Protecting plants from a hungry pleco?

[Greendragon1128]

My common pleco (sooon to be traded to my LFS) has acquired a taste for the roots of my swords. I used to have three, but now have 1 and 2 leaves with a lot of plants floating. The pleco has also dislodged wisteria and water sprite and made a mess of my anacharis. The tank has a gravel substrate (Petsmart knows nothing about planted tanks) that I think may make it easier to dislodge the plants. Would sand take care of this problem? I supplement the plants with fertilizer tabs and will build a CO2 system as soon as I get a liter soda bottle.
I think teh best solution would be to get rid of the pleco, but I plan on replacing it with a rubberlip or bristlenose pleco, so I want to make sure my plants are safe.

[tropicalcrazy]

your plecos are going to destroy your plants. im to the point im ready to rip out all live and go to plastic again. i have been thinking about picking up a 20 long or 29 gallon and transfering all plants to it and then only keep fish in there that wont hurt the plants like angelfish. ive ggot a amazon and the plecos and gold algae eater ALWAYS eat off of them and kill the leaves. i have a hard time growing them. i do have my plants roots pushed all the way to the bottom of the gravel approx. 1 1/2" maybe 2" under gravel so they dont move them and so far its worked. i also used plant substrate at the bottom creating kind of a muddy bottom in a way and ever since i added that the roots span out like crazy and make it almost impossible to uproot them even when i try myself.

[tropicalcrazy]

and your rubberlip can get up to 3-4" and bristlenose will get up to around 6". if it were me and you absolutely wanted a pleco i would go for the rubberlip or some other what i like to call dwarf plecos, one that doesnt get any bigger than 3-4". i loved my rubberlips when i had them. i dont know for sure on the bristlenose with the plants as ive never had one.

[emmanuelchavez]

The smaller plecos shouldn't do any damage to your plants. My BN pleco doesn't even bother getting any algae off my plants, it sticks to the driftwood.

Sand wouldn't necessarily make it easier for plants to root more easily. I found that plants were uprooted much more easily using sand, unless they had already developed a good root system. Gravel is more porous, which gives more room for roots to easily grow. When sand starts compacting, it's a bit more difficult for roots to push through.

[Greendragon1128]

Thanks for the fast responses!
I'm kind of limited on pleco choices, unfortunately. The two LFS in the area only sell common plecos when they are really small (that's how I got conned into getting two). Petsmart haas one other kind of pleco (either bristlenose or rubberlip, that's why I mentioned these two) and otos. I rearranged some of the larger rocks around 1 of the unidentified swords the pleco is attacking and replanted the other behind a rock. Everything else is just floating for now. On my next planted tank (probably a nano), I will do research first before buying gravel and plant-eating fish. Maybe a layer of plant substrate and a layer of sand or gravel? Either way, I will make sure I can reach the bottom so I don't end up poking plants with a repurposed fishing rod cat toy in order to plant them.

[tropicalcrazy]

if you can afford to order online i would. liveaquaria.com has a good selection of things. i think once i get a new larger tank im just going to get together $150-200 and order plants and fish all at once since the shipping fee is like $13 or somewhere around there. you get a better selection and get the info you need not some petsmart employee that knows nothing

[OrangeCones]

Originally Posted by tropicalcrazy

im to the point im ready to rip out all live and go to plastic again.

*I'll take yer plants *

[tropicalcrazy]

Originally Posted by OrangeCones

*I'll take yer plants *

lol. i think im going to try and switch them into smaller tank. but thanks. where at in iowa are you?

[OrangeCones]

Des Moines This is one of my tanks.

[tropicalcrazy]

nice. and i thought i was the only one on here from the DMI lol. i need to get a pic of my 55 up. and i need to get more tanks. lol. have you ever been into adams aquatics? its up on 42nd street by roosevelt. im impressed by their upkeep and their selection. they have excellent looking plants there also. im disappointed with most of the petco's around here and petsmart is alright. i went into the 2nd avenue aquatics store and I WILL NEVER go back in there. i feel sorry for all those fish. petland out in jordan creek is alright.