rhinbo pleco

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valerie

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Apr 18, 2001
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well i saw some of these at my LFS and was trying to look up ome info on these guys but there seems to be a bunch of different answers. Some say they get 13" some say 8". SOme say they can be kept with cichlids(won't get picked on too much?) and some say they can't.

Which is true? Does anyone actually have one and can give me some experiences. I'm interested more in the size and temperment since i'm looking for a pleco for my cichlid tank.

PS: i know pleco need more acidic water but all the plecos at my LFS are kept in regular tap water,ph 7.8(same as what i keep my tanks at).So i'm more concered about if they can deal with african peacock cichlids
 

Manix

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Jan 3, 2002
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I too have a rhino pleco. I've had him for one year and he's almost 5" ( was 2"). An average size is 8" but under the ideal conditions I'm sure they can reach a closer to 12".

I don't know about the acidity of the water. I've always thought plecos preferred closer to neutral ph. Recommended ph for this fish is 6.8 to nuetral. I've kept mine in up 8.0 with no ill effects.

As for living with Chichlids, I'm sure it can be done, but don't take my word for it. Experience with my fish shows he has more bark than bite. He's highly territorial but tends to trash his fins in EVERY fight he's in. He WILL pick a fight. He also tends to lose. Even to smaller fish. However, he likes to hide during the day. He refuses to come out if the lights are on.

SO, if he has lots of hiding places I'm sure your rhino wouldn't have to worry about being picked on. If he gets in a fight, chances are he started it =). Then again, maybe that's just mine? Good luck!
 

skeletalmachine

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Jan 21, 2003
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I have a 6 inch rhino pleco that my girlfriend named.... Rhino. He's been in my tank for just under 2 years and when I got him he was 2 1/2 inches long.

Just like manix's, he can be quite agressive and will often fight off angelfish that try to steal his shrimp pellets, algae waffers, whatnot.. I don't think the angel fish really consider him to be a threat though as they keep coming back to steal his food. Unlike Manix's, Rhino is very active, all day. He will always swim to the front left corner of the tank if I feed the other fish and patiently wait for his food.

I feed him once a day with sinking wafers, algae wafers or shrimp pellets. I originally bought him to remove algae in my tank but found he didn't do such a great job at that and had to get other fish to get that job done.

I don't know how they do in harder water (my pH is ~7) but I would suggest that you put a decent sized piece of driftwood in the tank. Rhino rasps on all the driftwood in the tank quite frequently even though it is all algae free and I have read that it is somewhat important for thier health.
 

GEV83

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Jun 19, 2002
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Rhinos get about 12". I did some research on them for I want one and I got the same info but I asked several other people and they say it gets 12" so here you go.
 

polkadot

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Nov 29, 2002
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you can keept them in water with high pH but make sure you accumulate them to the new water slowly.
 
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