which pleco for newbie?

[rtague]

Hi guys,I have a 125g with a pair of cubans and 6 silver dollars.I would love to add a pleco but know very little about these guys.Any suggestions for a sociable pleco(one that I can see )8''-10'' would be great.At the lfs today I saw what was labled ''high fin pleco'',is this the same as the sailfin pleco?,looked like a nice fish,how would one of these guys work.Thanks.

[2wheelsx2]

The sailfin, or

Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps

is an easy pleco for the beginner, and you'll certainly see it, as it grows pretty fast. In 2 years, it'll be a foot long. As long as you're ready for that size, it's actually a decent algae eater too, when it's smaller. Once it gets bigger, they mostly eat fish food.

Another easy one is the common bristlenose, but they can be a bit shy depending if there are enough hiding spots, especially when small. Might be a bit for your liking though as it only gets to be about 5" max.

[sampster5000]

I've had a sailfin for about 5 months. If it grows to a foot in the next 7 I will be incredibly shocked lol. It is a great pleco though and very easy to keep.

[2wheelsx2]

I've had a sailfin for about 5 months. If it grows to a foot in the next 7 I will be incredibly shocked lol. It is a great pleco though and very easy to keep.

Not in 7, but in 19.

[DJ-don]

not sure if a sailfin pleco is good for a 125 gallon i think it might be too small but not an expert on these fish

a good pleco is a

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

or otherwise known as the common bristlenose
an okay algae eater but i would rate it pretty low actually
these fish are readily available

it would really depend what you have available and then we could tell you.
go to your LFS and tell us what plecos they can get and do a little search around your area and we will tell you what is easier.

hope this helps

[bamboosticks]

acanthicus hystrix
isorineloricaria spinissonum

[sunfish]

I would not go for an Acanthicus.

First question, what are cubans? Procambarus cubensis?

Many Ancistrus are fairly easy to keep. The common Ancistrus (and it's many color forms) are easy to keep, not shy and commonly available. They might be a bit small, though.

If you're looking for a larger pleco P. gibbiceps would be an alternative. But I'd rather take an L1 (P. joselimaianus). Looks even nicer, is also easy to keep but stays a bit smaller.

[rtague]

Thanks for all the great info guys My lfs has what they're calling high fin pleco,is this the sail fin?,pretty nice looking fish.The cuban cichlid is Nandopsis Tetracantus

[Linus_Cello]

What about a rhino pleco (Pterygoplichthys scrophus)? It's under 11" SL?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... cies_id=80

[Timberwolf]

Any chaetosoma, or parotocinclus jumbo. Both fish are sociable, entertaining and stay small enough that a group of them will work in your tank. I have both and love them. Both are pricipally diurnal, so you will actually see them and highly animated. The Pitbulls (parotocinclus) are spectacular algea cleaners and will clean live plants without dmaging them.

[rtague]

Thanks again guys for all the replies

[MatsP]

acanthicus hystrix

isorineloricaria spinissonum

Correct scientific name:

Isorineloricaria spinosissima

Both of these grow WAY too large for a 125 gallon tank. The latter is probably nearly impossible to find in a shop (evidenced by the fact that the only picture we have in the Cat-eLog is one of a fish out of water, not in an aquarium setup).

The "stanard" 125g tank is quite narrow - 18 inches from back to front, 6ft long and 24 inches tall, so although it's a large volume tank, it's not great for LARGE fishes. I'd recommend staying under 10" for fish in this size tank.

Unfortunately, the list of plecos that are under 10" long is quite large [156 species in the Cat-eLog are between 6 and 10"] , so you may want to come up with your own thoughts as to what you like the look of.

--
Mats

[Mod edit: remove clog-tags for incorrect species name --Mats]