PlanetCatfish.com

just wondering, cause I'm always looking for a nice Pleco, from experience ... what Plecos usually show the best personality/ the least shy/ the most out in the open?

i've been thinking of maybe a nice Gibbiceps for my 125g if i find one, but they get so big so easily.
i wanna look at all the choices, and get a nice impressive Pleco to keep for years. any personal favorites as far as behavior?

for a small Pleco, i would recommend the Spotted Bulldog Pleco, always out and fairly attractive (at least not brown), and a good all around scavenger/ algae eater to boot.

personality? I had a brown "Vampire Pleco" with little yellow spots a long time ago, ceertainly was one weird acting obnoxious Pleco. I swear it used to try to start fights with cichlids.


in the past I've tried to be smart and get small size Plecos that wont get too big, they would usually find a dark spot and pretend to not exist and hide all day, which isnt much fun to be honest. I guess they found enough food at night to live, but not very endearing, nor any algae eating either. want a Pleco that doesnt just hide all day long and pout.

The most active pleco I have owned is a Pseudorinelepis genibarbis, L-95. The fish is quite expensive but well worth owning if you have the room for it. Interesting to note the fish does not have an omega eye or an adipose fin. I beleive it is one of the more primative plecos. The fish is frequently a mid water swimmer almost pelagic in nature.

Mark

To my amazement my L-014's are out a lot. There are three of them in a 150 gallon tank and all the other plecos do not come as much as they do. Whether this is due to the fact that there are three of them in the tank or their large eventual size or even for some other reason is beyond me. Of course they even stay out when the food is in the tank where my royal and leopard pleco's are not willing to come out until the lights are off. Very colorful fish that I am glad to see everyday in the tank where some plecos disappear for a few days at a time.

Here are the ones I have owned throughout the years:

1. bristle nose
2. Goldy
3. Zebra (L-46)
4. Royal
5. Para (L-75?)

Of those, the least shy in my experience is the Para especially when food is to be eaten.

May I suggest L-128, L-200 is good too, but L-128 seems to be a bit hardier than the L200 color morph, and is a bit more striking in color. This is a horrible pic, but this is my 7-8" L128.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/orynko/de ... m=18fe.jpg

Usually body is a striking dark-medium blue...and spots looke more whitish than yellow....bad lighting and angle in this pic....I have also enjoyed a few others..... L333 is a striking pleco also, there are just too many for questions like this, heh.

The most extroverted pleco I know of is the Snakeskin (L161). They are dynamos, especially where cucumber is concerned. The best-marked ones are as nice as a gibbiceps. They grow fast until they max out at 7-8". They can be kept with quite boisterous fish.

The most outgoing and confident plec I know of is the L75, mine spends most of its time out and about and all the L75's I have ordered in (as an aquatic retailer) have been the same- one of the best selling plecos I know of as they are always out for people to see. My L200 seems a pretty friendly one, as are royals (or so I have found)

is VERY active, but...it grows up to three feet long.

Out of all the pleco's I've owned, my L081 and L190 were (are) by far the most active, even with all the tank lights switched on - they are the first to eat, the ones that explore the entire tank after feeding time, in hope for left-overs, and also love to just cruise around the tank for the hell of it (well, so it seems).

L075 para pleco's are awsome. I've had mine for a year and it is always crusin around the tank looking for a meal. great personality and the pics on this sight don't do it justice beautiful fish.

I'm quite lucky as almost all my pl*cos are active(even really shy ones like gold nuggets and galaxys)the only one that really hides 24/7 is my leopard cactus.

Here is my second most friendly pl*co, my female albino bristlenose, if anyone in Scotland(West)has an adult male they would like to swap for either a King Tiger or a Chocolate zebra then I she would really appreciate it.

I haven't kept tons of different plecos maybe only 15 different species but of them I would have to say that these three would match what you are looking for the best: L075, L001 & Gibbiceps. L75 being my favorite and as for how hot they are, I think they are 8 of 10 in the pleco world. L001 had a great personality as he would get into these harmless fights with my large Haplochromines and this fish is also a nice looking one (7 of 10). Gibbiceps would be my third choice as I don't think they are near as hot (6 of 10)as these other two especially when under 7" but when it does get 7"+ they are a good lookin' fish as well.

I will be giving L273 and L14 a try here soon and I am very excited.

noki wrote:just wondering, cause I'm always looking for a nice pl*co, from experience ... what pl*cos usually show the best personality/ the least shy/ the most out in the open?

I'm afraid, you won't get one nowadays, but of all the lots of different plecos I keep (and kept) is only one the boss wherever the tank it's in - the Panaque cochliodon!

L95, the move they move about is really like my any other fishes.