pleco s and snails..

waxer1986

hi..

just bought a pleco the other day to help clean my tank..
the tank is 180 liter just wondering would the pleco be ok just
eaten the alge on the bottom or should i get them little pellets
or tablets to feed em.....

when i put in the pleco the other day i noticed tiny snails
they must off bein on the plants when i put them in a few weeks ago.
i no it aint a bad thing but there is just to many off them..
when i was reading up on them it said the pleco would eat them if they were
alive or dead.but id have to clean out the empty shell..
is this bull or will they eat them...ty:rolleyes:

ValerieR

Hi waxer1986,
Plecos are generally fine at eating algae when they are young but get lazy as they grow. You might however feed him a little other than just algae in order to vary his intake.
Not sure about plecos eating snails. Clown loaches are good at eating them.
I hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

Lauragoesmad

Plecos will not eat snails but as Valerie said, Clown loaches are good. They eat the snail eggs. They are not very active fish though. They like to stay hidden during the day and prefer to come out at night. Lovely fish though.

waxer1986

ValerieR wrote: »

Hi waxer1986,
Plecos are generally fine at eating algae when they are young but get lazy as they grow. You might however feed him a little other than just algae in order to vary his intake.
Not sure about plecos eating snails. Clown loaches are good at eating them.
I hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

yes clown loaches heard off them but i was reading uP on them and
its was sayen they aint suitable to be wit tetra s or smaller fish as they will Prob attack them is this true...any other ideas or ant other fish to get rid off snails or just even to keeP there numbers down. cos i dont mind as long as there aint too many.........ty

Pimp Ninja

Puffer fish are another type of fish that will eat the snails. But then after a while, you will run out of snails and the puffers need these to keep their teeth/beaks from growing too long.

Another option is to put a lettuce leaf into the tank at night, (just before lights out) when you collect this the following morning, it should be covered in snails.

waxer1986

Pimp Ninja wrote: »

Puffer fish are another type of fish that will eat the snails. But then after a while, you will run out of snails and the puffers need these to keep their teeth/beaks from growing too long.

Another option is to put a lettuce leaf into the tank at night, (just before lights out) when you collect this the following morning, it should be covered in snails.

tryed that it dont work...Puffer fish wat could ya get for them after the snails are gone
o and will they be alright in a tank wit tetra,s

ValerieR

I'm not too sure about puffers and other fish like tetras ...
The Clown Loaches are really funny (I guess that's where they get their name from) and come up with some antics ...
Mine did spend their 1st year in the dark/hidden parts of the aquarium for a lot of the time but now they are out and about along with the angels at food time and at other times too. They are quite placid with other fish. You should be ok. If you get them, get a few of them as they like to shoal. They too grow to quite large a size but are slow growers. They are quite sensitive to water quality (they don't have scales like most fish) but are very rewarding.
Hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

waxer1986

ValerieR wrote: »

I'm not too sure about puffers and other fish like tetras ...
The Clown Loaches are really funny (I guess that's where they get their name from) and come up with some antics ...
Mine did spend their 1st year in the dark/hidden parts of the aquarium for a lot of the time but now they are out and about along with the angels at food time and at other times too. They are quite placid with other fish. You should be ok. If you get them, get a few of them as they like to shoal. They too grow to quite large a size but are slow growers. They are quite sensitive to water quality (they don't have scales like most fish) but are very rewarding.
Hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

how many would you say to get 3 or 4...they ll eat the fish food flakes aswel as the snails ya

ValerieR

4 would be a max (for your 50l tank - you might want to upgrade in a few years! ). They'll eat flakes too no problem.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

waxer1986

ValerieR wrote: »

4 would be a max (for your 50l tank - you might want to upgrade in a few years! ). They'll eat flakes too no problem.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

its 180 liter tank...4 be enough anyway ya....ty for the helP again im sure ill be back wit more questions..lol

ValerieR

Oops ... My mistake ... sorry ... 6 for a 180l should be ok too.
ValerieR

lrushe

Most Pleco are vegetarian especially when young, be warned though they can turn carnivorous as they grow (this would include snails and small fish) and grow they do, BIG! So you may find yourself rehoming or upgrading in a few years. You can feed him pellets or put a piece of bog wood in your tank and an abundance of algae should grow on that and keep him active rasping it off, keeping his mind off your smaller fish!:D
I wouldn't recommend puffer fish in a tank your size as they will nip the fins off any other fish in your tank, I would only keep puffers in a big tank with plenty of hiding places for other fish to avoid the prying eye of the puffer. Hope this helps!

F-Stop

Clown loaches are great. I have five in smallish (2-3 inch) in a 180 litre. They do get big, but they are slow growers - but eventually mine will need to be moved to a bigger tank. They are in a tank with a few ottos which are pretty small and they are not interested - at a bigger size they might be. Mine are not shy at all, and are great fun to watch - but they are skittish. Make sure they have a few nice pieces of wood that they can hide in. They like to hide as a group and when the lights go out you can hear them "clicking" which is how they sort out their pecking order. Snails are not an issue and this is a heavily planted tank.

What kind of plec is it, do you know? Some get very big. If you want to get algae off the glass though, you are better off getting those magnetic scraper things tbh. I give mine algae wafers, broken up, as a treat about once a week. The danger in giving them too regularly is that they won't bother with the algae. I've no experience of plecs eating snails.

Puffers generally need to be kept in a species tank. They tend not to get on too well with tasty little fish. Speaking of, if your plec gets too big they are supposed to be quite tasty... never tried it myself.