Ok I may have made a dumb mistake. I have a 150 gallon and I'm getting sick of having to scrub the algae off the glass every week. So Friday I went and got 3 really small common pleco's. While I was there they finally had sengal bichirs in so I bought one hes only about 3 or 4 inches right now. Well today I got to thinking that I had read some were that bichirs and pleco's don't go good together because the pleco could start sucking on his slim coat. So far the damn plecos haven't cleaned anything which is pissing me off. Anyways do you think I should return the plecos, I havent seen the bichir for a couple days he just stays in the cave the whole time. I checked a couple days ago and hes just chilling in the cave. Gonna check on him again tommorrow.
What should I do
- Thread starter erk419
- Start date
Get rid of the common plecos. They are absolutely POOR algae eaters.
What else do you have in your tank? What fish do you plan to keep? Let me find this out and we'll see which ones can absolutely work well while still able to help you clean up the algae. Remember however, that some creatures rely entirely on algae or as nourishment so you will have to accept that a small amount of algae will not really hurt your tank (even though I understand how annoying it can be when it obscures the front glass), or in some cases, will need other supplemental foods.
What else do you have in your tank? What fish do you plan to keep? Let me find this out and we'll see which ones can absolutely work well while still able to help you clean up the algae. Remember however, that some creatures rely entirely on algae or as nourishment so you will have to accept that a small amount of algae will not really hurt your tank (even though I understand how annoying it can be when it obscures the front glass), or in some cases, will need other supplemental foods.
Lupin;4929242; said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I have 1 male adult GT, 5 clown loaches ranging from medium to small, 3 tinfoil barbs still small, 3 silver dollars still small, 1 JD, still really small, 2 firemouths still small, 1 bichir small, three common plecos. I know I went crazy on the stocking lately and have some fish that are going to get rather large. I have a 90 gallon that just needs resealed when the time comes to thin the heard.
Eep! Loaches...Too bad I can't suggest nerite snails.
Bristlenose plecos if your GT will not attempt eating them as it grows. Ditch the common plecos and replace with BN plecos.
Bristlenose plecos if your GT will not attempt eating them as it grows. Ditch the common plecos and replace with BN plecos.
Lupin;4929289; said:
Well to my surprise my GT really don't mess with any of my fish. I would think he would seeing how hes a glass banger with people. I did have my adult Oscar in the 150 and my GT was in a 75 by himself. Well when I got my silver dollars My oscar decided it was bully time. After a couple days I thought I'd try switching the GT and the oscar, and to my surprise its worked. Only bad thing is now that the oscar is by himself he's mean as heck now I have to defend myself the whole time I'm cleaning my tank lol. The GT did nip at the bichir once the first night but I kind of expected that tell he gets use to him in the tank.
Any ways so you say ditch the commons and replace them with BN plecos? So theres no chance they will start sucking the bichirs slime. Also are they a pretty good cleanup crew? And finally should I get them small and how many would you suggest with my current stocking.
If theres any chance the BN's could start sucking on the bichir then I'll just clean the algae myself.
The BN plecos don't suck slime coats in general. You're fine with them. Common plecos will have a higher chance developing taste for slime coat than BN plecos. I've kept BN plecos with fancy goldfish and senegal bichirs with no issues.
I have BNs in with my smaller bichirs. No problems at all with them going near the bichirs. Your only concern will be when the bichirs get larger, they may try to eat the plecs. And that doesn't usually end well for either of the fish.
Males are easily territorial. You try two males with plenty of hiding places. They're usually bigger than the females so they stand a better chance with bichirs unless you can find a large female at least 4-5 inches in length.