2 plecos, would they be suitable in with my cichlids

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
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saylaveev
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2 plecos, would they be suitable in with my cichlids

Post by saylaveev »

Hi there,

I have seen 2 plecos in a local fish store that I'd be interested in having, but I never buy a fish without having a proper home for him.

While I do have a 90 gallon tank, it wouldn't be suitable for them due to the sheer number of bottom feeders in the tank, along with the royal pleco that's in there.

I have a 40 gal (this would be temporary) with 3 aceis and 3 yellow labs. Could either of them go into it?

the plecos are a Vampire Pleco, and a L121 pleco (wormthread pleco).

The only other problem is that they are in a store that I don't support (they sell puppies) so I would likely order them in from another store.
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MatsP
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Post by MatsP »

I'm not overly familiar with cichlids (I had some many years ago, but I don't even remember what they were named then, and I certainly haven't followed their name changes).

If you have african malawi or tanganyika cichlids, they tend to want hard alkalic water, which is almost completely opposite of the wishes from any of the pleco's: soft acidic.

South american cichlids are much more in tune with the requirements for pleco's in general.

Like so many other things in the world, you can probably get away with having either at the wrong hardness/pH, but they won't be in ideal conditions...

The Vampire pleco is also said to be a bit territorial, so you may want to avoid having any other pleco's in the same tank as that one, unless you've got some really good space for it.

--
Mats
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