Will a Pleco hurt a Corydora?

Question

My daughter wants a pleco for our 60 gallon tank. We have 27 community fish in it, 10 cory's, neon's, danio's, male guppies, rasbora's. I am curious if a pleco is aggressive especially as it gets huge and will it attack or eat the cory's or other fish as soon as the light goes out? I would never want to hurt my fish I have or put them in danger. Thanks!

Answer 1

Plecos are very passive fish and rarely bother other fish at all, including the fish you list.

I would warn you however that the common pleco seen in most shops will very easily outgrow your tank in less than a year. I'm including a link at the bottom to most of the fish commonly sold as plecos. They range in size from about 1.75" to over 2 feet, so you will want to check them out and select a few choices of the best size for your tank. Personally, I would suggest a bristle nosed pleco. They are faily common, inexpensive and would be a great addition to your tank

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=48

Listing of fish sold as plecos:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/family.php?family_id=4

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 2

Nope, plecos are pretty peaceful and don't bother cory catfish at all. I have two albino bristle nose plecos in with the 6 albino cory catfish and the guppies in my tank and they do fine together. If anything, the constant bustling about of the cories sometimes disturbs the plecos as they are shy fish.

It's kind of funny sometimes. The plecos, though still babies, are the largest fish in my aquarium, yet a little red cherry shrimp sailing by can send them scurrying for cover! Just make sure to get one of the smaller plecos like a bristle nose, rubbermouth or a blue panaque and to provide them with a place to hide, like a little cave or some driftwood they can scoot under.

Answer 3

depending on the size of the pleco it may eat the smaller fish like neons and guppys, that is a problem my cousin had in his tank with a large pleco (10+") but the smaller ones should do fine with fish there size

Answer 4

I've kept large plecs with corys with no problem. Large being a couple pf 12" plecs and a 15" plec. I also have a few smaller plecs, 6" to 8".

I breed angels for fun & very little profit, common plecs don't bother dime size angels. This isn't one isolated plec, this is a setup with a couple dozen tanks, with some of the larger growout tanks having a large plec or two in them. I breed plain aeneus corys for tank cleanup, and sell them when they get big. The only fish I've ever seen a plec try to eat is a dead one, this is common behavior with many fish.

I've kept large common plecs with platys, swords, guppys, various cichlids, and probably several more I'm forgetting from years back.

Answer 5

As long as the pleco is small, should be fine!