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What food do plecos like better?

Plecos Aquarium Setup...Help?

  • Before anyone yells at me, my roommate recently moved out and couldn't take his fish with him, so he left them with me. I had no idea what they even were and have never owned fish in my life, except a few Crayfish and shrimps when I was a kid. (I was a weird kid lol) After a LOT of research online, I have finally identified the two awesome fish as Plecos. Google images appeared to be common plecos, but I really wish I could be more specific with the breed. One is orange, with a hue of brown and it's a female and about six inches long now. The other is black with slight spots that are only visible up close and that one is about two, maybe 3 inches. I can't tell if it's female or male, though, since many websites said babies were hard to tell. Here's the problem, my idiot roommate was keeping them in a fifteen gallon tank and after looking it up, I realized how cruel and inhumane that is. (We're no longer friends. He just named the fish as filter systems, which is cruel and stupid.) I have the money to splurge to make these two awesome fish thrive. I currently have no other pets and wouldn't mind keeping these fish, as they are entertaining to watch at night. I've been looking at 55-gallon tanks, is that big enough for two plecos? If I got a 55-gallon tank, would I possible be able to put maybe a Betta in it or something or no? I read online that female plecos are fairly docile with most fish, except any that can fit in their mouth. Any advice on things they like (decorations, plants, etc) would be great, although I have read some online. Also, how do I prepare the water when transferring them? I'm familiar with water cycling, but I mean, do plecos like traces of salt or no? Do I use water conditioner for them? I try to stray from chemicals unless it's absolutely needed, as they do weaken immune systems, I think. If I have any information on what I know wrong, PLEASE correct me. I want to make them thrive, because my friend was such a shithead with them. There was a male Betta in the tank with them for about two years before it died. Now, it's just the plecos, so any tankmates would be optional. I don't know if they like other fish or prefer to be loners. Websites gave conflicting information. Regarding food, my friend was just feeding them algea and that's it. I went out and pretty much bought every variety of bottom feeding food to try and watch them eat and then remove what they don't eat. The only things they seem to gravitate towards is algea and the tubifex worms. Everything else gets ignored. Is that a healthy diet? I only feed them once a night, assuming that's safe as well? Sorry my post is so long, but I've been doing so much online research, and still can't find a lot of answers. Any websites you guys have would also be appreciated.

  • Answer:

    You have A LOT to learn when starting fish keeping, but its deff worth it! If they are common plecos then they will grow to be to close to 2 ft long. A 55 is not big enough, they NEED driftwood in their tank for sure (as they will feed on that too.) You really should join a fish keeping forum such as: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/index.php I've learned so much from them, they will answer so many questions (I might even answer some if we run into each other there). What I would do if I was you is learn how to set up a tank (cycling, water changes, etc), then learn about Plecos, esp. the common ones, they get huge. Should also take pictures to double check the identification, I know you said you were pretty sure about that, but a second look always helps. As far a Betta go, you don't put a Betta in a 55G tank, they really need something closer to 2.5-5Gs and the Pleco will probably eat it. There is deff some really cool tankmates you can put with these Plecos, all in due time. Good luck with this, your going to have A LOT of fun!

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You might be able to better pinpoint your exact Pleco type here: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Pleco Or try looking at one of these to see if they match: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Pterygoplichthys_pardalis http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Hypostomus_plecostomus Coming to your other questions, 2 common Plecos will actually need a really big tank, much bigger than a 55 gallon, but a 55 gallon is still WAY better than a darn 15 gallon. A 15 gallon could only hold the smaller species of Plecos, such as Pitbull Plecos. While the Plecos are still young, you could put a Betta in with them in a 55 gallon. Bettas are generally safe with peaceful bottom dwellers. Regarding the decor, they will appreciate a planted tank because it provides them with shade and cover during the day. The fish usually forages for food at night time and rests in the day. I'm personally not a fan of plastic decoration, but add in some driftwood and/or bogwood to the tank as almost all Pleco species need this. Preparing the water while transferring fish is no biggie. Bring everything you can from the 15 gallon into the 55 gallon (or bigger tank). This includes gravel, decor, plants, etc. The water, if dirty, can be left out. Just replace it with the same water source in the 55 gallon. Make sure you also bring their filter over. This way you don't have to cycle the bigger tank. Run both the old and the new filter on the 55 gallon together for at least a month. Or, take everything out of the old filter and put it into the new filter. This will transfer your cycle over. So fill the 55 gallon all the way, and then treat the water with a water conditioner. This removes Chlorine, Chloramines, and other Heavy Metals from the water, which can easily kill fish. After adding in the water conditioner, place your Plecos in the new tank. Plecos can actually be held in your hand just fine. You do not need salt in their aquarium. If you have live plants salt will destroy them, and aquarium salt is just salt rejected for human consumption at the factories and just re-packed and sold as Aquarium salt. Absolute money waste. Honestly I've never kept a Common Pleco because my tanks are too small to allow it so I'm not sure about the diet. My Pitbull Plecos love Cucumber pinned down to the tank floor. You could perhaps try this as well? I also realized you didn't mention a water heater. Plecos being tropical will need one. You should have at least 5 watts on the heater per gallon of tank water. So a 55 gallon would need like a 275 watt heater.

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