mixing plecos

[bigbrad73]

Hello all. This is my first post. I am wanting to do an all pleco tank. If I put multiple different kinds in the tank will they interbreed with the different kind? I would like to start trying to breed them but dont want to intermix the breeds. Just curious. Not wanting to breed for money or anything, just want to have fun with it. I have 4 kids and we did an angel tank with that we started of with juvis and brought them up and they had babies. They have had the most enjoyment out that but I really want to do an all pleco tank and see what we can to with that. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

[Narwhal72]

Closely related species can hybridize (Hypancistrus for one) but if you mix it up (Peckoltia, Ancistrus, Panaque, Hypancistrus, etc...) you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[Triactis Trainer]

Hi there!

I had always loved the idea of an all pleco tank. I used a 125 G 6' tank. The inhabitants were L240 at 7", 2x Mustard Spot (Forget the LDA#) at 4.75-5", 4x L333 at 2-4", 8xL144 ranging from 1-4" (they had breed in the tank), 2x L204 at 2.5-3". The filtration for the system were 2 HOB Marineland 300 emperor filters, and a Fluvel cannister. With the high bioload, water changes were done every week of 30-40%. The main problem I had faced was the total INACTIVITY in the tank. Even with adding several species, some refused to go out. I had added a small shoal of 8 rainbows to the tank which prompted many of the more insecure species to venture further out into the tank. Dither fish was the solution here and keeping a good eye on all the fish. I knew going into the project that the fish would have a high chance of a lot of aggression being that there were some more aggressive species living together. The tank ran well for almost 2 years before I broke it down before I had gone off to college. I figured no one in my family could take the special care needed for my tanks that I could. Hope my experience on the topic can be used to help you in your project!

[Richard B]

As above - be wary of mixing species from the same genus.

Also be considerate to how much territory each individual needs - I've seen people cram plecos into a tank to the maximum stocking density but there is insufficient territory. Everything goes fine for a while then one reaches a certain point of maturity & wants much more space, creating havoc, injury & sometimes death to other plecos. Some genera are noted to be more aggressive than others so careful selection is needed.

[Richard B]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =5&t=36973

Sadly the pics don't show on this thread but it is a great example of a crowded tank where something went badly wrong