Need some help choosing catfish or pleco!

[Addict]

Plecos DO NOT grow slowly. My common sailfin, Rufus the big fat fish, is 18 months old and 16+ inches. Thats almost an incha month! And they are poop machines. I'm mean 10 inch streamers! Might want to think about something else....

How true. They tend to grow at a rate proporational to the size of the aquarium. My Plec is about 3 years old and roughly 12" (as of last night). Then again, he started life in a 7.5 gallon aquarium (when he was much smaller).

And oh man can they poop!!! Easily from one side to the other and back.

plecos and bichirs don't mix, the pleco will probably stick to the side of the bichir and rasp away at his slime, I'd say go with some sort of catfish instead.

I can't see another type of catfish fairing better. Sailfin Plecs would be a "target" due to the size of the fins, but a Snow King, esp one much larger than the bichir, should be ok. But I also don't know a great deal about the personality of the bichirs (only what I've read).

 

[zmazza]

Mines kind of funny in the way that he acts. He's very peaceful as long as he can't fit it in his mouth easily. I've seen him nip at a few things, but only when they get in his 'personal space' I guess you could say. He tends to stay pretty active, flying all over the aquarium. I don't think a plec would have the time or energy to try and rasp on him.

I may have to give one a try and see what happens. Can the common plec survive in 8.3?

I'll just do more water changes than I normally would.

 

[Addict]

Plecs are fairly tolerant of water conditions. 8.3 seems a little high to me, so maybe someone wlse could chime on that. My water on the last check was somewhere near 7.6-7.8 I think (lack of memory here).
SNOW KING PLEC INFO

As far as water changes go, I do mine every 2 weeks or so. Mostly to get his poop trails......

And be sure to treat it to some zucchini every now & again. They love it.

 

[zmazza]

I always seem to lose ANY plec that I try and keep. My water always tests fine, but after a week or two they ALWAYS get ich and die. I have no idea what is causing it. I try and feed them algae wafers, but I never notice if they are actually eating them. They usually sit down at the bottom, and the next morning, they are gone. Should I feed them something else? I always expect them to be active during feeding time and come out and eat the blood worms, flake, or whatever.

What could I be doing wrong?

 

[beblondie]

have some possible catfish
CATFISH
Dusky Pimelodid-Pimelodus blochii
Giraffe Catfish-Auchenoglanis occidentalis
Dwarf giraffe Catfish-Parauchenoglanis macrostoma
Giant Whiptail Catfish-Sturisoma aureum
Synodontis alberti
Synodontis angelicus
Synodontis pleurops
Synodontis decorus
Synodontis eupterus
Synodontis notatus
Synodontis brichardi
Synodontis nigrita
Synodontis flavitaeniata
Synodontis soloni
Liver Catfish-Heteropneustes fossilis
Black Lancer-Bagrichthys hypselopterus
the possible damage done by a pleco to a bichir by rasping its slimecoat also includes scale damage which can lead to a severe infection.Further once a pleco develops a tatse for slimecoat theres no stopping it.The only recomended pleco to keep with smaller species of bichir is the bristlenose,however you could try either of these
Adonis pleco-Acanthicus adonis,Black adonis-Acanthicus hystrix -Anne

 

[TKOS]

What about a pictus cat? They get large enough and aggressive enough to protect themselves.

 

[zmazza]

have some possible catfish
CATFISH
Dusky Pimelodid-Pimelodus blochii
Giraffe Catfish-Auchenoglanis occidentalis
Dwarf giraffe Catfish-Parauchenoglanis macrostoma
Giant Whiptail Catfish-Sturisoma aureum
Synodontis alberti
Synodontis angelicus
Synodontis pleurops
Synodontis decorus
Synodontis eupterus
Synodontis notatus
Synodontis brichardi
Synodontis nigrita
Synodontis flavitaeniata
Synodontis soloni
Liver Catfish-Heteropneustes fossilis
Black Lancer-Bagrichthys hypselopterus
the possible damage done by a pleco to a bichir by rasping its slimecoat also includes scale damage which can lead to a severe infection.Further once a pleco develops a tatse for slimecoat theres no stopping it.The only recomended pleco to keep with smaller species of bichir is the bristlenose,however you could try either of these
Adonis pleco-Acanthicus adonis,Black adonis-Acanthicus hystrix -Anne

Thank you very much for the lists, though. You are really good about keeping those handy, aren't you? =)

Any common names for any of the synodontis catfish? Not really sure the bristlenose can take my water. I think they are a rare oddity around here to tell you the truth.

 

[Teelie]

plecos and bichirs don't mix, the pleco will probably stick to the side of the bichir and rasp away at his slime, I'd say go with some sort of catfish instead.

Properly fed and cared for Plecs will not do this. I've seen 12-14" Commons with slower moving fish and never so much as glance at them because they are given a good mix of food.

 

[budrecki]

Very true Teelie. A well feed pleco is a lazy pleco, and is not going to bother other fish. My 16" pleco is not even interested in my plants. Yes, I have a planted aquarium with a pleco.....GASP!

 

[Addict]

I always seem to lose ANY plec that I try and keep. My water always tests fine, but after a week or two they ALWAYS get ich and die. I have no idea what is causing it. I try and feed them algae wafers, but I never notice if they are actually eating them. They usually sit down at the bottom, and the next morning, they are gone. Should I feed them something else? I always expect them to be active during feeding time and come out and eat the blood worms, flake, or whatever.

What could I be doing wrong?

You won't see a Plec eating in the daytime or while you're near the tank. They are night time feeders and are generally shy. They won't eat bloodworms or flake. For some reason I see them listed as omnivores, but they prefer vegitation. A good quality algae wafer is the ideal food. Of course you have to give your Plec the occassional Zucchini. That's the only thing I will see my Plec come out and eat right away. Apparently he doesn't like to share that with the others.

I feed my Plec about 5 tablets in the evening since night time is their active time. This is in addition to anything he sucks up himself. Also bear in mind that I have Corys which will eat anything that falls to the bottom (not picky at all!). Though they like the shrimp pellets better.

the possible damage done by a pleco to a bichir by rasping its slimecoat also includes scale damage which can lead to a severe infection.Further once a pleco develops a tatse for slimecoat theres no stopping it.

And that usually occurs as a result of underfeeding. A well fed Plec won't harm your fish. I have seen a Plec become agitated with other fish. This usually results in my Plec swooshing his tail and flinging the fish that was bothering him.

Properly fed and cared for Plecs will not do this. I've seen 12-14" Commons with slower moving fish and never so much as glance at them because they are given a good mix of food.

Agreed.