Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus

Sarajute · Post by **Sarajute** » 16 Mar 2007, 13:26

I have a pleco that's a pretty good size (about 6-8" nose to tail). I've read that it is better if you have one per tank, so they don't battle over the food. Has anyone ever tried having 2 or 3 different kinds of pleco's together? For example a bushy nose & a tiger together? I'm still new to catfish. So far I have a.......
Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus,
P. Blochii,
&
a Striped Raphael Catfish

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Mar 2007, 14:06

If you have a large enough tank, you can certainly have more than one in the tank.

The difficulty is that some species are more shy and less "agressive" when it comes to getting to the food than other species.

Bristlenoses are pretty good at finding food, so they are rarely in trouble when mixing with other species (just make sure they get plenty of veg to avoid intestinal problems). spp. in my experience are also OK. are more cowardly approaching food (particularly if recently introduced to the tank or otherwise been disturbed).

A lot of it depends on how "happy" the fish are with their surruoundings.

Also, if you keep fish that have different dieatary needs, you may have problems getting the right food to the right fish (e.g. if you feed a lot of bloodworm in a tank, and you have ancistrus eating a large proportion of it, you will get problems with the Ancistrus unless you also manage to give them plenty of vegetable). This gets worse if you have some fish that are really quick to take food, and others that take some time.

I know this isn't a "yes" or "no" answer that you probably wanted. That's because it's not quite as easy as that.

But as a concrete example, my big tank (400ltr/100+ us gal) has at present:
x 6
x 1
x 1

I have previously also had in the same tank, but I've moved those in an attempt to breed them - not sure about the chance of success on that, but at leas they have a better chance than in a tank where there are at least eight large fish that will eat any babies...

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Mats

Sarajute · Post by **Sarajute** » 16 Mar 2007, 14:30

My tank is 60 gallons. It houses.....
Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus(6"),
P. Blochii(8"),
a Striped Raphael Catfish(3"),
& 3 gouramis(2-2.5" each).
I'm looking for another pleco that could be compatible with my Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus. He's alittle shy, but he loves the food. I also don't want to overstock my tank.

I'm already working on my spouse about getting a 150 gallon tank, but it will take me some time

.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Mar 2007, 14:43

I'd probably go for something in the genus.

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Mats

Sarajute · Post by **Sarajute** » 20 Mar 2007, 14:17

Thanks for the help!