View Full Version : Another DUMB Question? Part II
theblueprint
09-12-2005, 9:39 PM
I have a tank full of cichlids all about 3" inches and one BIG pleco about 7" inches in size....the pleco will not harm or bother any of my fish will it???? :duh:
bob1962
09-12-2005, 9:43 PM
I have a tank full of cichlids all about 3" inches and one BIG pleco about 7" inches in size....the pleco will not harm or bother any of my fish will it???? :duh:
Not normally, but when I was a kid, we had a pleco that would suck the scales off of fish.
theblueprint
09-13-2005, 9:25 AM
Can I Get A Second Opinion...i Dont Trust Bob Too Much
JSchmidt
09-13-2005, 9:35 AM
In my tanks, it's usually the pleco who gets picked at. Sometimes africans will leave pleocs alone, but not uncommonly they'll peck at it.
Jim
tlaug
09-13-2005, 10:02 AM
pleco's as they get old get a taste for fish scales and the slime coat on other fish. This is especially true of the "common" pleco's. Pleco's are not as bad at this as the chinese algae eaters, but it still can cause some problems with your fish. Just keep an eye on the pleco and you fish to see if the pleco is attaching itself to the other fish or if scales start to come up missing.
bob1962
09-13-2005, 1:39 PM
Can I Get A Second Opinion...i Dont Trust Bob Too Much
Looking for a flame war, thanks for answering the original posters question.
NatakuTseng
09-13-2005, 2:09 PM
I do not agree with Bob's stocking in his tanks and much of his advice however I am going to side with him on the pleco thing. Common plecos and MOST large plecos you can buy after about 5-6" in size turn from being herbivores to full carnivores when given the chance. They can get extremely aggressive, and if they feel they can infact make a snack out of one of your other fish, they will. Back when I was keeping them I had two that there 16" and 13", both would pin feeders to the sides of the tank and eat them, as well as harass the oscars I had at the time.
theblueprint
09-13-2005, 3:06 PM
I do not agree with Bob's stocking in his tanks and much of his advice however I am going to side with him on the pleco thing. Common plecos and MOST large plecos you can buy after about 5-6" in size turn from being herbivores to full carnivores when given the chance. They can get extremely aggressive, and if they feel they can infact make a snack out of one of your other fish, they will. Back when I was keeping them I had two that there 16" and 13", both would pin feeders to the sides of the tank and eat them, as well as harass the oscars I had at the time.
SO ARE YOU SAYING IN SOME INSTANCES THEY WILL...OR ALL OF THEM DO THAT????
jaylin
09-13-2005, 3:14 PM
SO ARE YOU SAYING IN SOME INSTANCES THEY WILL...OR ALL OF THEM DO THAT????
In most all cases they do that.
theblueprint
09-13-2005, 3:21 PM
Shoot! Well I Need To Get My Cichlids Out Of That Aquarium....
Blueiz
09-13-2005, 3:28 PM
My brother inlaw has a pleco that has grown to about 11 inches, the only time it bothers his fish is when the fish bother him, or they try to take his log. But fish are just like ppl, they do have different personalities. You just have to decide how much you want to trust this plec with your other fish.
theblueprint
09-13-2005, 3:52 PM
well its evident now that im afraid to leave that pleco in there with them so i will have to get rid of him....and get one a lot smaller!
sumthin fishy
09-13-2005, 4:10 PM
Don't get another of the same type if you want a smaller one. Try a large CAE, Or a smaller type of pleco, like a bushy nose.
wataugachicken
09-13-2005, 4:22 PM
CAE's will do the same thing, they are notorious for getting mean and attacking other fish.
sumthin fishy
09-13-2005, 4:25 PM
Yea that was bad advise. I had moved from the original problem to the problem of size without correlating the two. Thanks for pointing it out watuga.
Getting a smaller type of pleco would still be a good idea.
sorubimlima
09-13-2005, 4:53 PM
well the only pleco ive ever known not to bother chiclids was a royal plec or a panaque, or you could just change up a plecos diet with fresh greens and he would be to intrested in those probably hope this was of some help!
bob1962
09-13-2005, 7:04 PM
SO ARE YOU SAYING IN SOME INSTANCES THEY WILL...OR ALL OF THEM DO THAT????
Well, I think I had a gold fish in with it, but I was thinking cichlids are vulnerable at night, when they sleep on bottom.
FishFreak101
09-14-2005, 4:58 PM
heres kind of like a scary movie theem of the common pleco....
At Nite (thunder) in the murky waters of your fish tank. all thoughs tiny fish wil (more thunder) get eaten. Duh Duh Duuuuuuuh.
There you go with the smaller fish they will get eaten by rthe pleco