Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 22 Dec 2015, 22:52

Hi there,

I have a well-established planted 65 gallon community tank that I would like to add a pleco (or small group of plecos) to. A lot of the plecs that I think are really cool need a much larger tank as they grow, so I did a little research to find some smaller species that could live their entire life in my tank. So far, based on the research I've done and what my LFS carries, I've neared it down to the following:

Pekoltia compta (leopard frog) L134

Ancistrus - Blue seam L183

Hemiancistrus - blue phantom L128

If anyone has any experience with these guys I'd love to hear it. What they are like, or why they might or might not be a good fit. Also I’d like to know how many you have successfully kept together in a tank (and what size). There is a lot of décor (stones, driftwood) and a lot of plants. I have an external Eheim canister filter with moderate, not heavy output. Temp is 78, water is slightly on the soft side.

Other bottom dwellers that live in my tank now are a single male Stiphodon goby, as well as several kuhli loaches. I also have a Farlowella (a.k.a. twig) catfish but he hangs out mostly on my upright plants.

I would like the fish to not be too reclusive - in other words I would like to see them sometimes. ;). Algae eating would be a bonus but is not necessarily required – I really just want a cool looking pleco that will be visible, and be happy. (I know the ancistrus are the best for algae.)

I looked at Hypancistrus species but it appears they tend to be shy and prefer strong current.

My LFS if you have other suggestions.
http://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/index.php/fish

Thanks in advance!

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 22 Dec 2015, 23:14

Hi Magpie,

First, welcome to PlanetCatfish. I hope you enjoy the website and you find the information you need.

If you want a medium sized pleco that will eat some algae and also not hide all the time (but still hide sometimes), I would recommend one of the Ancistrus species. Either the blue seam you mention or the common Ancistrus (). The common species also includes all of the funny color morphs, like albino, calico, green dragon, super red, and it includes the long-fin varieties.

You mention not wanting the Hypancistrus because of their preference for strong currents. I'm not sure, but that might apply also to blue phantoms (Hemiancistrus ); I don't know. I just bought some , which last time I checked, WetSpot also carried. These are small-medium sized fish and mine spend a lot of time out in the open. But I'm keeping mine in a tank with a pretty strong current, so if that's a no-no for your planted tank, that might rule them out. However, I don't know how adaptable they are to slower currents.

The other factor to consider is temperature. What is the temperature in your tank? I'm keeping my Hemiancistrus guahiborum at 86F. But I keep some albino Ancistrus around 73-78F (it's an unheated tank in my house, so temp fluctuates seasonally).

If your tank is even cooler than that, you might consider some of the rubber-lip plecos (), which I know WetSpot also carries. I believe they prefer strong currents also, but I often see them kept in tanks with slower currents (but still well-oxygenated water); so maybe they are a consideration if your water temperature is cooler.

Cheers, Eric

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 22 Dec 2015, 23:19

P.S. Perhaps another possible option for you is . I don't know much about them, but from their species description page (cat-elog or "CLOG" page), they sound pretty good. These are for sale at WetSpot right now also.

Cheers, Eric

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 01:30

Thank you so much for your quick, helpful response!

My tank is around 78.

I'll check out the other species you recommend. Interesting that your Hemiancistrus like to be in the open. Maybe they're not as shy as I had made a note of. I've read that some types need fast currents, others not so much. Are they aggressive toward each other? I'm trying to also decide if I get a solitary fish or a couple/few. If they like to be that warm them they are not an option.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 23 Dec 2015, 02:21

I've only had these Hemiancistrus a few weeks. Currently, I have 6 adults in a 10 gallon quarantine tank. In there, they do spend some of their day jostling for position, so yes a little territorial but nothing really serious yet. Eventually they will leave quarantine for a permanent home in a 20 gal. You can see a video of mine here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JWtZ4ICRgQI.

Cheers, Eric

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 23 Dec 2015, 02:42

By the way, the blue phantoms also like it warm. If you haven't done so already, you may want to read this story about them: http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworl ... cle_id=454

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 02:43

Thank you!

I have been reading a lot of different articles and online sources for a lot of different plecos over the past few days so it's all blending together.

And of course some sources disagree. I tend to trust the files in here as well as seriously fish. But sometimes even they disagree.

Now that I know which are not too large for my tank it will help me to focus. I appreciate your help.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 23 Dec 2015, 02:51

You're welcome. One more thing: At 78F, I think your tank is too warm to be comfortable for rubber lips (Chaetostoma). If you're selecting from the stock at WetSpot, you might be best off with Ancistrus or Dekeyseria. The Hemiancistrus would probably be okay at 78F, but they prefer warmer water and would be happier at a higher temp. Good luck and have fun shopping!

P.S., The Peckoltia compta would probably also be good, but they aren't much interested in eating algae, according to their CLOG page.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 02:56

Yes here's an example. Seriously fish says that the Hemiancistrus is good at 72 to 77°

This site says 77-86. I feel like I can usually trust seriously fish, but maybe not in this case.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 23 Dec 2015, 06:34

Yes, there will be discrepancies between websites. And while I tend to trust this website more than others, this site is also wrong sometimes, so take what you read with a grain of salt. To get the best education possible on how to take care of a particular fish, I recommend you do this:

First read the CLOG page about the fish.
Second, look at the bottom of the CLOG page for any links to stories about your species which are filed as "Catfish of the Month" ("COTM") or "Shane's World" articles.
Third, read the individual reports of how other owners of your fish keep them and take care of them:

If you want to see the water conditions those people use to keep their fish, click on their names, then look for the fish in their list of fishes (if you don't see the fish, it means they are no longer keeping it - you may still be able to find it by clicking on the "include species no longer kept" link near the top of the page). IF they have registered their fish in a particular aquarium, then you can click on the aquarium and see its water conditions (temp, pH, hardness, etc). For example, if you wanted to see how I keep Hemiancistrus guahiborum,

go to its CLOG page (here:
Hemiancistrus guahiborum
);
find my name (Bekateen) in the list of Registered Keepers and click on my name (Here: http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/my_ ... e=bekateen);
scroll down to Hemiancistrus guahiborum on my page and look to the right column. You'll see my fish are kept in an aquarium called "10 gal H. guahiborum QT tank."
Click the link (here: http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/my_ ... ateen#4383) to see the tank description and find out the water parameters.

If you take the time to check out a number of the registered keepers of the fish you're interested in, you'll get a more accurate feeling for what ranges of temperature and other water conditions are good for keeping these fish.

The other thing to realize is that as I said above, these fish might survive at the cooler temps, but they might thrive and grow better at the higher temps.

Cheers, Eric

Fish lover · Post by **Fish lover** » 23 Dec 2015, 14:54

Hey group I am new to fish keeping. I have a 30 gallon aquarium. Is this big enough for my common pleco?

catfishchaos · Post by **catfishchaos** » 23 Dec 2015, 15:23

Fish lover wrote:Hey group I am new to fish keeping. I have a 30 gallon aquarium. Is this big enough for my common pleco?

I am curious why you posted that in this thread instead of making your own, however if you common pleco is one of the species I think it is they your tank is very small and is not suitable for an adult. I hope you understand that a common name is not super helpful.

All the fish above are fish I have personally seen labeled as common plecos and they will all out grow a 30 gallon.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 23 Dec 2015, 16:43

Hi magpie, another suggestion for a 65 gal are plecos from the genera Panoquolus, some, like the L397 i keep are very difficult to find in the US. With big price variations, i live in the UK, and then some are more easily accessible in the US than here. You could obviously have more of the smaller ones than you could, eg. clown plecos - Panoquolus Maccus than the larger eg. mustard spots- Panoquolus Albomacuatus, LDA031 theres not a big variation in size in this genera most are relatively small in size. Panoquolus are, primarily, a wood eating pleco, other foods are veggies and a small ammount of protein. Too high a protein diet, for some plecos, can cause digestive problems. Some Panaquolus are a bit more confident in being in the open i've heard mustard spots are. Panoquolus do require good filtration, as they produce lots of sawdust in the wood eating process. Good oxygen supply is necessary as it is with all plecos. Panoquolus, mostly as far as i know, do require a higher temp. Ive not seen mine, or heard of Panoquolus grazing algae from tank surfaces such as glass walls, they would however do so, invariably, in the process of eating wood. bekateen keeps both mustard spots and clown plecos so could maybe offer you more information than myself about these.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 17:29

Ahhhh... Now that is a valuable resource - direct owner info! I'll definitely check that out.

As an aside, I do wish that this site had "minimum tank size" recommendations also. I think it would help the general public doing research on species to have.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 17:31

Thanks Teresa, I'll check them out!

Edit:

My LFS has the clowns, but I don't like the look of them as much.

They also do have LDA001, which is a cool looking fish. Eats wood, in my temp range, sounds like they are less shy. Now I need to find out how much wood they eat. I have three pieces of wood in my tank... so they would be OK there, but I wonder how much they eat? (ie would I need to replace the wood very frequently or no?)
http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/spe ... ies_id=158

Off to do more research.

I do have good filtration in my tank. I just don't have "rushing stream" output. ;)

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 23 Dec 2015, 17:58

It could be put in the site suggestions and enhancements forum re tank size. But i find this is more of a personal preference thing based on the level of experience of those keeping, and breeding in many cases, especially with plecos on some of the clog pages it will state for example "Roughly requiring a 30×30cm footprint per fish" -that's base of the tank as catfish are bottom dwelling - you will find this in info pages for Panoquolus species, but many breeders will use aquascasping techniques such as multi storey set ups, with breeding caves and above and below, and by using decor in different ways to create territories for individual fish. An example is the breeder of my fish keeps 9 L397s in a smaller tank than me, i also have 9 but that's as i dont think as yet I'm not as confident at my level i could get away with it. Obviously there is completely unacceptable ways of keeping fish. So i think its intended more as a general guide, but then us as keepers need to judge our level of experience correctly in the best interests of the fish we keep. Plecos, though some more than others, can be quite territorial. I think personally there a bit more scope for smaller ones than the larger.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 23 Dec 2015, 18:03

You will also find a wealth of info, here on pc, the cotm archives catfish of the month have a breeding report i think for L169 and the Shanes World articles are worth a look. And then the forums if you need advice.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 23 Dec 2015, 18:21

Hi Magpie,

Teresa is correct; I do keep both (clown plecos) and (mustard spot plecos). I didn't mention either of these as options for you because I didn't think they would be what you're looking for in your community tank.

It's not that they will fight too much or hurt your other fish, or even that they'd not like your tank temperature. Rather, my thoughts were

Panaqolus are wood eaters, as Teresa mentioned. If you give them wood to eat, you will get a lot of poop which will be like sawdust all over the tank. Fortunately, it doesn't foul the water much, but you will need to vacuum often (weekly) to remove it. This is fine in a simple tank, but if you have a complex set of decorations and plants, this can be difficult.
P. maccus like to hide a lot. If you want to see them much, this species will probably disappoint.
Also, P. maccus is a small fish and will disappear in a big tank.
Panaqolus are not big algae eaters, so if you hope for that, you won't get much.

Don't get me wrong - I like my Panaqolus a lot, but I prefer to keep mine in smaller species tanks with simple wood and stone decor, with little or no planted plants.

Cheers, Eric

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 23 Dec 2015, 18:39

Yes, I do have a heavily planted and scaped tank so that might be an issue. I clean weekly but I don't siphon the substrate directly other than the very top on occasion, and I certainly can't get to the substrate of quite a large chunk of my tank. My MTS are my substrate stirrers. ;)

And thanks again for the information. This site is awesome! I love getting direct input from owners for this very reason. I can read and read but sometimes you just can't beat the first hand experience.

I am going back to the profiles on this site because oftentimes the owner section down below (which I never really realized until pointed out here) will have helpful info too.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 23 Dec 2015, 18:39

Thanks Eric, they will also eat plants as some plecos will , so if plants are what you really like to have in tanks, and yes i also agree, that keeping on top of constant sawdust production is a lot of work and easier in a relatively clear tank.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 24 Dec 2015, 18:24

I have been reading up more, and all of the other fish in my tank are happy at 80, so I will be upping the temperature.

Still unsure which pleco for me. I still think, reading more about all 3 above, that any of them would work. They of course come at different price points. ;)

I might just head over to the store, look at them in person, and ask the staff there as well. They are pretty knowledgeable about their fish.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 24 Dec 2015, 18:56

Magpie wrote:Still unsure which pleco for me. I still think, reading more about all 3 above, that any of them would work. They of course come at different price points. ;)

I might just head over to the store, look at them in person, and ask the staff there as well. They are pretty knowledgeable about their fish.

Yep, price is almost as much a consideration as is proper species. And I think it will help to ask the staff too. I bought my oil cats there, and the people were very helpful that day.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas, Eric

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 24 Dec 2015, 19:01

It's always a good idea to look around different LFS to see whats available and on the health of the fish. They may also be able to advise and maybe order in fish if they don't currently have it in stock. Good luck keep us posted.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 24 Dec 2015, 19:03

One more thing - I don't remember you mentioning how many you want to buy. Be sure to discuss that with the staff too. Personally, although I know some species are more solitary than others, I prefer to keep a few together of the same species, just so they aren't alone in their tank; that can backfire, especially if you buy only two and you chose a species which is prone to territoriality and you happen to get two males (I think that it's better to get more than two because it allows the individuals to mix up their social interactions, so you avoid two individuals that just don't get along and then they always focus on each other). But I think for the species you're considering, it shouldn't be a problem in a tank that size. (I know - I'm imposing my human feelings on fishes, but hey, that's me).

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 24 Dec 2015, 19:28

I will definitely be asking about how many also. I am lucky in that the fish store I'm talking about is fantastic. Great fish, healthy, a great variety, and actually knowledgeable.

Another contender that I missed initially in their stocking list is L075, para pleco. If I were to get that species I would not increase my temp to 80. They are supposed to be pretty peaceful and active.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 24 Dec 2015, 19:31

I have one of these, he spends most of the time in his cave. But a very cool fish, not had him with plants yet, i think i may see more of him. So one of my next jobs. And then restocking the tank with some fishy friends.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 24 Dec 2015, 19:58

Here is pic of my tank currently (with some window reflection). If you look carefully you will see my farlowella. (It's like a where's waldo game.) ;)

There is plenty of decor, there are lots of hiding spots in the wood, and there is rockwork that is hard to see.

Would it be stupid to get an ancistrus and a para? From what I've read they are not overly aggressive, and the ancistrus have small territories.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 24 Dec 2015, 20:25

I think a para pleco may appreciate a little more substrate space. Ancistrus would be ok though. Would not pose as much as a risk to plants. There is a nice bristlenose nose variety the L114 the blue eyed lemon bristlnose you can get either a short or longfin/veiltail variety, these are smaller than the common bristlenose . Male common bristlenose have a tendancy to dig, im not sure if these will do the same. If you were to purchase one, or some, I'd go in person to look as sometimes they have black eyes, thats if you particularly like the blue eyed ones theres some nice pics on Google images of these.

Magpie · Post by **Magpie** » 24 Dec 2015, 20:52

Hmmmm... there is a bit more substrate than it looks here but you're making me think again. There are what look like light colored rocks but those are just almond leaves. I also could remove rocks or stack them more for more substrate. Unless you mean they would prefer far less plants...

This is a 36 x 18" tank.

pleconut · Post by **pleconut** » 24 Dec 2015, 21:37

I have just reread the CatElog page for the para pleco. It seems that it would be ok, you would have to slightly rearrange, but not alter the tank too much, maybe I'd personally add a cave as a hidout. Its fairly lightly stocked. The smaller tetras are fish said to help settle them, I dont think, relating to the gentle temperament of the para pleco, it would be unsuitable, in terms of the para pleco causing damage to the tank arrangement, i do though, question the size of the tank in relation to the size the pleco could grow to at 9.8 inches and how much movement around the tank would be available for him. Maybe someone else can contribute their thoughts.

Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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Re: Best pleco for my 65 gallon tank

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