Plecostomus in Cichlid tank?

Question

im going to set up a cichlid tank soon and i would like a good algae eater so i thought a plec might be good but the thing is, im not sure how big they grow, iv seen one in the pet store called a common plec would that be ok (in INCHES PLEASE!) Oh and what tank size? (IN LITERS PLEASE!) Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi,

Plecs can grow up to 12inches plus so you need a large tank for a common plec. But if you don't want them to grow that big then get a bristlenose plec these only grow to about 4inches.

But there are other algae eaters out there which don't grow to big, socking loaches or chinese algae eater only grow a couple of inches so they should be ok.

Answer 2

Well, beggars can't be choosers, so can do the conversions yourself.

Your common pleco can start at 1' and grow to 1". If you're going to set up a chiclid tank, and are using the smaller breed of african chiclids, than you should get a pleco that's bigger than the fish, and if you're setting it up with something like oscars and jack dempsey's than you should also go with a pleco that's larger than your fish, and seeing as oscars and jack dempsey's grow to be of the larger variety, you should probably need a good size pleco to start with, like oh.. maybe 6 inches or so.

A good size tank for a chiclid tank is nothing smaller than 55 gallons. If you're keeping the smaller breed of african chiclid, than you can't keep more than 5 or 6. But if you have larger chiclid's, like oscars, you can't have more than two. Each large chiclid should have around 30-40 gallons per fish, depending on the size, because Chiclid's are an OWN THE TANK AND RESPECT sort of fish.

Answer 3

it will only get as large as it's tank will allow it to get.

Answer 4

the plecostomus in a cichlid tank would be a bad thing if it wasn't at least 6 inches long because i had a red devil with  a 3 inch pleco and it ate its eyes and tail the next day but the pleco can grow up to as much as the tank can hold so if you have a 36'' in length the pleco can grow to about 1foot long.