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

[Wahter]

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

[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