Queen Arabesque Plecos

[albatross]

Hi,
Would Queen Arabesque plecos be ok in a discus tank? I have four of them and was thinking about putting them in with my discus. It is a 55 bb tank.
Thank you

[MiamiDan]

I would not put any Plecos with Discus. I had just about all kinds of plecos before, including the Queen Arabesque. I've seen Discus killed by plecos sucking on their sides, while they sleep. Believe me, it is like vampires. :( This time I believe it was a Royal Pleco. Needless to say, I remove them all from my Discus tanks. If you want something to help you with the cleaning of the tank, try Chinese Otocynclus or Green Corydoras.

[Dave C]

I've never had any trouble with plecos including Queen Arabesque.

[Wahter]

well, I've never heard of a Chinese Otocynclus (especially since otocinclus are native to South America). ;) I've had queen arabesques and zebras with my discus for years. No problems in my experience with those two Hypancistrus. Now Chinese algae eaters on the other hand, they can do some serious damage to discus.


HTH,

Walter

[Wahter]

one of my zebras. :)

[Moon]

Wahter
Have tried to get the zebras to breed?
Joe

[cobaltblue]

I would not hesitate to put discus and plecos together. Id be more worried about the plecos destroying plants if you have any. I have 8 bristlenose plecos between 3 tanks. Would love to get my hands on a queen or a zebra, but price range is too high for me. :)

[Wahter]

Wahter
Have tried to get the zebras to breed?
Joe

I'm trying right now - not having much luck though.

One of my friends who has bred them in the past hinted that she wants to 'borrow' one of my males - sort of like a stud service. She said, "it's good to know there are some available fish from different sources" (she didn't want to cross brother and sister).


Walter

[Wahter]

The fish you'll definitely want to stay away from is the Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (Chinese Algae Eater). Pics are from:
Ichthyology Web Resources (http://www2.biology.ualberta.ca/jackson.hp/IWR/News/_Recent_Images.php)

[Wahter]

another photo:
(BTW, they aren't from China either!) :D

[CAGE-RATTLER]

Love the zebra.

[scans]

I'm trying right now - not having much luck though.

One of my friends who has bred them in the past hinted that she wants to 'borrow' one of my males - sort of like a stud service. She said, "it's good to know there are some available fish from different sources" (she didn't want to cross brother and sister).


Walter

Walter,
if that ever works out I'll buy a pair !!!!!

[billeagan]

Pleco's should not be a problem with discus, but you can't forget to feed them. They need something more than the algae on the side of the tank. When they are not getting a supplement of some sort then they go after the other fish.

Definitely stay away from the chinese algae eater.

[CAGE-RATTLER]

In my BB juvie tank i put a 5-6 inch common pleco that i took out of my community tank where there was driftwood and gravel and they also got algae wafers.

He is doing a great job keeping the bb 55 clean. I dont really feed it anything and he eats all the fine crumbs of food right off the bottom. He especially seems to like the tetra bit crumbs. I usually give him plenty of time to take care of the bottom before i vac out the tank ..... lol.

When i tried adding wafers ..... the discus ate them .... lol.

Those pigs eat anything i throw in there.

[hexed]

Wahter,
I've never seen those before. Oh my I want some!! Really I never have :(
I have seen the zebras but not the other one (top pic). I think I will get some queens in my tank LOL!
Frank

[MiamiDan]

Hey Walter; nice Zebra (L046) how many you got? The pic shows one most likely a juvenile. They reach adulthood around 3.5-4 inches. They grow much thicker in diameter, too. Discus water conditions are just fine for them. Mind you, if you want to breed them, you should keep them separate and the ratio is 1 male to 2 females. You should also provide them with breeding caves and ideally a sand substrate. Once I had 13 zebras & sold them. Worst decision of my life. Best of luck!

[tmays]

I have had hundreds of discus and hundreds of pleco sp. Over the years I have not had many problems at all keeping them together. The key is to do the research and make sure that they are compatible. You must provide thier basic requirements in order for them to thrive. There are many different types of pleco sp. and they all have different requirements. Some eat meat, some are omnivores, and some like vegetable based foods. Some do better in cooler water with higher oxygen content and so on. There are pleco that I would not put in with prized discus, but also, there are many that would be just fine. I have kept Queen arabesque with discus and had no problems at all. I was breeding some dwarf ancystrus sp. a while back, and had them in all my tanks with no problems. I even had them in my baby discus grow out tanks. I would never keep them in my brood stock tanks for fear of them messing with the eggs or having my discus putting energy into chasing them instead of breeding. I even noticed that my discus would molest the ancystrus, not the other way around! Large common plecos and vampire plecos may be another story all together. This is just my experience and is not the law, but I hope it helps you out some. Research any fish you have an interest in before you buy it. Also, make sure to Q.T. these fish. I have had some funky stuff come in on wild plecos!

[tmays]

A few years back, Bing Seto came to my house and I gave him about 60 of my ancystrus for him to take back to his hatchery. He later told me that they were just fine and doing a great job! I think that he even gave some to a few of his friends.

[dax29]

So I assume from this thread that a bristlenose pleco is okay? I've got several, some albino (pink eyes and all) and some regular. They keep the tank sides clean and I drop algae wafers in after the lights go out to supplement their diet. I haven't tried them with discus though.