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

[DerekFF]

oh ok, glad you didnt buy them. aquabid or discusgeo posted above and you can get them from 2-5$+shipping.

[Apistomaster]

Because common Bushy Nose Plecos have been given the name, Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus, the scientific name takes precedence over the use of the ad hoc L-number system.

[Darrell Ward]

Bushy Nose Plecos are interesting fish in their own right, and I've had dozens of them over the years. Honestly though, I've never known any of them to show one bit of interest in eating any algae. They seem to prefer to eat the scraps from the Discus, and hangout in the driftwood. I've seen them walk up and down the glass, (presumably for the discus slime) but never touching the algae. I don't keep them anymore. I got tired of hearing the wife complain about how ugly they were. Your mileage may vary. I'm just relating my own experiences.

[ZX10R]

I don't keep them anymore. I got tired of hearing the wife complain about how ugly they were. Your mileage may vary. I'm just relating my own experiences.

They are some pretty ugly plecos just like that one they call Medusa.

[Apistomaster]

I find that common bushy nose are excellent algae eater but most of their diet is the same foods I feed the discus.

[ZX10R]

I got my plecos in last night and those L128 blue phantoms look nice. I bet once they settle in and eating good they will color up even more.

[2wheelsx2]

I know people have done it, but a few things to keep in mind with the L128's.
1. They come from cooler waters so may not appreciate temps in the mid to high 80's.
2. They have been known to grow to 7" or 8" total length. There have been reports of 9".
3. They are not great algae eaters, but rather, are grazers of biofilm.

As long as you are aware of those factors, they are great fish. I have a few in my 125 gallon (non-discus) tank and they do great and are very pretty to look at.

[ZX10R]

I know people have done it, but a few things to keep in mind with the L128's.
1. They come from cooler waters so may not appreciate temps in the mid to high 80's.
2. They have been known to grow to 7" or 8" total length. There have been reports of 9".
3. They are not great algae eaters, but rather, are grazers of biofilm.

As long as you are aware of those factors, they are great fish. I have a few in my 125 gallon (non-discus) tank and they do great and are very pretty to look at.

1. I keep my water at 82 is that to hot?
2. The ones I got in are about 3" now but when they get bigger I plan to move then into my 120 gallon tank
3. Anything you recommend to feed them?
4. I was planning on putting them with discus is that a bad idea?

[2wheelsx2]

1. According to planetcatfish: 72 -77 http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=210 But I think you should be alright.
3. They need a diet higher in fiber so make sure you feed them veggies like yams and zucchini
4. They are known to bloat on high protein diets, so you have to keep an eye out for that. I lost a couple myself from feeding my SA/CA cichlids.

[Darrell Ward]

1. According to planetcatfish: 72 -77 http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=210 But I think you should be alright.
3. They need a diet higher in fiber so make sure you feed them veggies like yams and zucchini
4. They are known to bloat on high protein diets, so you have to keep an eye out for that. I lost a couple myself from feeding my SA/CA cichlids.

It happens. I have lost a few in the past from plecos munching on beef heart mix. For a while I didn't catch on to why they died with bellies swollen twice the normal size.

[2wheelsx2]

All plecos are going to have problems with animal protein. They're just not made for it. I lost mine from feeding too much live blackworm. On planetcatfish, there have been keepers who reported losing fish from feeding frozen bloodworms (Leporacanthicus species), so keep them away from the beefheart.

[Apistomaster]

Even the most carnivorous species of plecos seem to bloat and die if they are fed a lot of beef heart. Most can handle a couple beef heart meals if you limit them to only a couple times a week.
I have found earth worm sticks and Spirulina sticks to be good staple foods and Discus also like them. Heckels especially like Spirulina sticks and earth worm sticks but S.aequifaciataus and haraldi prefer mostly earth worm sticks.
They take to these sticks rather easily.
L128 are not a very resilient species and they are collected over a large range. Some handle warmer water better than other but you can not predict which ones will by just looking at them.
I actually believe they are best kept in a species tank. Hypancistrus and Peckoltia species tend to be the best plecos to keep with Discus and they are from warm rivers similar to temperatures Discus prefer so these will do better with Discus than L128 but they too do not seem to handle beef heart except for an occasional meal. They all like frozen blood worms and I think that blood worms are the best source of fresh animal protein for carnivorous leaning plecos but earth worm sticks make a good staple food for them. More herbivorous species will do better if they are fed Spirulina sticks as their staple diet although they also like earth worm sticks.

It is possible to keep Discus in excellent health without ever using beef heart.
I mainly use beef heart as the staple diet for domestic discus when I am raising them and want to grow them to a salable size in the least amount of time.

[ZX10R]

I only feed a beefheart mix food once a day and that is in the morning when lights first come on. I also feed my discus FBS, FBW, FDBW, and Live Blackworms. I have the new plecos in QT right now and I gave them 4 algae chips last night and they munched down on those quick. I think within a hour all 4 plecos had eaten them.

[2wheelsx2]

Eating immediately is good. Sometimes the wild caught ones don't eat and starve themselves to death. Looks like you got a solid group. Let's see some pics!

[Apistomaster]

I the past 5 years or so the best known suppliers of wild Discus have made great strides in the conditioning and acclimation of their Discus before they ship them and this has been beneficial for the Discus hobby.
Feeding a beef heart blend once a day to plecos is enough to cause bloating among plecos for many people. It often happens that months go by and the plecos have no trouble but then in one week a majority of the plecos bloat and die. This is perhaps because common bushy nose have been tank raised for so many years that they have adapted to most any diet suitable for Discus This seems to happen to mainly among the more exotic species. The common bushy nose has never developed bloat in any of my Discus tanks they share. The problem is very unpredictable but if you are paying a lot for fancy plecos which are good tank mates for Discus it is easier to adjust the diet of the Discus than it is to prevent sudden development of bloat among the fancy plecos.

I have struggled with trying to understand the cause of the pleco bloating/beef heart connection but the best I have come up with is simply a hypothesis that the beef heart is so rich in raw proteins and wild plecos or their F1 progeny need more fiber than beef heart blends typically contain. The wild types may simply lack digestive enzymes which easily digest raw meat in large amounts but I do not have a definite idea of the exact cause.