Can a pleco live in the same tank as guppies? Without eating the guppies, of course!?

Question

Will he be comfortable in the same water temperature as the guppies ?

Answer 1

Generally yes.

They both like water around 25C(77F). Plecos have been known to eat guppy fry, but only if the are really hungry. I have kept 6" plecos with guppy fry and not noticed any go missing.

If your tank is a normal guppy sized one (10-30gal) DONT get a common or Sailfin pleco. They WILL grow to at least a foot long. Get a Bristlenose or other smaller species that will only grow to 4-6"

Ian

Answer 2

Hi,

Yeah they will be fine i have never known a plec to eat the fish so it shouldn't happen to you. But if you are worried about a plec then getting some sucking loaches or corydoras etc these definitely won't eat the fish as their mouths are too small.

Answer 3

unless your Pleco is the 'Zebra Pleco' it will be very well compatible with all other peaceful tropicals (as well as goldfish)

the 'Zebra Pleco" is more aggressive and will assert itself upon other slower swimming non-aggressive varieties (but the Zebra Pleco is an awesome lookng Pleco and only grows out to about 4")

The temps and ph will be just fine for both Guppies and Plecos....also, Cory cats will coexist well with Guppies, while cleaning large edilbe deris along the bottom

Since the Pleco's do love algae, a window placement is suitable for your tank as the extra light will promote some algae growth for the Pleco

While you have the light for algae, you may also like to consider some live plants to liven things up a bit too

the vallisneria corkscrew and spiralis are great along with sagitteria subulata...these will benefit from the ammonia of the fish as well as the window light, and tank canopy lighting

....just my opinion but I really enjoy a fancy guppy community with all their unique colors flickering under the lights...and a nice busy cory group of 4 to 6 corys (many intersting corys now too, not just plain brown, black or white)

...and the Pleco to keep the underside of the bridge decorations and walls cleaned of algae