PLeco and Plants??

[Pokorny]

Hey I gave one of my pleco's, just your standard petsmart black pleco, and he has a tank full of plants. Will the pleco eat them or kill them? Any help would be much appreciated.

Dan

 

[bigfoot150]

It really depends. If he is a big pleco and there is little algae in the tank then yes he will eat your plants. Not to the point that you have no plants at all, but you will notice holes in your swords and other plants.

If he is a small pleco and you have a little algae you will notice small holes. If you have enough algae to notice then he will spend most of his time eating it.

I have both condition in my tanks. I have a 10 gallon that has alot of algae and the small little pleco in there doesn't bother the plants. I also have a 44gal that at one point had alot of algae but doesn't now except in small spots due to a 3-4" pleco I put in there that i got for cheap from petsmart. Since there is not much algae he does much some on my swords. Hasn't effected growth as ot yet but if it gets much worse i may switch the little one and big one.

 

[catfishmike]

it's like this,plecos don't eat plants too much if they are well fed.if you try and pretend that plecos only eat algae and plants then yes your plants are going to be a fishy salad bar pronto.feed your pleco a varied diet with algae wafers,frozen bloodworms,fresh raw(or parcooked)shrimp,zuccini,green peas(remove the skins first)and your pleco should never touch your plants.it's not a sure bet but it should stop you pleco from eating your plants.

 

[wayne]

I don't find (or care ) if plecos eat my plants but I can tell you they have a high 'bulldozer effect'

 

[Lotus]

I agree with wayne, especially when they get above 10" they tend to be a bit clumsy and will break stems and uproot plants accidentally when they swim.

 

[Starbury03]

I have a 10' Pleco in my new 100 gal and he knocks over the plants and digs holes. I have some holes in my plants but they dont look big enough to be from him.

 

[fisman01]

i'd say get rid of it i have and 8 inch pleco and he has fun knocking over my plants and uprooting them rather and digging holes

 

[PlacoMan]

If you see your plants disapearing and long stringy "pleco" waste all around your tank you have the guilty fish. I feed my Pleco's exactly what catfishmike said and they don't touch my plant's..... but my angels are killing them slowly

 

[Roop]

i have a 4 inch pleco. i've never seen him eating plants or uprooting them. if he starts doing that, i'm sure my lfs will give me a good trade in.

i think i've had enough of troublesome plecos. i really like a tiney school of otto cats and i don't mind scrubbing the glass once a week.

 

[ctxmonitor]

I have also have a pleco in my tank for a week now. He has been doing great. He clean my glass in 2 nights, clean the algae on my new plant in 1 day. Never seen him eat or damage any of my plants. I have amazon, anubias, java fern, rindica. Mine is about 3" though. Not sure if he will eat my plant when he get bigger. But so far so good...

 

[Toyman321]

I have a CAE and he goes after my plants if he cant find anything else to eat. When he starts chewing up the plants a little more I throw in a slice of cucumber and he's happy.