what kind of pleco?

gage · Post by **gage** » 27 May 2007, 03:58

is there a pleco that doesnt mind a pH of 8? the max size of the pleco has to be 5" or under.

Karsten S. · Post by **Karsten S.** » 27 May 2007, 13:12

Hi,

L204 and L206 from Rio Alejandro, Peru with pH above 8,
H. lanceolata, different species of Ancistrus are also possible.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 27 May 2007, 13:47

Tank bred would be a good choice.

Most wild caught plecs probably would be fine too, but you need to acclimate them very carefully and slowly. What is the pH of the water at the LFS?

I would stay away from blackwater species.

bristleplec · Post by **bristleplec** » 27 May 2007, 15:48

I definitely agree with the Ancistrus...None of them will grow overly large, and they are **usually** very good with breeder fish.

The first ones I purchased were in African tanks at my LFS, pH 8.2 to 8.4, and quite healthy. (They still use Ancistrus sp. in their African tanks 2 years later, so I suppose they agree) I spent about a week acclimating them to lower pH so I could keep them in my tap water tanks. (I might have done it faster, but this was the minimal maintenance approach, just making small adjustments with the water changes and adding water slowly and in stages)

As was mentioned, I'd stay away from any blackwater kept fish...it'll take quite a bit of work to try to acclimate them to high pH/hard water, and needlessly stress the fish when plenty of hardwater types are available.

gage · Post by **gage** » 29 May 2007, 02:09

thanx for all the replys, my LFS has long fin bristlenose in at a tiny size of 1.25"and albino bristlenose at 1.5", im looking into the long fin bristlenose for 11.99, is this a good price? do i have to worry about it eating my dwarf shrimp (1-1.5") when it gets bigger, and how delicate are they at this size?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 29 May 2007, 11:20

As stated, almost any pleco will tolerate pH 8 or so, assuming it's got used to that over a longer period of time. However, it's not exactly the most ideal conditions.

On the other hand, South American conditions vary quite a bit from one river to another, with some rivers being very acidic and soft, and other rivers in the netral to alkaline range and hard. Given this, try to avoid the "blackwater species", such as Ancistrus dolichotperus (Blackwater species Acistrus are those that as an adult has completely WHITE spots and/or a BLACK body).

Bristlenoses of about an inch+ length should be fine to move about and handle. They will be quite tolerant of "handling" and "water condition changes" that are part of moving them about.

What is a good or not so good price is difficult to say, because it's very dependant on the local market. Obviously, the natural brown, short fine variety will be less expensive than any of the versions with long fins/albinism bred into them.

--
Mats

gage · Post by **gage** » 29 May 2007, 22:09

thanx for the help guys, i think i may try a long fin bristlenose, if, that is, i cant find a flash pleco, im in the process of finding out if my LFS can get them and the price of them.