Recommend smaller plecos please!

Skip the pleco's and get otto's (Otocinclus vestitus is usually offered). IMO they're better algae eaters, don't add such a bio load, and are never large or aggressive. However they will starve without algae or supplements, and are more sensitive to water quality. If your LFS is any good expect to find them in a planted tank. If they're in a bare "sterile" tank they're likely undernourished. Ottos should have plump abdomens.

I'm not as well versed in pleco's as some on the board but if your set on pleco's look for the genus Ancistrus usually "gold nugget pleco" and "bristlenose". Or the genus Peckoltia which includes the "rubber plecos". I've often found common names used randomely so be sure you trust your LFS or you may get a large pleco by mistake. In this age of the internet don't forget that books still work. Borrow one off of the shelf or bring your own. Of course printing pics from a website doesn't hurt if you're "biblio-phobic". Rarely has google or yahoo let me down searching for info based on common names, give it a try.

if yr going for a pleco - L102 snowball - 6" OR.....
L316 - Rio Jari Zebra - 3.5"

bristlenoses are good, they get around 4-6 inches. the gold nuggets stay small, but are expensive, around $30 and can be very delicate. hard to acclimate, they often starve. if you really like surprises and aren't much for instant gratification, you may want to get a ringlet pleco. they only get about 4 inches, but mine hides for weeks at a time only eating driftwood (which they need to have). when i finally see it peeking out, it's like getting a late birthday present. they're a stripey green and yellow fish, and very pretty when you manage to get a glimpse of them.

I've had my clown plec for over a year and it's only 4 inches. I only see it about once a month though so it's not exactly high profile in my tank. That's what I get for having large driftwood with lots of caves.

The chocolate pleco max's out around 6", it is not aggressive at all. I picked mine up at Petsmart so they should be fairly common.

Depends on the 'chocolate'--many are actually just a color morph on the common and will still get to 18+ inches. I have a lovely one right now that's about 9 inches and still growing.

Really? I was not aware of that. I must have an actual chocolate as it is 1.5 years old and only 5.5 long. My common's that are 6-7 months are already 6-7"

If the chocolate is in with other pleco's, that's probably the reason yours is still small. Mine was in with a large, male bristlenose for the first 6-9 months I had it, and stayed about 4-5 inches. I moved it into a tank with no other 'pleco' fish, and within 2 months it hit 8 inches. I suspect that chocolates are more sensitive to the hormones from a dominant fish than many commons--but that's just theory. Do you have a pic?

Here ya go, just took them.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v624/mudfrog/Fish/Chocolate Pleco/