what can live with my plecostomus?

Question

hi ive decided to go tropical, ive found a good home for the goldfish, im putting a heater in for my pleco, going to raise temp to, 75, i know he is going to grow big, ive a 55 gallon tank, what tiny fish would live with him comfortably, he needs a pal, xoh yes ive plenty plants and hiding places, x

Answer 1

Plecos are strictly plant eaters, and they are nocturnal. Yours (unless your tank is loaded with algae, which indicates a problerm!) need to be fed specially formulated discs or pellets and should be fed AT NIGHT. The most common cause of death for plecos is starvation as they need a lot (but not too much!) food. Your tank temp will need to be 76-78 degrees: if the pleco is used to cold water raise the temp gradually or it could harm him. Pretty much any of the smaller tropicals could live quite happily with him and might never even know he's there! Your pH may have to change as goldfish need alkaline water (pH at seven or so) and most tropicals prefer slightly acid water (6.6-6.8) unless your looking at some of the cichlids that need alkaline water. If you do change the pH, this must also be done gradually over several days or it will kill the pleco. Fish can tolerate a range of conditions but CAN'T tolerate sudden changes.

Answer 2

Plecos can live with just about anything except another pleco. They're pretty tough, even at small sizes.

If you want more plecos, the only type I can think would work is rubber-lip plecos. They stay to about 2 inches, they're light brown / grey in color and they're really cool. You can get a few for the 55 gal. I've never had problems with the big pleco bossing them around.

In 55 gal planted tank, I'm partial to Gold pristella tetras. They're a little bit smarter and a little bit more active than the average Tetra. When they grow to adulthood, they get very nice white black and yellow stripes on their fins.

Some queen loaches would go nice in there. Sometimes they're sold as striata / dario / tiger. They're the gold ones with black vertical stripes. They stay to about 3 inches and they're the perfect fish for a 55 gal tank & they're quite active and playful if they're happy. They'll stick to the bottom corners of the tank and the sidewalls and they'll never bother another fish.

For the top level, you can get ghost cats (glass cats) or hatchet fish, or giant danios, or any rainbow fish. The hatchetfish are suicide machines though, but they're my favorite of the lot since they stay at the top no matter how much light you put up there & they stay smaller. They tend to just sit around though, which some people don't care for.

Maybe a nice showy male betta would be good to troll about all levels of the tank.

Alternatively, you could get a pair of convict cichlids which get a little bit bigger. They're very mean fish who breed like rabbits. Their parental habbits are great to watch since they nurse their young for a month or so after their born unlike most other fish who just turn around & eat them. You wouldn't be able to keept these guys with anything but the pleco though... They're killing machines.

If you want cichlids, stay to apistos or micro breeds from south and central america. Nearly all african cichlids have ph requirements that are outside the range of a healthy planted aquarium.

Answer 3

cool
So excited for you!
Well your pleco should do fine with any types of fish.

For example my pleco has a good number of roommates:
tetras, rainbow fish, 3 loaches (bottom dwellers) a spotted pictus cat (bottom dweller), a featherfin squeaker, and they all get along. Like any animal they will squabble here and there, but overall plecos are great community fish and should be suitable with any tropical community fish you can find.

I've attached a link for aquahobby which has a tropical fish gallery with pictures, fish specifications and owners reviews on the fish. I think it will help you alot in deciding the fish that will work best with you and your new aquarium set up.
http://www.aquahobby.com

If you have any more questions you could contact me thru email, and I would love to hear how everything turns out.

Source(s):

90 years experience...
xox

Answer 4

My pleco is 3-4 inches long and I have 2 small zebra danio's, 2 small cherry barbs, 2 serpai tetra's, 2 flame tetra's, a chinese algae eater, and a Id shark. The shark is the only fish I have that can grow as big as the Pleco. The other fish are all smaller than the size of a bottle cap and they live peacefully with each other.

Answer 5

aww
So excited for you!
Well your pleco should do fine with any types of fish.

For example my pleco has a good number of roommates:
tetras, rainbow fish, 3 loaches (bottom dwellers) a spotted pictus cat (bottom dweller), a featherfin squeaker, and they all get along. Like any animal they will squabble here and there, but overall plecos are great community fish and should be suitable with any tropical community fish you can find.

I've attached a link for aquahobby which has a tropical fish gallery with pictures, fish specifications and owners reviews on the fish. I think it will help you alot in deciding the fish that will work best with you and your new aquarium set up.
http://www.aquahobby.com

If you have any more questions you could contact me thru email, and I would love to hear how everything turns out.

Answer 6

Most plecos are fine with any number of normal community fish. I have a pleco in my 85 gallon with small fish like neon tetras and large fish like adult angels.

I'd like to add that SOME plecos are carnivorous. Most commonly available plecos are not, but some are, and it's worth looking up. But even if so, he shouldn't touch your fish, just give him some shrimp pellets to munch on.

Answer 7

Pretty much anything. The plecostamus won't harm anything, but a few of the really aggressive fish out there could, conceivably, go after him. If you stay away from things like piranha, pike, or some of the really territorial cichlids, you'll be OK.

I had a tank of African cichlids once that I couldn't put anything else in with. Oscars, tilapia, firemouths, jack dempseys; didn't matter, they were dead within a week.

Answer 8

You could put most anything with the pleco. They usually just stay on the bottom and don't bother anyone. I would go with some cichlids, like green severums.

Answer 9

i have african and south american cichlids with my pleco all in the same tank and i have never had a problem with anyone killing or attacking each other.

Answer 10

almost any fish