i recently just got a common pleco need help

M

mark134

Member
Oct 6, 2009
48
0
6
PA
he seems to be doing good hes been in there for about 3 weeks i know the sand i have in there keeps the ph higher hes doing good very active but i noticed some parts of his body are lighter color dont know if thats bad its not fungus or ich ive had those fish in just low under 7 ph before it doesnt bother them but that sand raises the ph and the smaller pleco in the discus tank hes doing great
 
lethalcustoms00

lethalcustoms00

Member
Jan 23, 2010
32
0
6
Gillette wyo
dont leave that common plec in with your discus after he gets about 9 inches tl. hes gonna start to try to chase down that pretty discus and when he does catch it hes gonna kill it. as they get bigger they want more thn just plant and veg in their diet and once they get it figured out that those discus cant fight back hes gonn athink they are a great snack.
 
C

canberra_plec

Member
Sep 22, 2009
30
0
6
Canberra
dont be riddiculous, plecs will only chase down and suck on the slime coat of discus and angels if they ar not propperly fed.

its not worth their while to become a predator almost just for a bit of that slime coat. they would much rather mung out on a nice fresh zuchinni and some blood worm.
 
Lornek8

Lornek8

Member
Apr 21, 2009
2,001
0
36
Hawaii
mark134 said:
plecos dont kill other fish i dont think they eat dead fish either
Click to expand...
They can and will do both under certain circumstances. They will kill other fish, especially other plecs if territorial disputes, etc are allowed to develop. They will most definitely eat dead fish if given the opportunity. The myth that plecs will specaifically seek out Discus or other flat sided fish to suck the slime off however is greatly exagerated. In the past 20+ years i've kept plecs with all types of flat sided fish including Discus & have never experienced any such occurrence. The most troublesome part of housing plecs & discus together is finding plecs suitable to be housed in the water conditions for discus. Despite popular belief, many plecs do not come from the same biotope as the discus and many of the other popular tropicals.
 
Lornek8

Lornek8

Member
Apr 21, 2009
2,001
0
36
Hawaii
mark134 said:
i keep the temp at 82 and the water is acidic
Click to expand...
There's more to it than that. See this article for some info on plec habitat to get an idea of the various habitats.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/shanesworld.php?article_id=177&title=Natural+Catfish+AquariumUnderstanding+habitats

Then, take a look at the species profiles for various plecs & what type of habitat/conditions they come from & compare that to the typcial habitat of discus.

From: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/photos/art_book_review_discus03.jpg
 
Last edited:
C

canberra_plec

Member
Sep 22, 2009
30
0
6
Canberra
ye its also do do with things like water flow and"decor" if you will.
plecs like fast flowing water withlotsa wood and even rocks where as discus are happiest in gentle flowing waters with lots of upright folage like val and swords and the likes :)

im not saying they shouldnt be kept together otherwise i would be a hipocrite :) but just be mindful of things other than just water parameters.

and lornek8 unfortunately i have had one attack ONCE of a discus by a peppermint a few years ago.
i was on holidays and my housemate was feeding my fish for me. in one of my displays she forgot to feed and veg or even algae disks for the full 6 weeks. although not fatal the plec did at some point take a munch on the side of the disk but that was extreme circumstances.

other than that i have never had any problems with them together :) their not nasty just got the apetite of a vegeterian teenager!!! ha ha ha
 
M

mark134

Member
Oct 6, 2009
48
0
6
PA
i have a big piece of driftwood in there and i would put alot of rocks but its to hard to clean
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom