lot of black plecs with white spots), which are the Hypancistrus sp. (L102) (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=204) and Baryancistrus sp L-142/LDA-33 (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=31). Was either of these you were interested?
Here they all are:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=210
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=1805
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=223
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=229
The best places to look are people who have kept them. Planetcatfish, plecofanatics are a couple of forums with a lot of experienced members who have kept these fish, and you could hit a few key words into the forum search. Planetcatfish also has some good articles in the 'shanes world' section, including a breeding article on the L260 by Janne Ekström. http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/ Lots of cool pleco related articles there. Also of course many members on here have kept the fish, and doing a search here might get you some info too. I am undergoing a L260 breeding project currently, and Wyldfya similar but with L200s.
Also you mentioned the snowball. There are two commonly called "snowball" plecs (even though there are a lot of black plecs with white spots), which are the Hypancistrus sp. (L102) (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=204) and Baryancistrus sp L-142/LDA-33 (http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=31). Was either of these you were interested?