Which pleco should I get?

[josh752]

So I'm brand new to this forum but not the fish world I have been keeping fish for about 10 years of my life. But right now I have a 55 gallon tank with 2 marine land 350s on it. My tank temperature is 76 degrees. I perform weekly 50 percent water changes as well.

The question I have is can I add any of these plecos to my tank?

Gold Nugget Pleco
Clown Pleco
Green or blue phantom pleco
Bristlenose pleco

The tanks stocked with 1 Jack dempsey, 4 pictus catfish currently.

[.Plecomania.]

BN plecos are generally an awesome choice. get a couple of reds or green dragons, get them a cave or two and you should be able to raise them and breed them well.

you would have to separate the fry once they hatch though if the male doesn't guard them. fry are spiny so maybe the cichlids and other catfish will not eat them, but why take chances.

you could also get ONE gold nugget or ONE green phantom pleco (if blue phantom is the same then ONE of those). or get 2 clown plecos instead of the BN pleco pair and breed those.

I am going by AqAdvisor stocking recommendations. your tank is rather well stocked already.

[josh752]

A golden nugget would be amazing! Would it be fine though with a Jaxk Demosey I have heard they can defend themselves right?

[yayfish24]

How big is the jack?

[josh752]

He's 4 inches right now so I was hoping I could still add a pleco and he would still accept them dince he's still really young. So would it be possible to get a gold nugget pleco with him? Also these fish will be kept in the 55 most likely for life.

[.Plecomania.]

I think it may be possible with just one gold nugget and no other plecos. just make sure you do your water changes, provide lots of places to hide for the pleco. your tank would be very slightly overstocked with the gold nugget, but i think you can manage if you keep up water quality. also make sure to get a smaller species of gold nugget, not the bigger species.

[josh752]

Which L number is the smaller one? Thank you guys for all the help. Also do they require driftwood or do they do ok without it. I have one big rock structure that's hollow and 2 caves is that sufficient hiding for the gold nugget?

[josh752]

I have heard that gold nuggets are really not hardy at all. What about snowball plecos?

[Richard B]

A gold nugget isn't a great choice as they need higher temperatures to thrive & can suffer very badly on import. Both get to roughly similar sizes - not sure what is meant by smaller sized species? TL 8 inches & 10 inches although they are slow growing.

A dempsey can be very aggressive when they start to mature so you'll need to provide some good hiding places for any pleco. It might not just 'accept'other fish even when introduced as young fish together.

A bristlenose is a good choice to get experience with plecos & can breed without too much effort although fry will be eaten by most fish - they are not spiny at all when fry & can be eaten by stuff like killifish etc

[josh752]

I have had plecos in the past. I just want an interesting cool looking pleco.

[josh752]

I have had plecos in the past. I just want an interesting cool looking pleco.

[.Plecomania.]

My large angelfish was not able to eat newly hatched BN pleco fry. So i just assumed they were too spiny. those pectoral fins are probably the hardest part of the fry.

And there are at least 3-4 species of gold nuggets. range from 7" to more than 10" according to the cat-e-log on here. i'd choose the 7" species.

[josh752]

I don't think the gold nugget is for me it seems extremely difficult to take care of. Is a snowball pleco any easier they look almost the same which I like and I have heard they are a lot hardier.

[nvcichlids]

my personal opinion is none of them should be purchased. of the ones listed, Bristlenose plecos are the most adaptable, so if you need to get a pleco, go bristlenose.

[.Plecomania.]

if you do get them, make sure to get them from a breeder of course. there are lots of people selling juveniles on aquabid and similar sites.

Clown plecos or BNs are good choices if you want to try breeding. i never kept clown plecos so idk how easy they are to keep/breed, sorry.
Bristlenose FTW.

[josh752]

I dint want to breed them I just want a single 6-8 inch pleco that can handle a JD and looks nice. Can any fit this criteria? If not can I add a striped Raphael catfish

[.Plecomania.]

well a male BN pleco might get close to 6" in length. and if you provide enough hiding spots, he will be able to handle the cichlid i believe.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... ith-a-Jack

[josh752]

How fast do they grow and is there a sure fire way to tell its a male? Also if I can find a snowball pleco will it work at all or no?

[.Plecomania.]

BN plecos will grow to that length in maybe 2 years or more.
i have no idea about snowball plecos. they sound rare and very expensive. they grow to similar size as BN plecos.

a male BN pleco is easily identifiable by the multitude of whiskers on its face and snout.

[josh752]

I finally decided on a pleco it's a bristlenose but not a normal one. I want to get a starlight bristlenose pleco

[.Plecomania.]

those dont grow very large at all. 4" is around max size, are you sure the dampsey wont kill it?
beautiful fish though.

[josh752]

I just don't know what to get I need a pleco that can handle a JD but only reaches 6-8 inches.

[exasperatus2002]

I'd go bristle nose. They're a dime a dozen and hardy. Not a big lose if the Dempsey kills it as opposed to the cost of a gold nugget or other plecostomus.

[Richard B]

l183 - A blackwater resident that can be somewhat delicate if not kept in similar conditions in captivity - not a good mix with the JD

Have you considered

Panaqolus albivermis

? JD can be a bit of bully but not really a fin nipper & albivermis are pretty tough. They are also mostly veggie/wood eaters so shouldn't compete for food too much. A lot depends on some good hidey-holes being present & sufficient territory for any fish in your tank

[.Plecomania.]

that one looks very cool

[josh752]

It looks like they would be hard to get a hold of are they?

[.Plecomania.]

just keep looking, you will find one eventually. maybe a breeder somewhere online is selling them.

[nvcichlids]

They are for sale on Aquabid right now. Several fish websites also have them.