Any pleco that swims?

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 02 May 2003, 09:44

Hi,

I have a1m south american biotope tank and i want to put a pleco that swim and which is able to go to the tablet food before my platydoras costatus go.Does anybody knows a pleco which matches these characteristics?This is the list of my fishes:

10Cardinal tetra
6True splash tetra(Copela arnoldi)
1Platydoras costatus(15cm)

Thanks in advance

Post by **Silurus** » 02 May 2003, 10:59

If by "swim", you mean one that behaves more like other catfish....no.
You can try a Chaetostoma. These are fairly quick at getting to food (at least mine is).

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 02 May 2003, 12:28

Hi SILURUS,

Thanks for the informations but i have a pleco that swims like the other catfishes and as i have seen at the LFS all the plecos of the genus Liposarcus swim without any dificulty but they grow very large.
Also i want to say that my Platydoras costatus bullies my clown pleco at the point that he prevents him from feeding and that is the reason of moving Platydoras costatus from my 60cm tank to my one metre.
As for the pleco which i want to he must grow to at least 15cm.Also i want this pleco to eat a lot of algae.

Thank you in advance

Post by **Silurus** » 02 May 2003, 13:11

The Chaetostoma will fulfil two out of three requirements: eat lots of algae and not get pushed around by the Platydoras. Unfortunately, it only grows to 12 cm.
Only the large hypostomines fit all three criteria, unfortunately. And they get too big for your tank.

Vik · Post by **Vik** » 02 May 2003, 17:34

Wow, my platydoras costatus is the most mellow fish in my pleco tank! It gets bullied and "sat on" by the larger plecos. How often do you feed your fish? Have you considered feeding your plecos zucchini or placing some of the food up higher, like on top of a cave or rock? I do that sometimes for my smaller plecos and fish. The p.c. shouldn't bother the Clown Pleco or anyone trying to eat zucchini, since it is generally not on his list of favorites.

Kostas · Post by **Kostas** » 07 May 2003, 14:43

Hi,
My platydoras eats ANYTHING including vegetable matter and he doesn't mind if his food floats or if it is at a place in which he cannot enter!!
Iwant toask and something else.Will Baryancistrus sp. Lda33 rid this tank of algae if i put a pair and put my platydoras into another tank?

Thanks alot for the help.