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I am so bloody sick of people who want a plecostamus because they think it will clean their tank. And those who think they are poop eaters. And those who say they have alot of algae. PLECOS ARE CRAPPER FISH, NOT CLEANER FISH. THEY THEMSELVES POOP ALOT. PLECOS CANNOT LIVE ON JUST ALGAE, THEY DO NOT EAT POOP EITHER. THE REASON WHY YOU HAVE ALOT OF ALGAE WILL PROBABLY KILL YOUR PLECO!. In the wild plecos mainly eat leafy vegetation. They cannot survive on just algae, they need supplementation with algae wafers, spinach, cucumber, zucchini, shrimp pellets, driftwood/bog wood, and those dried algae sheets. A healthy aquarium isnt going to have that much algae.
I also want to hurt those who think that if they keep the pleco in a tiny tank it wont get any bigger. THAT IS THE SAME AS KEEPING A CHILD IN A CLOSET OR A LARGE BREED PUPPY IN THE CUBBARD UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK. Common plecos grow to 2 ft and should be allowed to do so. There are smaller species of plecostomus that are better suited to smaller tanks, they usually cost a little more but are well worth it. Bushynose plecos, and bulldog plecos only get 5 inches, while the clown pleco only gets about 3-4 inches.

http://www.petlibrary.com/fw_trop_plecostomus.htm

Soon Plecos will be outlawed, here is a picture of a 4 lb pleco caught down in florida where they aren't native evil

I have a 8 inch common pleco that some guy was gonna release here in upstate new york because it was no longer doing his "job". scream

Unless someone loves Plecos and wants one because they want to own a Pleco because it is a great fish, they probably shouldn't ever own one.

People need to realize that there is no quick-fix for a filthy aquarium by adding yet another animal. Without doing their part to maintain that closed environment, their animals are going to be miserable and eventually die. And then they are going to be miserable because they are going to have a humongous Pleco on their hands that they can neither flush nor eat.

I was in Walmart one time looking to rescue a fish and there was a man there who honestly thought that Plecos would eat all the poop in your tank and keep it clean. It was the first time I had ever heard anyone say that, and I was just so flabbergasted at the idea of an animal surviving off of eating another animal's feces I just couldn't even reply. How on earth does one figure that such a thing is possible? confused

I knew what I was getting into when I bought Chupa. He was so tiny, only a couple inches! Now he's sitting at 7 inches in my 30 gallon. I lurv him the most. He's seen two years worth of swordtail generations come and go, and every time my smaller tank gets algae-crusted, I plop him in there for the night (I don't have to worry about water quality change--the water is exactly the same).

What other veggies can I feed him? Zucchini and cucumber are not his favorites... Would lettuce work?

I absolutely adore plecos!!!!! My fav is the zebra peckolita, and I've been searching forever for one. I recently saw a tiger pleco for sale and I'm thinking of picking it up. whee

Go plecos!!!!!!

And yes, you must know what you're getting into or else there'll be trouble. The ones that stay small are super duper sensitive to water conditions.