what do u know about the butterfly pleco &. . .?

[kyle3]

the guy at the LFS i just found (which is the best i've yet found in town) suggested a few algae eaters to me. . . and i wonder what expirience you've all had with a couple of the species.

the first that intruiged me was the butterfly pleco (sorry didn't get scientific names)

the other was a dwarf bushy-nosed ancistrus (i've heard of the regular ones but not dwarf)

and amano shrimp he said they're herbivors- although i've read here they can be aggressive to smaller fish i have neon tetras so

i haven't ruled out oto's either

so thanks in advance

 

[Flowerhorn916]

If your looking to buy these fish to clean your tank dont they wont help much and they make more waste than the clean up. I belive many LFS use the term "algae eater" to sell many fish to people who think that there tank will be clean the day after they add an "algae eater" also remeber these fish will also need serperate foods to thrive in your tank besides algae like cucmber/shrimp pellets/algae wafers but thet are cool fish this was just a warning in case you did not alredy know this info.

 

[kyle3]

thanks i am aware of that i have a planted tank that is still establishing itself - while i know they will need supplamental food and they'll contribute to my bioload- i've been told they help keep planted tanks healthy. pluse they are all cool fish- that being my main interest.

 

[Flowerhorn916]

Yes they will help and fancy plecos are amoung my favorite I suggest you check out planetcatfish.com and you can get all teh info you were looking for on them under cat-a-log

 

[kyle3]

brilliant thanks a a lot!

 

[fishpoor]

the butterfly pleco could be a loach, either way, They seem to need a lot of current in your tank. I like my bristlenose , but an algae eater he ain't. He spends his time waiting for me to feed him. If you're interested in breeding, the bristlenose are easy and fun, but the babies need lots of veggies & are kinda messy. The male guards the eggs & babies until they come out. Ottos are great,won't harm your plants. They don't seem to care for a tank that's too warm and can be difficult to get started. They also seem to like a lot of current.