# Plecostomus in Cichlid tanks?



## sisonek

I am very new to African Cichlids having only had them for about 2 months and I need to put some kind of algae eater in the tanks with them. The first tank that I tried to put one in was a Mbuna tank that has been established for about a month with only the Cichlids in it. So I put a bushy nosed Plecostomus in with them. The Cichlids are all still less than 3 inches and the Plecostomus that I put in there was about 5 inches immediately the Cichlids started attacking the Plecostomus picking at his tail and the bristles in-between his eyes ,so I took him out and put him in my wifeâ€™s community tank.
So my questions are:
Will the Mbuna pick him to death or are they just annoying him but not actually causing any harm?
Will they get use to him after a few days and not bother him anymore? 
Would he being in there even if it is not really hurting him stress him out? 
Is there a different kind of fish that eats algae that is better suited to Cichlid tanks? 
Would it be better to cycle the tank with a Plecostomus first then start introducing Cichlids?


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## ladybugzcrunch

My mbuna do not play well with plecos. The last one I tried was bigger than them and was torn up really bad so I removed him. I think it depends on the mbuna and their aggression level. Mine seem to be very mean toward them.


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## amazonfriend

wow - those guys are nasty!


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## ridley25

It sounds like the tank you're describing isn't going to work well with a pleco. It's hard to imagine them getting less belligerent toward it over time, so you did the right thing by taking it out. I have had a pleco happily existing in my 38 gallon Malawi tank through two different groups of mbuna, but that only proves that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
One thing I've learned from a few different aquascapes is to keep my rocks away from the glass in those places where I don't want to see algae - that way I can scrape it off by hand from time to time.
But I'm a guy who likes algae on my rocks - not everyone has the same taste.

kevin


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## kelen

I have been reading on the boards about nerites (snails). Once i actually have an algea problem i plan on getting some. My tanks are pretty new and i dont have a need atm. here is the link i was looking at. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... ostorder=a pics of the snails are on third page. Some people say they are ok with mbuna, others not.


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## steelers fan

a bristle nose pleco is in my experiance your best bet they are non-stop algea eaters that are armor plated. if you really want one...with your next water change add your pleco then take your time and proceed with your water chacge, also take out all your decor before starting, then afer the waterchange re-arrange your decor...should help


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## D.T.M

Yeah, I have 3 bristlenoses in my tank, all smaller than the Mbuna and they are all fine. The Mbuna largely ignore them unless they wander into a spawing cave.

Id try introducing a few at once after a big decor re-shuffle. Hopefully the Mbuna will be too busy scrapping amoungst themselves over territory to both the plecs. Im not sure about the water change - for me this triggers breeding behaviour and high aggression (and colour) from the males.


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## MalawiLover

If you are having an algae issue, it would be a better idea to deal with the cause of the algae, rather than the end result.

Proper tank maitenance (water changes, ect.) should keep algae to a minumum


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## uganationaltitle

i have 1 albino bristlenose pleco in my tank and 5 neurite snails, the pleco dont take **** from no one but the snails get turned over all the time and i have to turn them back over. Make sure that if you have salt in ur tank that you get a bristlenose and not a common pleco it will kill them.

hope i helped

Oh if you get neurite snails get big ones and they need salt too.


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## BOOP

So is that really true? Because i've been putting salt in my tanks for about a year now and it hasn't affected my plecos at all.


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## uganationaltitle

Oh yeah I had a budy that bought two different common plecos and put them in his cichlid tank and they both were dead bye the hour. And both tmes they were very healthy and were put in a hospital tank before being put in the cichlid tank. And also know an along time hobyist that said they would also die in water with salt. About yours I don't know maybe just not alot of salt in it. But my bristle nose does awesome in it and can take the salt


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## Dewdrop

Some people have trouble with cichlids eating the eyes out of plecos. Other people have no trouble at all. I have plecos in all my cichlid tanks with no problem. I'm sure luck has alot to do with it but there are other things that can help with it too.

When I started out with my first tank (55g.), I added a small pleco along with my first small cichlids. For a while one might occasionally nip at it's tail or something but the pleco would move away and that would be the end of the story. They wouldn't chase it down or anything and soon left him alone completely. I think adding them at the same time while they are young and letting them grow up together helps. Having a large enough tank helps too. If they feel the pleco is taking up room they need they might try to kill it and if you don't feed the cichlids enough that could give them another reason not to want it there. These are just my ideas about it and not proven facts or anything (that I am aware of anyway:lol.

If you have at least a 55g. tank, I would try rearranging the rocks and stuff in the tank to take their mind off the addition of the pleco & try putting him back in then. Maybe even add a few more new cichlids at the same time, if you can. Just keep an eye on him.


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## fox

I had to take a pleco out of my african tank. They compete for food and the cichlids went after the pleco's eye. We were able to save him and his eye but have not introduced another pleco into that tank.


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## oldcatfish

Dewdrop brings up a great point---when you add a fish is a very important and often overlooked factor. If I were going to add a pleco to an established cichlid tank I would do the following:

1) Quarantine the pleco for one month and fatten it up with a variety of appropriate food. If I could, I would also have heavy algael growth in both the quarantine tank, as well as the cichlid tank.

2) I would re-arrange all the decorations in the cichlid tank, then add the pleco late in the evening....then turn out the lights immediately.

Even then, your success will vary from tank to tank.


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## wildcat567

Try flying fox. They're excellent algae eaters and they're fast.


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## wildcat567

I have a 55g african with a common pleco and a bristlenose, and a 55g s amer with a sailfin pleco and just added a 9" pleco that immediately got beat up by the sailfin, so he's getting sold.

I don't have any prob's with those guys, but I did add a gorgeous white spotted pleco to the africn tank and in a week I found his chewed-out body during a water change.


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## Williamleigh

bristle nose catfish will be fine my mbuna ignore him 
I tried picking him up when I was swaping tanks and figured out why those spikes and armour and sharp and hard 
so go for bristle nose


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## ridley25

sisonek said:


> So I put a bushy nosed Plecostomus in with them. The Cichlids are all still less than 3 inches and the Plecostomus that I put in there was about 5 inches immediately the Cichlids started attacking the Plecostomus picking at his tail and the bristles in-between his eyes ,so I took him out and put him in my wifeâ€™s community tank.


The OP stated right from the beginning that he tried a BN pleco, so any further suggestions that the same would be fine aren't much help. I for one have been lucky with BN plecos in my mbuna tanks so I have no help to give, but if anyone has concrete advise on _how to successfully integrate an algae eater into a rowdy tank_, I'm sure the OP would be grateful.


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## klane079

I have 2 that have been in the tank since the 1st cichlids where there....they pick at them on occasion...but I have tried to add more & they always eat those...usually within a day


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## aFinFan

The only way I have found "how to successfully integrate an algae eater into a rowdy tank"and you really need a large tank is to add the pleco first or add a significantly larger pleco that way they prob won't mess with him.If you can get them Pseudoacanthicus sp, L025 ect. are the best,although omnivorous(please forgive spelling)they will eat algae and are very aggressive,defend themselves very well.Malawi Lover has suggested chinese algae eaters in another thread,I have no exp with this fish in Malawi tanks but it is an interesting solution Also stated this "If you are having an algae issue, it would be a better idea to deal with the cause of the algae, rather than the end result" this is really the best advice to go with.


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## Electrophyste

dont try longfin bristlenose, i learned my lesson and the little guy still healing in a separate tank


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## lividfanatica

I too recently lost a BN Pleco to a group of mixed African cichlids. They simply harrassed him until he sat in the corner and stopped eating  Does anybody have suggestions on where to find L25 Plecos? A quick Google search only revealed that online they cost hundreds of dollars and that they are getting harder to find due to habitat loss and lack of captive breeders. Suggestions?


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## Shizark

I have a 90 gallon with a common pleco and 2 loaches a yoyo and a zebra, along with the stock list below. All male tank and I have no problems. As a matter of fact, the 2 loaches don't take no chit from nobody. Pleco is always in his own little world, and I have never seen him get messed with.


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## DJRansome

My BN's are doing well with Malawi, Tangs and Victorians. They may have a problem surviving initially in the tank, but once they make it through the initiation, they are good for years and years.


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