Are there any Plecos that don't need wood?

[cubequeen]

I would like to get one of the smaller plecos that only grow to about 4-5˝. I don't have any driftwood in my tank and have no intention of adding any. Are there any small plecos that don't require wood as part of their diet? My tank is 30 gallons.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[wataugachicken]

if you don't want driftwood, i would suggest you look into banjo catfish, whiptail cats, or farlowellas. driftwood is pretty important for plecos, even the kinds that don't specifically eat the wood itself (panaque species). a banjo cat and a few more cories should work out for your tank.

 

[Barbie]

Plecos in the Panaque species require driftwood. Most of the Ancistrus, Hypancistrus, and many others couldn't care less and will thrive without it, as long as there's ample forage for them to keep full on. They rasp the algae and outer layers off wood to supplement their diet. Give them something else to keep busy with and they'll have no problem at all.

Barbie

 

[kagaskritters]

so a clown pleco needs driftwood, right? i heard driftwood will lower the ph in the tank, is that true? i already have to use crushed coral to keep the ph up...so would the driftwood cause a problem? i wanted to get a clown pleco for the 29 i am setting up.

 

[DarkSoul]

im curious about this as well.... do commons require wood? and what is it about the wood that they use/eat?

 

[Swayde]

Do bristlenose plecos require wood? What about otocinclus?

 

[Barbie]

Peckoltia will rasp some wood. Otocinclus, bristlenose, and common's don't "REQUIRE" driftwood, but they will definitely be seen chewing on it, if it's available. Driftwood is definitely going to affect your pH, depending on the age of the piece and the level of tannic acid still left in it to leach out. If you're having to add coral to the tank to maintain a stable pH, you probably wouldn't want to add a large amount of driftwood. A few small pieces, enough for most any pleco to get the lignin from the wood, would probably be safe, even with very soft water. Just make sure you're doing regular partial water changes to combat the softening process.

Barbie

 

[legendaryfrog]

Im not sure which plec's need wood, but I will tell you that the pH drop with driftwood is completely overexaggerated. If you buy a quality piece of malaysian driftwood, you're not going to experience much of a drop.

 

[Lukee]

maybe like .2

 

[KSRG]

If you boil the driftwood chunks until the water stops discoloring, this will help to extract the majority of the tannins. The process could take a few hours, but it won't leach so much after that.

My little candy-stripe plecos (peckoltia vittata) require the wood as their diet is based more on bulk fiber (roughage) than nutrients. Each species has certain requirements for their diets.

With small boiled chunks of driftwood, I would imagine that your water parmeters wouldn't change very much (crushed coral acting as a pH buffer) if at all.

Good luck...