Topic: pleco info required

[fnesr]

hey all, i'm looking to add a pleco to my 80gal but have a couple of questions as i've never kept them myself, only cory's etc.

what's a typical price for them (preferable Aust. price but US would also be helpfull) ?

they seem extremely expensive here so I wan't to make sure it will do well. are there major problems if I have the need to salt the tank in the future or are they tolerant of salt to a certain degree? if so how tolerant?

i have encountered problems with cory cats in summer here when my tank can reach higher than desired/recommended temps. does anyone know if plecs are particularly suseptable to problems if the temp exceeds what is recommended? (cory's seemed too not tolerate it at all but cichlids seemed much more resiliiant)

it would be housed with my O (6-7 inches) ,a firemouth (fully mature) and a small fem convict (3 inches) so I would need one of a decent size so as it is not harrassed. My O is greedy and a bottomless pit at feeding times so can anyone recommend how to best feed the leathery monster without my O demolishing the food instantaniously? best foods etc?

any other info you can add on temps, med problems, prices, best types to look for, lifespan etc. would be heaps appreiciated also

thanks
finnesser

[Dan]

Pleco are in various price ranges here in Philly.   I have seen them go in ranges of $15-25.  It depends on how big you wanna buy him.

They adapt pretty well to most water conditions too. I too add salt to my tank and my Pleco seems fine with it.

I've seen them in all different kinds of tank set-ups with different fish whether it be aggresive or not aggressive.

I have mine in with a JD,FM 2 Oscars, 2 Sevs and a Pictus cat all adult sizes or closer to itand they all won't mess with him, because they are tough when they wanna be.  Believe me. So you should be fine with him.

Give him plenty of places to hide and  as far as food goes,   I always throw in some sinking Algae pellets after feddings, to make sure that he eats.

Good luck with him.  There are so many different kinds to get also.  Let us know what your gonna choose.  I'm interested in why everyone has in their tank. It fascinates me.

[Dmoney2780]

i live in Florida and i just bought 2 plecos pretty recently....they were $3 and some change for BOTH! i have them in a 55 gallon with a small brichardi,a small leluipi,and a 3" peacock....they ALL messed with the plecos for about a week,but now they dont even bother them.my one pleco is about 2" and the other is a little smaller

[stilllearnin]

Here in LFS (US$) common plecos range from $1.00 (on sale) to $20 for adults
Fancyier plecos range anywhere from $5 - $250.00

If you can find them bristlenose plecos seem to be the reccomend addition to warmer water.A large number of discus breeders keep them in discus tanks at 86 degrees (30c)  or higer.

[JC]

If I were you I'd try and stay away from the common sailfin pleco because they reach abominable sizes (which is fabulous if you were planning for a bigger tank anyway) and go for a bristlenose or something that will stay in the ranges of 6 yo 8 inches. They're a bit more pricey, but think of the money you'll save on not having to buy a new tank or having to get another one in a few years time and finding a new home for the overgrown one! 

  I"ve personally never had problems with pleco and salt in the water, not if it's premixed properly (which is probably where some people ran into problems by dumpign the salt right in where it might have gotten in between the pleco's plating or something).   Price range is hard to say. You can see them here at 3 inches anywhere from 6 dollars to 90 dollars depending on what you're looking at, from common sailfin to galaxy pleco. That's about all I can help on the subject

[ezdave]

Here in Kentucky I pay 1.99 for 2 inchers  up to 29.99 for 20 inchers
  This is for the more common variety's

[bigswifty]

Yeah with the food its definitely sneak attack or nothin'

Mine is like 13cm, and he lives on the rare algae disc, cucumber and detritus as nothing else gets past the oscar.

 In addition to being fully OSCAR-PROOF, cucumber is decent food for most types since many are herbi/omnivores.

[fnesr]

Thanks for the info everyone, I think i'll buy one this saturday provided i can find one at a decent price, even sailfin pleco's are outrageously expensive at the LFS closest to my place  . I'll have to have a go at feeding cucumber, i've got a feeling my O won't hesitate in even trying to eat algae wafers and stuff like that (he'd probally try and eat a peice of metal if someone dropped it in the tank for him )

[Dan]

Actually,  I'm gonna try that idea myself.  I'm just curious to see how my Oscar , JD and Pleco react to it. Thanks for the idea.

[JC]

What sort of price ranges do plecos go for in Australia fnesr?

[fnesr]

things like cory cats and bristlenose catfish are fairly cheap not sure on exact price, haven't bought any in ages (probally under $20). Dont know if it's just the one LFS but the one i saw them at last week had sailfins for like 80-100 bucks  . I think there's an auction in December sometime so I might hold out to get one or two there, get really good pricing on heaps of cich's and catfish if you go along to those.

[Frank]

I have a bushynose pleco I bought at my local fish club for a buck almost three years ago.  They are hardy and keep the algae under control.  Nice little plecos.  A word about salt:  I think the fancier plecos are more delicate as I lost a Gold Nugget about 3 years ago when I salted the tank.  The salt was added at the proper ratio and over a 24 hour period but I neglected to consider the gold nugget.
That was the end of him...a $45US fish.  Oh well, live and learn.

[Dan]

I just have a common Pleco, and salts never seem to phase him, but yes,  it does depend on the kind of Pleco.

[JC]

Weird Frank 

The only two times I head of a pleco vs salt death, both plecos in question were gold nuggets. Yours is the second one, which is why it made me question teh whole salt/pleco thing... I guess it aint a myth after all

[pastoolio]

at my LFS i seen bristlenoses fora rond $7 aus and a sailfin for $60

tomoro i think i will go and buy me a bristlenose