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Pleco recommendation for an Oscar tank


tolstoy21
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Hi all,

I'm looking for a recommendation for a nice-looking, medium-sized pleco for an Oscar tank.

Right now I have 2 small oscars in a 125 and I was looking to also add a pleco, but I don't want something that gets a foot long.

I'd like something that's grows big enough to not get eaten, and that is a really nice looking pleco. I really like the looks of the L114 leopard cactus plecos, but I see varying reports on how large they get. I'd preferably like something that stays at, or under, under 10".

Any recommendations?

Edited by tolstoy21
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Getting eaten is less of an issue than getting bullied by the Oscars. The big guys would be less likely to get bullied. They also tend to be more heavily armored.  In the mid-sized range, something like a bristlenose might be okay. They aren't especially edible. My Super Reds can get to 6" or so. A lot will depend on the personality of the Oscars also. Most are pretty mellow and don't bother anyone. Some are a bit crazed and want nothing else in the tank with them. If your two turn into a pair and start to spawn, pretty much no pleco would be safe. They will try to drive it and anything else in the tank away. Many of the prettier looking plecos disappear when put into a tank as they're totally nocturnal. You can pretty easily spend $100+ on a pleco and never see it again unless you tear the tank apart. 

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@gardenman

Ok, so you successfully talked me out of the Pleco idea!

On 6/9/2022 at 8:54 AM, gardenman said:

You can pretty easily spend $100+ on a pleco and never see it again unless you tear the tank apart. 

I spent $5 on a clown pleco like 5 years ago or so, and have seen it like a dozen times since. So I guess, this would just be 20x as much for the same result!

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On 6/10/2022 at 7:24 AM, tolstoy21 said:

@gardenman

Ok, so you successfully talked me out of the Pleco idea!

I spent $5 on a clown pleco like 5 years ago or so, and have seen it like a dozen times since. So I guess, this would just be 20x as much for the same result!

Yeah, pretty much. It seems like the prettier a pleco is, the harder it is to see it. At least with the smaller guys. My Super Reds are out and about quite a bit which is nice, but many of the others just disappear once in the tank. 

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If you want to go back to the pleco idea royal plecos are fully of personality, beautiful, and thanks to captive breeding relatively cheaper than they used to be! Just be aware they need wood in their diet.

 

But as stated above fish with lots of personality can not make good cohabitants so it’s always best to watch for stress behavior when adding a new companion. I like to rearrange cichlid tanks when I introduce something new as it disperses some aggression and forces them to choose new territories. Some cichlids will pout if you do this though.

 

On 6/10/2022 at 6:33 AM, gardenman said:

Yeah, pretty much. It seems like the prettier a pleco is, the harder it is to see it. At least with the smaller guys. My Super Reds are out and about quite a bit which is nice, but many of the others just disappear once in the tank. 

Also unrelated the same can be said for loaches. Have a school of lizard loaches I never see 😔

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