plecos vs. acrylic

[sanduskycichlids]

I'm setting up my south american tank, and I would like to know if there are any "fancy" plecos, that don't graze algae....damage acrylic?

[MatsP]

That is a not so unusual debate. Large wood-eaters certainly have been known to scratch the surface of Acrylic tanks.

And it's a natural behaviour of ALL Loricariidae to "scrape" on the surfaces where they attach to try to find edibles. Panaque's are the most abrasive, and other species are probably fine for a long time. You WILL find tiny scrapes, but it's not going to look like someone has been using a scouring pad to clean the tank for a very long time.

And if worst comes to worst, you CAN polish scratches out - it's hard work, but can be done.

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Mats

[Nx7]

I think whiptail plecos of Pseudohemiodon are good choices.They prefer bloodworm and prawns than algae.

[Shane]

And if worst comes to worst, you CAN polish scratches out - it's hard work, but can be done.

Having tried this once to save a heavily pleco-damaged 150 gallon I can tell you it is not even remotely worth the time or effort.

Pleco and acrylic eventually equals a tank thrown in the trash unless you are keeping something like Otocinclus, or as NX7 suggested, reophilic loricariinae..
-Shane

[wrasse]

Flippin 'eck!
I was going to reply: Don't worry, fish tanks are made 'fit for purpose'. But I didn't...
These fish have teeth for raspin' plastic!

[Shane]

These fish have teeth for raspin' plastic!

There is a good reason why the common name for Panaque in the Ecuadorian Amazon is "Comacanoa" (canoe-eater), in the Colombian Amazon "Runecanoa" (canoe-ruiner) and in the llanos as "Rullecanoa."
Acrylic is noting for fishes that regularly eat their way through tropical hardwoods.

-Shane

[Carp37]

Pleco and acrylic eventually equals a tank thrown in the trash unless you are keeping something like Otocinclus, or as NX7 suggested, reophilic loricariinae..

From this, I'm assuming that even non-toothed plecos such as Pterygoplichthys and Ancistrus do enough cosmetic damage over time to ruin acrylic tanks- I'd always assumed that these would be safe, but its been years since I've used plastic tanks.

[sanduskycichlids]

this is sad!!!!!!!!!!!! I just bought a 375gallon, obviously acrylic, and I wanted to put my l25s, l333, l56, and few other plecos in there along with some angles, and red head tapajos geophagus....oh well, tough luck I guess

[MatsP]

Whilst they will probably crawl all over the glass, I wouldn't put either of L25 or L333 high on the list of fish that cause damage to acrylic.

Are you sure that your fish is really L056 - there are currently no keepers of this fish, and it's probably a fairly unusual import - not saying it couldn't possibly be that, just asking to make sure that you are getting what you think you are getting. In general,

Pseudancistrus

do not appear to have many keepers - and they probably prefer slightly cooler water than the Rio Xingu fish that you also wish to keep.

--
Mats

[Shane]

From this, I'm assuming that even non-toothed plecos such as Pterygoplichthys and Ancistrus do enough cosmetic damage over time to ruin acrylic tanks- I'd always assumed that these would be safe, but its been years since I've used plastic tanks.

Yes, the tank I had ruined beyond repair was from Ancistrus. Don't get me wrong, it takes some time for them to destroy the tank but what are at first almost microscopic scratches over time become cumulative. At first the tank becomes a little less clear, then a little scratchy looking, then small algae grows in the tiny scratches that is almost impossible to remove, then you make it a "breeder tank" because it cost you so much to buy but then on top of the scratches the acrylic starts to turn yellow, and not too long after the tank is being given away as a pony water trough.
Total lifespan of the acrylic I had was about 5 years. By comparison, there is a 40 gallon glass tank in my fishroom right now holding sicklids that says "Manufactured Apr 1977" on the bottom.
-Shane

[MatsP]

My 48 x 18 x 15" tanks are all more than 20 years old too - and yes, they are all glass. One of them is quite scraped from the shops effort to keep algae and such at bay - I will probably shuffle this when I get another set of 24 x 18 tanks to go in it's place.

--
Mats

[2wheelsx2]

I think the biggest thing is, with smaller glass tanks (by smaller, I mean 55 gallons or smaller) you can afford to replace when it gets too scratched up, but the acrylic tanks are pricey no matter what size they are, so it's a more significant investment to ruin. And on a big tank, it's such a significant expense, I couldn't justify the risk of plecos gouging up the tank so that the lifespan is < 10 years. My glass 125 is 5 years old now almost and absolutely mint.

[Carp37]

My oldest tank is just over 30 years old (although it wasn't running for 17 of those) and definitely not mint- it's got scratches on the outside from transferring it from Sheffield to Bristol, back to Sheffield, up to the loft, down from the loft, and from Sheffield to Aughton- it's not suffered scratches from any fish though. And yes, all my tanks are glass...