To Buy or not to buy.....

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Nikki D

AC Members
Dec 22, 2003
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Winnipeg, Manitoba
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We will be getting our new 30 gallon in the next two to three weeks and here is the question...
Right now we have a 5" common pl*co, unfortunately he's in the ten gallon and managed to out grow that pretty fast, he keeps knocking things over when he tries to turn. We were going to trade him in, but would a small herd of ottos be better or a small bulldog pl*co?
One pet store says ottos are a pain in the a** and the bulldog won't get very big, the other says a small herd of ottos and paints an unflattering picture of the bulldog pl*co. We will be going bigger and saving the 10 gallon for a hospital or qt tank. We also need some kind of small algae eater for the 4 gallon cory tank, we have to scrub off the algae at least once a week, sometimes more.
Does anyone have any bad experiences with bulldog plecos? or better experience with ottos? I would like some feed back before taking Minni-me into the store for a trade in.

p.s. Minni-me wasn't supposed to get very much bigger than 2" when we bought him, and his slightly larger twin, along with two goldfish to go in a 10 gallon. We learned our lesson after reading this and many other informative websites, as well as talking to informed tank keepers. Went back to the original store today and heard another 16 year old clerk saying that you only needed a gallon and a half for a goldfish. The Other Half and I just shook our heads and walked out.
 
R

Richer

AC Members
Aug 7, 2002
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Edmonton, AB
Algae growth only explodes because of an imbalance in a fish tank. Since it doesn't seem like you have plants in your tank, this leaves two possbilities.
1.) Too much light is getting to your tank. Obviously, to solve this, reduce the amount of light that gets to your tank... via closing the blinds on your windows, shutting off room lights, moving your tank's location, etc.
2.) Too many free nutrients in the tank (ie. nitrates). This results from overfeeding, or too many fish in the tank, or infrequent water changes... its usually a combination of the three.

I would be more prone to think that you have too many nutrients in your fish tanks... increasing your water changes should help slow down, if not eliminate excess algae growth. Don't forget, even some of the most clean looking tanks have a little bit of algae... its normal in a healthy tank. My 66 gallon tank has some pretty good light exposure during the day, but it doesn't experience any noticeable amounts of algae growth, mainly because I am able to keep my nitrates pretty low, via frequent water changes, and low bioload.

HTH
-Richer
 
roliva

roliva

Dovii/Umbee Fanatic
Feb 23, 2004
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Lehigh Valley, PA
That's a very good level. Fish can usually tolerate nitrate levels below 40-50 ppm.

Romeo.
 
7

750t

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May 24, 2003
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Indiana
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I prefer ottos. They stay small and dont bother any fish. I have a few in my planted tanks they are almost impossible to find. I have no idea why anyone would want a common pleco. I used to have one in a 55 ,what a mess His poop trails were huge.
 
tomm10

tomm10

Prodigal Son
Oct 15, 2003
751
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Oxford, MA
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I've never heard anyone say that ottos were a pain but they do require very clean, stable water conditions. This makes them difficult for some people to keep. They won't do well in ammonia spikes for example.

I'm not familiar with the bulldog pleco you speak of but if you are looking for something to fix an algae problem, I don't think a pleco is the way to go. They will only eat so much.

Like Richer said, an algae problem (like having to scrape it each day) is the sign of an imbalance that fish choice won't correct. That being said, you could try some other algae eaters that will put less of a bio load in the tank like amano shrimp. Together with less feeding or light or whatever you find to be the source of your algae problem they might work well.

Tom
 
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