Plants and plecos
- Thread starter FishKeeper-16
- Start date
Sorry to say but most plecos are bulldozing machines and are very good at uprooting plants. Perhaps you could try poting them in small open bottomed pots. That would allow the roots to grow and maybe slow the pleco down. Otherwise floating plants can be found that look very nice.
FishKeeper-16 said:
You really cant. Mine didnt start doing damage until they hit 6 inches, i shortly after that got rid of them and grabbed 5 ottos (1inch each) and they have done an amazing job for their size already in just a few days on my 72 gallon. Not to mention, they dont harm plants one bit or poop like them plecos.......
Do all plecos uproot plants? My pleco is only about 3 inches and he is in a 29g tank but when he gets bigger, I may have to trade him for a smaller pleco.
Mine will bump plants around when trying to eat algae, but it doesn't actively try to uproot my plants at all. I have large stemmed Hygrophilia and large bunches of plants though. Almost all my single-stemmed/small plants get uprooted frequently, by my pleco or my other fish. Try putting the plants in a less travelled area of the tank maybe.
Try a clwon or bristlenose pleco instead. They stay under 4-5 inches in length so are a much better choice for your tank size. Also they are better known for eating algae than the big commons are. Also adding driftwood is a good idea. Many plecos require wood as part of their diet.
TKOS said:
Clown plekos prefer meat over veges though, so they wouldnt be that great of tank cleaners. Bristlenoose are excellent though i hear!
Well I knew that clowns stayed small. There ya go. Ottos are always the best chocie though for small and greta algae eating. Or True SAE's.
TKOS said:
Ya, i got some last week, and they do an amzing job, id say even better than my two 6 inches plecos i used to have.