Keeping plecos in the grow out tanks of other fish

[tolstoy21]

Does keeping a pleco in the grow out tanks of other fish species help with algea build up and uneaten food?

I always find the tanks in @Dean’s Fishroom to look sparkling clean to the point of envy.  Unless I imagined this, I feel like he said he accomplished with with BN plecos and some cory cats. (Yes, I know, you also have to clean your tanks and can't rely on fish to do all your work for you).

But does this work or at least help? Is it advisable? Am I remembering this incorrectly? Or is this something only the master himself can pull off? 

[lefty o]

i think they help a little with getting some of the food the other fish miss, and most nibble a little on algae, but ive not found them to be the maids of the fish tank world. actually pleco's seem to be poop monsters, so there's a trade off.

[Guppysnail]

On 8/25/2021 at 3:02 PM, lefty o said:

i think they help a little with getting some of the food the other fish miss, and most nibble a little on algae, but ive not found them to be the maids of the fish tank world. actually pleco's seem to be poop monsters, so there's a trade off.

I agree. There is never a spec of algae or uneaten food in my pleco tank but there is 10x the poop 

[Ken Burke]

Since I’m growing out plecos…….🤓🤩😜🤪

[gardenman]

To some extent it depends on the plecos and the fry you're growing out. There are plecos that are more carnivorous and might hunt down and eat fry. (It's a fish eat fish world out there.) Snails are generally safer as a cleanup crew.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I thought @Dean’s Fishroom was mostly keeping corys with his breeding projects as they churn the bottom and are not hard on fry.