Pleco Vs Java Fern

Wycco

Wycco

Eat more pine trees
Apr 19, 2009
1,882
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34^N 81^W
Real Name
Kim Jong Il
So I've heard Plecos can do a number on an Amazon Sword so the two are not really compatible.

Does this extend to all broadleafed plants?

I have more Java Ferns than any other individual plant- if I were to get a smaller Pleco: Bristlenose or Bulldog- would my Java Ferns face danger?

Other plants include, Star Grass, Guppy Grass, Java Moss, Moss Ball, Bacopa, Moneywort, Pearlwort (HM), Water Wisteria Hornwort... All plants that I wouldn't expect a Pleco to mess with- hopefully some dwarf hair grass and a floating plant at some point. I do have one Amazon Sword, but, although I've resussitated it some and it has some new growth, two baby leaves, it pretty much melted away within days after getting it from Petsmart.




So back to the question- would my Java ferns be in danger from a Bristlenose or Bulldog Pleco? I'm guessing the others would be safe (besides the sword of course).
 
So you think those Plecos will not destroy swords either? I might be safe to get some dwarf swords at some point along with the Pleco?

I did see one sword in a Common Pleco tank at Walmart- the Plecos were tiny but they still managed to turn that sword into a lace plant!
 
I have a common pleco a clown pleco and a bristle nose and my two swords are fine.
 
So is the trick- make sure you get food to the Pleco (not just leave him to scavenge like many people do) and he won't destroy plants?

That won't be a problem with me- I'm going to have some Cory and shrimp in the tank too- so I'm already going to be feeding sinking algae disks and other sinking foods. It will be no problem to make one feeding right before lights out for the Pleco.
 
yup I drop a wafer and some shrimp pellets in the Am and two wafers at night all muh plants are fine.
 
Great! I can do that. Was planning on that for some of the other beasties too (shrimp, cory, cherry barbs)- so it sounds like a small pleco may be tailor-made for me!
 
The plecos are not going after the sword, they are after the algae etc growing on it. Te problem is the amazon sword leaves are fairly thin and in the process of rasping off the surface they also end up rasping off the leaf itself. Tougher/thicker leaved swords or plants like ferns and anubias resisit the scraping better.

The more other easier to eat food one supplies, the less likely it is for the plecos to damage the amazons. Another solution is to have a higher light co2 added tank so the sword grows faster than the pleco trashes it :-)
 
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