Plecos in an African Cichlid tank
- Thread starter nano55
- Start date
I have a bushy nose L-144 with my Mbuna. All has been well for about 12 months. I've heard talk of a pleco's eyes being picked out by Mbuna but haven't experienced it.
I would find the Plecos losing their eyes might be a little more likely if you had, say, a "Malawi Eye-Biter". Give them a cave or two, though, and they should be able to keep away from eye-pickers.
My neolamprologus multifasciatus and julidochromis transcriptus terrorized my ancistrus spp. as soon as I put him into the tank. Not exactly a Malawi eye biter....
Point is that cichlids will respond differently, even relatively peaceful ones. If you want to add a pleco species have a backup. Luckily mine adapted well to my 30 gallon planted.
:iagree:. Mine has been with my mbunas for 4 months and no problems so far. It was in the tank for a week before the mbunas arrived.
its a mix up situation in some setups they work and in anothers they would kill or torment the thing but the best advice would be like jpap stated have a backup plan more than likely it will be ok but if for some reason it doesnt happen than be ready to remove it.. good luck..
personally, i could never rationalize the NEED for a pleco. takin up space in my 90 that is better spent on cichlids. a little elbow grease usally kicks any algae on the front. and my tropheus prefer i keep the sides and back a little green
for me i have the albino bristelnose plecos to help keep my plant leaves clean from algae but its a matter of taste when it comes to plecos in any setup and i also believe in a good maintenance schedule as well so when it comes to the glass portion i usually whip out my magnet scraper for the glass part and i have a hand held with a razor end for the stubborn algae that doesnt want to come off..