Paradise fish & clown pleco

for the pleco you need at least a 30 gallon tank, the more mature the better. the paradise fish shouldn't bother the pleco at all
 
I've had a clown pleco for years. Until recently I kept him in a 20 gallon tank. I moved him to a 33 so I could house some more fish with him, but he was doing just fine in the 20. I don't understand why folks are saying that you need 30 gallons for a clown pleco but only 20 for the Bristlenose or Bulldog, when the bulldog needs cooler water (hence more dissolved oxygen), and the Bristlenoses get bigger than the clowns and poop every bit as much (at least the common Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus.).

So, bottom line, that should be just fine.
 
Yeah, Paradise fish, Pleco, period in a 20. Maybe if it's so heavily planted you can't see substrate, and seriously overfiltered, in 6 months you could add 6 or 8 medium tetras or rasboras.
 
I was just planning on keeping the paradise and the clown, unless there is some other personality fish that would work. I would have 2 filters running on the tank at 150 gph each and this tank will be planted.
 
That's a good tank. Couple of things:

  1. Keep the temp at the low end of tropical - 74 or 75. Paridise are subtropical and the pleco can handle the low end of the tropical.
  2. Driftwood is a positive requirement. Clown plecos eat it.
  3. Try and put in 4 or 5 good hiding places. The easier it is for your clown to hide (particularly hide under driftwood) the more likely you'll see it.
  4. Keep the lighting low, either with a weak light or with lots of floating plants. The Paradise fish will appreciate the overhead cover, and the clown pleco will come out more often in a dimly lit tank.
  5. Even if you do everything just right, do not expect to see much of the pleco. Mine is the single shyest fish I own (out of several hundred).
 
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