Pleco Experts Needed Which Of These Plecos Would Work For Me List Included?

[ZX10R]

I want to get some plecos for my two tanks but I don't know much about them. Here is my tank set-ups and pleco list of what I can get my hands on. I don't want anything that gets big maybe 4" max or attack my discus.

Tank #1
92 corner
Discus
Cardinal Tetras
Rasbora
Cory Cats

Tank #2
120 Gallon
Discus
Two Rays

Pleco List
L52
Clown Pleco
L128
LDA25
L129
Royal Pleco
Spotted Royal Pleco
L18
L15
L75
LDA33
L177
L136B

[Second Hand Pat]

Sean, once you decide on your pleco(s) you might consider contacting John, snook21. He might have the one you choose in stock.

[Apistomaster]

Hi Sean,

The common Bushy Nose Plecos, in whatever color variety and fin length suits your fancy is your best choice as an algae eater.
Many of the plecos on your list like the Royal(L190) get too large and are in the Panaque genus. The Panaque are obligate wood eaters. They make a terrible mess.
You need to review each of the species profiles on www.planetcatfish.com. You look under the cat-elog then go tothe L-number sublist and review each one from it's profile page.
Many on your list get too large.
Eat mostly wood and then you have many which are primarily feeders of aquatic insect larvae and worms.
Hypancistrus and Peckoltia are those. These are usually good tank mates for Discus unless you feed your Discus a lot of beef heart.
These plecos love beef heart. Unfortunately they do not seem to have a digestive tract which handles such a meaty diet well. It frequently happens among these 2 genera that after eating a lot of heart over time they develop a bloat which is deadly to them. This normally happens suddenly. It is never possible to save affected specimens.
They do best when fed earth worm sticks and frozen blood worms. They also like your favorite sinking discus pellet foods. They have no interest in algae although they will graze on algae wafers they can not survive on only algae wafers.

Beware of all the gold nugget types. These are among the most difficult of plecos to keep.
Even those who have a good deal of experience with them can not get them to grow normally in captivity. They get 10 to 12 inches in the wild. They grow very slowly in captivity even under expert care and very few people manage to keep one alive more than a year or two except those who are expert in their care. The Gold Nuggets are among the most beautiful species of plecos and their prices are not especially high but their long term prospects make them a poor choice for most people.
All plecos are secretive and in a planted tank you usually only get glimpses of their presence. The most outgoing fancy, small species is L134. The most useful is the common Bushy Nose.

[ZX10R]

Thank You for your help Apistomaster

[DerekFF]

pretty much bristlenose are the best algae eaters, stay small, are cheap and wont maul any of your fish.

[ZX10R]

pretty much bristlenose are the best algae eaters, stay small, are cheap and wont maul any of your fish.

I don't know about cheap my LFS is selling 1.5" albino bristlenose for $30.

[Apistomaster]

I don't know about cheap my LFS is selling 1.5" albino bristlenose for $30.

Normal fin, albino bushy nose about 1-1/2 inches should not cost more than $10. There are thousands of people raising them.
Long fin albino bushy nose of the same size are not worth more than $15.
Check out www.aquabid.com and wait until it warms up sometime in April or May and you will find all kinds of good deals for these commonly bred varieties.

[ZX10R]

Normal fin, albino bushy nose about 1-1/2 inches should not cost more than $10. There are thousands of people raising them.
Long fin albino bushy nose of the same size are not worth more than $15.
Check out www.aquabid.com and wait until it warms up sometime in April or May and you will find all kinds of good deals for these commonly bred varieties.

Thanks I was a little shocked when I seen the price on them at my LFS.

[Apistomaster]

$30 for an albino busy nose is a ridiculously high price.

[Discusgeo2]

I have the Albino Bushy nose available.

Shortfins are $3.00 each

Longfins are $5.00 each

[ZX10R]

I have the Albino Bushy nose available.

Shortfins are $3.00 each

Longfins are $5.00 each

Thank you I wish I would of known this sooner I just placed a order yesterday for some L128, LDA25, and some bristlenose pleco. Not sure what L number the bristlenose is until it comes in. Now that I know you have some if these don't work out for me I will be in contact.

Thank You
Sean

[2wheelsx2]

The common bristlenose is mostly tank bred and has been for many generations and will not have an L number, as the location of original collection will not be known.

[ZX10R]

The common bristlenose is mostly tank bred and has been for many generations and will not have an L number, as the location of original collection will not be known.

Thanks I will post some pics when I get it to see if anyone can ID it for me.

[DerekFF]

Holy crap $30??? *** that should be illegal! Glad someone chimed in here with some for sale. Id cancel your order and tell whoever you bought them from for $30 that theyre freakin thieves

[ZX10R]

Holy crap $30??? *** that should be illegal! Glad someone chimed in here with some for sale. Id cancel your order and tell whoever you bought them from for $30 that theyre freakin thieves

No way was I paying $30 for one I just turned around and walked out. I was in shock also when I asked the price I couldn't believe it.