what sort of pleco ?

[Kbekl]

i have a cichlid tank and am looking for a pleco to go with them

in the tank i have is
port acara
j dempsey
texas
true hero severum (unsure about this one)
juwel
synsplium


tank is a rio 300

any advice on the best pleco for this size tank and can with stand the aggression of the above fish

was advised somthing like a l191 from the lfs but someone mentioned about their dietary needs due to the high protine in the cichlids foods

any advice would be great

[Bas Pels]

Firstly, I would advise not to combine these cichlids.

Heros severum comes from the Amazon drainage, and requires therefore soft, acid, warm (27 C, 80 F) water. The port acara (I think you mean Cichlasoma portalegrensis with that) dislikes this warm watrer

Jack dempsey need hard water, cooming from the Yucatan penninsula of Mexico. The soil there is chalkey
Synspilum comes form that same area, but texas does not. The water would be OK, but the temp is too hot. Porte Alegre and the north of Mexico are appoximately as far from the equator

The jewel, hemnichromis cf bimaculatus is from west-africa, requiring water of the same kind as Heros does, but these fishes are VERY agressive. I never heard of anyone keeping them wsuccesfully with other species of cichlids

Further, a rio 300 - I think the tank contains 300 liter of water, being slightly smaller than 130 * 50 * 50 (that is 325 liters)is too small for almost all these fishes. A pair of Jacks, and no more, the same for the acara and Heros. Hemichriomis may be kept smaller, but texas grows to 25 cm, synspilum even larger.

Finally, a pleco.

As the tank is far too small for Pterocgoblichthys gibbyceps or pardalis, the most obvious choise would be the common Ancistrus cf cirrhosus. Personally I was lucky to find Pterogoblichthys sp cf punctatus, getting only half as large as Pt gibbyceps.

I wo8ld not choose any of the fancy L numbers, myself - unless combined with Heros in soft, acid warm water

[MatsP]

In my experience, texas water is similar to that you describe from Mexico - hard, alkaline and fairly cool (around 20'C year-round-average, but obviously it would be hotter during summer and cooler in the winter)

And yes, that's far too many large and aggressive cichlids to keep in one tank.

--
Mats

[Kbekl]

tank dimentions are 121x62x51

they are all juvi's at the mo and am looking at a 6-7ft tank not too long away

the synsplium i know get too large hence y the new tank

it is defo a port acara and not a red port acara

didnt check their water parameters when i purchased

[sidguppy]

yes, you should choose and keep some trade the rest

IMO you could keep a pair of Jacks in there with a pleco.

Ancistrus is a good choice, one of the smaller Hypostomus species would work as well.
Hypostomus doesn't get as large as Pterygoplichthys and they have a lot of character wich is a pro in a cichlid tank.