On 1 Feb 2005 08:18:39 -0800, "spiral_72" wrote:

Do any of you use pleco's?

Is there like a pleco per gallon rule or something?

For bottom feeders I have two Cory's and one 6" pleco in a 55g tank.
The Cory's only eat food off the bottom and the pleco just hangs out
HA! making short work of diatoms(SP?), a little algae and some stuff
I'd rather not talk about.

Do you think I should get another pleco or some other fish to help
clean up? My only complaint with the pleco is they tend to get prety
big over a couple years.

I have 3 plecos in a 75 gallon tank and one in a 29 gallon tank. All
are fine after 2 years. I did put 1 pleco in each of 2 10 gallon
tanks, but neither lived. The four eat the same flake food I put in
the tank for the other fish. The plecos are now about 4 inches. They
are everywhere during the day, plant leaves, glass, gravel, ornaments,
they keep the algae down except for small green dots on the glass.

I wish I could have had them survive in my 10 gallon tanks, but in one
10 gal small snails keep the glass clean, the other has no snails
(probably due to there being two Clown Loaches in the tank) and I have
some algae problems.

I really like plecos, they look so prehistoric! Like the Clowns they
are helpful critters as well as interesting.


I think you are right to ask about a rule. I don't have one but I
have lost plecos in 10 gallon tanks and I did have 2 in a 29 gallon
tank and one died. Not enough nutriention for 2, I don't know, but I
see the wisdom in your question.

dick