Plecos for Planted Tanks???

[Cacatuoides]

Hi folks,

could anyone advise me which pleco (dwarf ones if possible) are suitable to be kept in our planted tanks to control algae...other than octos, whiptails....

i rem seeing small little pkecs being sold in a lfs which claims it wun destroy plants...

thanks in advance!

[jja]

Hi folks,

could anyone advise me which pleco (dwarf ones if possible) are suitable to be kept in our planted tanks to control algae...other than octos, whiptails....

i rem seeing small little pkecs being sold in a lfs which claims it wun destroy plants...

thanks in advance!

i have a small L183 ( bristlenose) that i wish to clear and you can have it if you are interested...

[Star-flog]

Hi folks,

could anyone advise me which pleco (dwarf ones if possible) are suitable to be kept in our planted tanks to control algae...other than octos, whiptails....

i rem seeing small little pkecs being sold in a lfs which claims it wun destroy plants...

thanks in advance!

Your best bet is to go for wood eating plecos that would not grow more than 5" (small size). Following are some L-number for consideration:-

1) L204 = Flash Pleco / Imperial Pleco
2) L074 = Tiger Peckoltia
3) L169 = Gold Strip Panaque
4) L134 = Leopard Frog Pleco
5) L15 = Candy Striped Pleco
6) L226 = Tiger Pleco
7) L162 = Clown Pleco
Sturisoma panamense (excellent choice for aglae eater)
9) Farlowella vittata

Hope this helps...

[rocketshrimp]

if they are dwarfs...should start with S, how come L?

[jja]

Your best bet is to go for wood eating plecos that would not grow more than 5" (small size). Following are some L-number for consideration:-

1) L204 = Flash Pleco / Imperial Pleco
2) L074 = Tiger Peckoltia
3) L169 = Gold Strip Panaque
4) L134 = Leopard Frog Pleco
5) L15 = Candy Striped Pleco
6) L226 = Tiger Pleco
7) L162 = Clown Pleco
Sturisoma panamense (excellent choice for aglae eater)
9) Farlowella vittata

Hope this helps...

in shirt, star flog is saying : get peckoltia and whiptails...

[jja]

Your best bet is to go for wood eating plecos that would not grow more than 5" (small size). Following are some L-number for consideration:-

1) L204 = Flash Pleco / Imperial Pleco
2) L074 = Tiger Peckoltia
3) L169 = Gold Strip Panaque
4) L134 = Leopard Frog Pleco
5) L15 = Candy Striped Pleco
6) L226 = Tiger Pleco
7) L162 = Clown Pleco
Sturisoma panamense (excellent choice for aglae eater)
9) Farlowella vittata

Hope this helps...

in short, star flog is saying : get peckoltia and whiptails...

[Simon]

bristlenose are a good choice too

[Star-flog]

bristlenose are a good choice too

Agreed.

[jja]

if you are interested in getting whiptails, i can let go some of mine....

[PeterGwee]

Using critters to control algae isn't going to help much in a high light CO2 enriched environment. What kind of algae are you trying to prevent? If algae grows, something still isn't right environmently.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Cacatuoides]

mine is a 2 footer, using 2 x 15W but cut down to 1 x 15W now, running 4hrs.... ph 5 kh 2, using ada amazonia, plants are all crypts....i think is bushy algae mostly on my driftwood, and some minor spot algae on e leaves.... most of e crypts have melted since i tranfered them to this new tank n new leaves are only starting to grow this 2 days....can advice me on algae control?

thanks so much

[Cacatuoides]

these above mentioned plecos are planted-tank friendly rite? do they attack fishes? sorry ar, first time with plecos...

[PeterGwee]

mine is a 2 footer, using 2 x 15W but cut down to 1 x 15W now, running 4hrs.... ph 5 kh 2, using ada amazonia, plants are all crypts....i think is bushy algae mostly on my driftwood, and some minor spot algae on e leaves.... most of e crypts have melted since i tranfered them to this new tank n new leaves are only starting to grow this 2 days....can advice me on algae control?

thanks so much

Is this a CO2 enriched tank or a non-CO2 tank?
Photoperiods of 8-12 hrs is better...4hrs is way too short.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Star-flog]

these above mentioned plecos are planted-tank friendly rite? do they attack fishes? sorry ar, first time with plecos...

Generally Plecos are perfect community fishes and very peaceful. No worry, brother.. BUT to each others (Pleco to Pleco), some may fight for whatever reasons..

[Cacatuoides]

its a CO2 enriched tank....algae is still growing so i cut down e photoperiod....

[PeterGwee]

its a CO2 enriched tank....algae is still growing so i cut down e photoperiod....

Try using 2x15w FL again and increase the photoperiod back to 10hrs. Clean out the algae via removal and add some fast growing plants back and pack the tank (you can remove them slowly once the main plants grow in.).

I suggest a routine for you to follow.
Manual Removal of algae
Clean filter
Do a large 50-80% water change 2x a week for a month or so and then back off to once a week.
1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 2x a week
1 rice grain/1ppm of KH2PO4 2x a week
3ml of flourish/TMG/Micros 2x a week
1/4 teaspoon of Seachem Equilibrium after water change only
Get something that measures the pH better..a pH meter or pen is good investment imo. Target 30ppm for the entire photoperiod. Get some riccia and tied it to a rock or wood and see if it pearls well mid way through the photoperiod with your CO2 level. If not add a bit more CO2 and observe for a day or two before making changes again.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[Cacatuoides]

Try using 2x15w FL again and increase the photoperiod back to 10hrs. Clean out the algae via removal and add some fast growing plants back and pack the tank (you can remove them slowly once the main plants grow in.).

I suggest a routine for you to follow.
Manual Removal of algae
Clean filter
Do a large 50-80% water change 2x a week for a month or so and then back off to once a week.
1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 2x a week
1 rice grain/1ppm of KH2PO4 2x a week
3ml of flourish/TMG/Micros 2x a week
1/4 teaspoon of Seachem Equilibrium after water change only
Get something that measures the pH better..a pH meter or pen is good investment imo. Target 30ppm for the entire photoperiod. Get some riccia and tied it to a rock or wood and see if it pearls well mid way through the photoperiod with your CO2 level. If not add a bit more CO2 and observe for a day or two before making changes again.

Regards
Peter Gwee

Thanks so much for your advice, i'll try to stick with your fert regimine.....
is it lack of fert tats causing algae? wats e cause of algae ar?

[GreenTea]

Agreed.

ive got 2 bristlenose... but i have not seen them for a long time...

[PeterGwee]

Thanks so much for your advice, i'll try to stick with your fert regimine.....
is it lack of fert tats causing algae? wats e cause of algae ar?

Depends on what you are dosing at the moment though. CO2 seems the likely issue though.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[akoh]

Elimnate the root cause rather than trying to control the situation. Plecs are not just there to do " area cleaning " !- that is secondry. They are there to further enhnace your tank appearance ! - that is primarily ! Cheers !