Was buying this clown pleco a mistake?

M

mozart

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Mar 29, 2007
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While at the local pet shop discussing the return of my now aggressive adult angelfish, I asked about otos, since I had just spent the morning scrubbing my tank. The owner said that otos are too small to house with angels and suggested a dwarf pleco. I assumed all plecos grew too big for my tank but the owner assured me this dude will stay small. He also says it is good for algae. Now (a bit late) I read that clown plecos are super poopers, may kill my cories as he takes over the driftwood which he will eventually eat, and really isn't a very good algae eater. Well he is in my tank now (he has been disease free for some time at the shop so I put him in) and now I'm worried. Was this a foolish purchase?
 
All plecos are super poopers! They have a very heavy bioload for one fish, no doubt. I have kept clown plecos before. Your other fish are in no danger of any aggression by the clown pleco. They do eat a lot of wood, but i don't think you'll see a piece of driftwood disappear over time. You won't see much of the clown pleco, they are very shy, very noctorunal creatures. Well....they're not really good algae eaters.

Here's some good infor on your clown pleco:

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/profiles/clown-pleco/

and here:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=734

What kind of algae does your tank grow?
 
Clown plecos are one of the smaller kinds of plecos. They need a 20g tank min. (which is quite a small amount considering that they are plecos). Great links and advice from pinkertd as always
 
I have a clown pleco (he's my oldest fish) in my 29-gallon tank. His bottom dwelling tankmates include 3 aeneus cories, 3 panda cories and a yoyo loach and a bunch of MTS. His other tankmates include rummynose tetras, cardinal tetras and common hatchets. I hardly ever see Oliver unless I'm specifically hunting for him (and I do mean "hunting"), and even then sometimes I can't find him. I've never known him to harm any of his tankmates, cories included. Also, I never noticed that he was a super pooper, but then compared to the regular pleco that I gave away to a very good home, I'd say Oliver is chronically constipated. Don't worry about your clown pleco. If you have your tank properly set up for your pleco, you'll probably never see him or her.
 
I have 6 otos in with 5 angels and they all get along. If you only bought him to clean the tank then I would take him back. All plecos are super poopers and IME the larger they get the lazier they are.
 
I want a Clown Plec. I've got so many other Plecs in all my tanks that I just haven't made a place for one yet. Count your blessings, they're very pretty.
 
I guess the bioload is OK. My platies were superpoopers, but the plants looked good and they actually ate a good bit of algae. If it gets along with my cories and shares the hiding places that's OK too. I really want something to clean up the algae though! Ksane, you're right-they're not too common around here. Although, I don't spend too much time looking at plecos 'cause I've always considerd them off limits! Thanks Everyone.
 
A couple bristlenose plecos would have cleaned up the algae better than a clown, though not nearly as good as real algae eaters. If you want things to really take care of algae, try otos (they should be fine with your angel), nerite snails, or amano shrimp (might turn into angel snacks). Really I'd suggest nerites, they're very attractive, pretty cheap, are long lived and clean loads of algae. I've had two porcupine nerites for a couple of years and they aren't even fully grown.
 
I picked up 3 teeny tiny otos and put them in my tank (w/o QT-I've been feeling risky lately). The angel is completely disinterested, even when they swim in her face. I'll probably return the pleco eventually. If it's not doing any work, I at least want admire it which is impossible! Thanks.
 
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