African PLECO?

[FHBrumb]

So, I'm at the local shop, and I ask the guy, if there is anything that eats like a Pleco, that would be good for an African tank. I'm looking for a rock and glass cleaner for my 125 tank. I told him I'd like to stick with real African fish in this tank, but would buckle under, if there was nothing that would help me keep the rocks and glass clean. He quickly informed me that many Plecos are actually from Africa, and that he had some in stock. I told him to show me what he had, expecting to see something new. He happily showed me several real Plecos, from $50 up, including Gold Nuggets and the like.

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure I've read that these fish are from South America.

Please, can anyone back this guy up, that many Plecos, including the Gold Nugget are from Africa? I actually wouldn't mind having one in there, but not if it is sold to me mistakenly, or dishonestly, by an "expert".

My gut says I'm done shopping for fish in that store. Someone convince me I'm wrong...

Thanks,
Frank

 

[Teelie]

As far as I know, there are no African plecs and only one or two that are from Asia. The rest are all South American. Either that guy is clueless, a liar, or a clueless liar.

http://planetcatfish.com/core has almost every known pleco species listed and most of them have their place of origin as well.

 

[RTR]

All plecos are South American, period. The so-called Asian suckermoth fish (hill stream or butterfly loaches) are loaches, not Loricariidae.

 

[Teelie]

I know those are, but there is at least one species from Asia that may end up/already be listed in the Loricariidae. I'll see if I can look it up. Regardless though, my point was 99.9% of plecs are South American in origin.

 

[FHBrumb]

Good enough. Even if only 99.9% are from South America, then there is surely no reason to shop at his store. Funny how a few of his high dollar fish were "just what I was looking for". I'm done there.

I subscribe to only one fish periodical, and guess what? It has an article this month on some of the specialty plecos. I had not read it yet, but now I'm 1000% sure that the Gold Nugget Pleco does not come from Africa.

So, any suggestions on a rock/glass cleaner for an African tank? It is likely I'll just put a common pleco in there, but any other suggestions?

BTW, the magizine also sais that many of the more exotic plecos are actually not great "clean up crew", and have specialized dietary needs. So, likely not a Gold Nugget this time.

If I don't find something special for this tank, I have a 9 inch common Pleco in another tank, I'll move him over...

Thanks for the help folks!

 

[Teelie]

The magazine is right. Many of the exotic L-numbers actually chew on driftwood and plants for their diet, not algae. I don't know of any African algae eating fish but I know they must exist. There's always a fish filling a niche like that. It's just a matter of finding out if it will be suitable to an aquarium.

 

[RTR]

Would you be willing to consider Olive Nerite snails? They are Carribean, not African, but they do not reproduce in coventional FW (even hard alkaline FW) tanks. They are also super glass cleaners. They are when fully mature larger than common pond snails or common ramshorn snails, but much smaller than any of the Apple snails. A lot of us are using them in our planted tanks for glass work and they do the job far better than any of the other snails for me.

 

[inxs]

Many african cichlids are algae eaters and will graze on it but as far as cleaning the glass, the snails sound like the best option.

Just remember that no algae eater will remove all the growth and discoloration in the tank, an algae scraper, razor and elbow grease will to the trick. (you could play some african music while you are cleaning the tank, lol)

There are also african catfish to use as scavengers to take care of any scraps of food that end up on the bottom.

 

[FHBrumb]

There are already three snails in the tank. Strangely, I only put two... The two I put are just Gold Mystery snails. I have no clue what the third is. Some of the substrate was from another fully cycled tank, to boost the cycle process. I'm sure it came from there, but what it is, I dunno.

Yes, many of the fish I have will graze on the algae. I'm intentionally going to leave a couple of rocks under lighting to start a patch for them to graze on every now and then.

Also, I agree. There is likely a suckerfish somewhere in Africa, pleco or loach, it is likely there. For now, I'm just going to play it by ear, and by elbow. I guess I need a good CD of African tunes for glass cleaning day... :dance:

If the algae get's bad, I'll slap a common brown in there to help out. My 75 has a nice and big one I can move, then I'll consider replacing him with a fancy pleco. Now I just have to tell the wife that my next algae eater is going to be $50.

The 100% African theme is already in jeapordy anyway with the snails, and I also put three small Cory Cats, to begin the cycle many weeks ago. The plan was to remove them later, but with all the rocks, I'm not sure I can catch them.

Thanks again for everyone's input. As for the LFS and his sales tactics or ignorance... I think his store is a good one. The tanks look clean, and the fish look healthy. His prices are competitive. I'll just have to do my homework before I go there, and pretty much ignore him...