Do you really need a pleco?

So another loss in my tank that I attribute to the plague I recently had in the tank. My Sunshine pleco died suddenly without any warning. No marks on it and belly looked fine (not sunken). This on the heels of my sailfin about two weeks back also going with no warning. Both of these fish were in the tank during the time when I was treating for parasites and what not. Both seemed fine but they still did not make it.

So I began a search for a new clean up fish.... and the more I looked and thought about it, the more I realized I did not want a pleco. Most of the times they like to hide and are not that colorful (unless you spend $$$), and they somehow poop mare than they eat. There are other ways to get the clean up done.

So I went up to APFP and almost got some geo's because they really do a good job rooting around the substrate. But with my larger gravel I decide to not go that route. I looked at porthole cats but kind of thought they would end up as Oscar food. I also considered a 4-line pim which are cool looking but the cat is very active at night an this could end up disturbing the Oscars at night when they sleep and cause them to hurt themselves. So what to do?

Well I ended up getting a redfin prochilodus. I had done research and many said these are some of the best clean up fish you could ever get. Well an hour in the tank and it was going to town looking for food in the gravel. So I put some different things in there and found it loved flake food and algae wafers. So I found the perfect replacement for a pleco.

So whats the catch? These guys get HUGE, easy 12" and thick, so big tank required. They can also be skittish and can be jumpers, so a good top on the tank is required. They can have a tendency to suck slime off other fish when large, this is usually because they are not being fed enough.

So this is what I eneded up with:
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This is not my picture of my fish, I got it here: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That's awesome DMD. Sorry about your sunshine pleco.

The Sunshine pleco was pretty cool. I got it from Zerc, who jokingly called it the zombie pleco because you never saw it eat yet it survived.

The new Flagtail is pretty cool and it fits my SA theme.

When I first posted this I actually wanted to title it 'There are other fish besides cichlids'

Lol, other fish besides........ hey, good pickup. I have always liked the way these look. Maybe one day when I have an extra 6 footer sitting around that dosent already have centrals going into it. I will have to give these guys a shot. So how many did you get? Are they schoolers? Do they get aggresive, or are they able to handle if others get a little aggresive? Sorry I can do the research myself. But you already did.. nice pickup man.

I got just the one. I hear they do not play well with others of their kind when bigger. They are pretty easy going from what I hear, with aggression being the slime sucking if they are not fed properly or enough. My flagtail is about 4" and got it for $22.

I know I will not buy another sailfin marble pleco again.. they always outgrow the tank they are in & when larger they are lazy and grumpy. Much prefer the bristle nose due to their max size and they play well with others. They are also sooo ugly they are cool to look at.

I have 3 bristle nose that I am growing out in my 29g that I got from betty. They are pretty cool but with the way the oscars are growing they would become food.

post a video! I want to see it swimming around and eating

how do they do with hungry tankmates?

Does APFP have any more?

Bristlenoses are so small as adults it wouldn't surprise me if they still became food when grown. I have an adult male with a mature rack and he's only 4". Congrats on your new fish.

How does their diet overlap with clown loaches?

Sorry the pleco died, be sure to cut off its head and burn it though! You don't want it to flop out of the garbage can tonight and wake up to it sucking brains out of your ear...

better yet, garbage disposal...

I got the last one.

So far it is shy and does not try to compete with two hungry Oscars. The Oscars eat off the top and dont put forth a lot of effort to chase food to the bottom. The silver dollars are the next layer of feeders he competes with. Right now he backs down from them because they are bigger but he still manages to get food. Plus no one else is really eating off the bottom so he kind of has it made. The new stalsbergi is small and eats a bit of food toward the bottom but no competition from it yet.

The flagtails do seem to have a strange shaped mouth which looks to be set up for more delicate eating. So far it is doing fine and looks to be happy.

Zerc wrote:Sorry the pleco died, be sure to cut off its head and burn it though! You don't want it to flop out of the garbage can tonight and wake up to it sucking brains out of your ear...

better yet, garbage disposal...

I was upset, it was a cool pleco. I think the zombie pleco is dead... or is it?

She isn't dead, shes waiting for you to sleep...

I am not sure i have enough food on the bottom of the tank to justify another fish though. My cleanup crew is currently a pictus cat, 3 clown loaches, a bristlenose pleco, and a royal pleco... and soon my albino longfin bristlenose will be big enough to join the party.

Stalsbergi? Where and when did you get one of those?

I know apfp carries them.

and boy do they grow FAST!

The fish would be great for alage control on plastic plants and what not. Very delicate mouth on these guys.

They are often listed under the 'oddball' catagory. They are pretty unique.

stalsbergi were at APFP, I believe they are from rattle's stock.

I C. Here are a couple Rapps has that may look cool, considering your current stock.

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I love the widebar SD but they are very expensive! Last time I saw some available they were like $50 for quarter sized fish. Too rich for my blood.

The red hooks they had at APFP were just too different. One was a dusky and the other a tiger. It would just not match up right unless I got three more of the other types. At 15.99 to $19.99 it was more than what I wanted to spend. I will probably just add a couple of regular ones for cheap and be done.

We must have jinxed something by talking about the stalsbergi. Woke up to find it dead. It was swimming around and eating last night and this morning dead. The body looked pummeled. I think the Oscars might have got to it. They dont seem aggressive to me but when its 2 to 1 and they are 3 times your size.... Well cichlids will be cichlids.

How big are your oscars?

The Oscars are about 4". The little guy was maybe an 1.5"

that sucks! Stalsbergi grow really fast though, maybe get another and put it in with the convict? Or put the con in with the oscars and let a stalsbergi grow out in your 29?

I have had mine for 3 months or so and hes pretty big now.

I also have an empty 20L to work with...

Im not 100% on my stock just yet. I dont know if I will keep both Oscars. The smaller one is more colorful but mean and slower growing. The larger one has less reds but has a very nice personality and seems to be the friendlier one. They get along well enough with each other but that is a lot of bio-load. These guys get big so I dont know. Still may consider mixing a CA in there. Kind of miss my Pearsei so if one becomes available I might change some stuff up. I was not sure on the Stalsbergi was kind of an impulse buy.

Stalsbergi are cool, but they dont get super big.

I was looking for a SA fish that would stay smaller. The Oscars if they achieve full growth should be 12" with the possibility of 14-16".

Check out this beast:
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Not my pic. From [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

That guy is in a 75g and is almost touching front and back. So almost 18"

wow, that is a big fish!


stalsbergi are cool, but you might want one a little bigger to start i guess

Picture from Rapps website:
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Very cool fish, thought it would fit the SA theme perfect. And apparently I do need a bigger fish at least 3-4".

I have one a about 2/3 the size of that picture, i got him at 1.5" in november sometime.

You just need LOTS of fish, then they will play nice!


(my RTM is 2" now, and lives happily with all my big fish)

I want lots of 'different' fish. They dont have to all be cichlids. I know my silver dollars are as dumb as doorknobs but they add a lot of movement to the tank and are cool when they school together. The main goal is one monster sized fish and the rest are fillers.

i still think you should get a fire eel :p

The fire eel are pretty cool looking but I have a pretty large gravel in the tank. The eel likes to burrow in so I would need to redo with a sand substrate. Just dont want to spend that money yet.

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(1/4"-1/2")
I have this, my fire eel likes it just fine

I use an Estes Deep River Pebble that I mixed a little of the same Petsmart stuff into. So its actually a bit smaller...