My LFS has 65% off fish this weekend and I want to pick up a pleco for my 50 gal Mbuna tank. There is nothing I consider "mean" in the tank now; Yellow Labs and Princess. I dont want anything that gets big. Under 5" or so would be nice. I know they have Rubber Mouth, Royal, Clown for sure. What do you think I should look for. Also, they dont have any Brushy in stock.
Which one?
- Thread starter The Flizzle
- Start date
If your water is hard which it most likely is then you should not buy any pleco. Plecos don't do well in African set ups be ause Africans require hard water plecos require soft water.
If your still going to add one then get a BN people say they can adapt to the hard water. I don't know if it's true.
Royals get huge and don't do well at all in hard water.
If your still going to add one then get a BN people say they can adapt to the hard water. I don't know if it's true.
Royals get huge and don't do well at all in hard water.
Thanks for the info. I am not going to put a fish in a tank it is not suited for. I guess no pleco in this one =)
Why not put in a synodontis catfish.?They come from same water as your mbuna. They look cool and synodontis Angelicus comes to mind. Google one and see what they look like.
Very cool looking cat. Im going to stop by the LFS tomorrow and see what they have. Thanks for the info.
Jackson;4901909; said:
I disagree, Jackson. While all plecos natural water parameters are soft water, many will live and in fact thrive in hard water. Every pleco I've ever had was kept in either Cambridge tap water (approx 7.8-8.2 PH) or local well water (approx. 8.4-8.6 PH) and I've never had an issue in my 15 years keeping plecos.
I would advise that some caution should be exercised when acclimating plecos from soft to harder water.
I've kept bushy nose with africans in the past, but I know many people who keep L114/600, L97, L240, L91, L128 and L200 (to name a few) with african ciclids, all with great success.
While I agree with bcarlos.. i also think a syno cat would be a better suited fish for your tank. Mbuna's from what I understand ( sorry not big on african cichlids) enjoy algae and their natural diet consists of alot of it. even some of the more carnivorous plecos will eat algae. while a syno cat will be well suited to help eat extra food and be a unique addition to the tank. the only hesitancy I would show is some syno's are egg eaters.. so if you breed or intend to really research the syno you would like to get prior.
My hybrid syndontis female might be a pleco for all the algae eating she does. I don't know if this is weird or not.MonsterMinis;4902949; said:
bcarlos;4902641; said:
You can disagree all you want but fact is they do not thrive in hard water it's fact not an opinion. Just be ause you keep them in hard water does not mean that's the right or optimal set up.
I disagree with your way of keeping those fish. Many others would as well. Your 15 years can't compete with fact. The plecos you are keeping in hard water are probably not thriving like they should be. Another thing is high ph does not mean the water is hard.
Youre passing on info that goes against facts.
Should people start keeping Africans in soft water too
Jackson;4903721; said:
I agree with Jackson.
Plecs come from soft water South Amercan habitats and that's where they will be happiest.
When I was keeping Mbuna, I went to my lfs to get some sort of clean up fish for my tank. The chap there saw my eyeing the Plecs and suggested a Golden Nugget. Lets just say, 2 months later and it had died. So I went back and complained. He accused me of keeping it in the worng conditions. And yes, even though he did suggest it, I should have known better.....
If you really want a Plec, than a tank bred BN will prob be ok. That's what I had in my tank after the GN incident.
The Rift Valley Synos are probably your best bet though.