# Are Plecos really good for algea work?



## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

My neighbor has 2 in a 45gal. & has never witnessed them eating algea. He's had them foe about a month so they are living on something, obviously. But what? Are they as good as LFS have them out to be?


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## Adrian101 (Jan 24, 2011)

Depends what type of pleco, how old they are and what other foods are available.


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2012)

if you get bristlenose plecos all of your algae will be gone in a few days.. the bigger the pleco the quicker it will be gone..


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## rp-photo (Sep 22, 2011)

my pleco is a monster..... (not in size) but the 1 tank i have him theres never been an algae break out ..

i drop in a algae wafer for him every couple days to make sure he is getting food...

i like the fact that theyre nocturnal ... or atleast all that *** had have been...


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## Guest (Apr 29, 2012)

*** stopped feeding pleco wafters to all plecos but my breeding groups.. and even then i usually just give them no salt french cut green beans.. 9 times out of 10 the africans eat the wafters.. the plecos dont even get them.. the green beans they kinda leave alone if they are big enough... but even then i just feed alot of flakes and the plecos eat that...


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Common plecos do a lousy job when they get big - and they get big!

Bristlenose are good algae eaters, and pretty tough, too. Many of the other species are fragile.


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## AulonoKarl (Mar 9, 2012)

I had a common pleco for a year or so. When he was small he would do an ok job eating the algae, but as he got bigger he seemed more interested in eating what the other fish were eating. By the time he got to be around 7 inches he was pretty much just eating cichlid pellets and not cleaning much at all.

I think bristlenose stay pretty consistent. Mine are still young and are doing an absolutely fantastic job. I have two and haven't hardly had to clean my glass in a month.


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## diverbloke (May 2, 2012)

Bristlenoses are very good and they dont grow too large


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## irondan (Nov 22, 2007)

i have 3 commons in my 125 and there is no algae whatsoever on the glass, rocks or driftwood. they have been in the tank for 3 years. i have a 3 inch bristlenose in my 35 which was overrun with algae 3 weeks ago and the tank is spotless now.


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## Tiktaalik Owner (Aug 17, 2009)

I've never understood algae phobia. Unless it's on my front glass I could care less. In their natural environment fish would be surrounded by it. Let it grow, brother.

Plecos are cool -- if you like Plecos. Describing a fish that can get as big as your arm as a "tank cleaner" has to be the greatest gimmick in the hobby. The common ones will produce more poop & nitrates than an Oscar. My ranting aside, I'm more than a little tempted by some of the fancy ones, as long as they leave my lush, beautiful algae alone.


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## hoary2001 (Dec 27, 2011)

My common pleco which died recently never did a good job on algae. And the algae has steadily increased over the last few months. Could this be due to the nitrates (~20-30ppm)? I don't have plants. I have the light on for only 6 hours max a day and the tank is located out of any direct sunlight. I just don't like the look of the algae, in this case the yellow-green kind. All over the rocks especially. Cleans easily enough off the glass. I'm thinking Niritina snails.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Before and after 2 bristlenose plecos. I would of course prefer the green algae, but it always ends up turning brownish. So I chose a clean looking tank as the lesser of two evils.


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## Mr.Dempsey (Jan 4, 2012)

I got to say looks way better with the green algae but like you said it keeps turning brown and brown algae looks horrible. But man does your tank look AWESOME with at green algae!


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## Guest (May 15, 2012)

GTZ said:


> Before and after 2 bristlenose plecos. I would of course prefer the green algae, but it always ends up turning brownish. So I chose a clean looking tank as the lesser of two evils.


that is legitly like day and night. i also recently just purchased myself 2 BN Plecos. they do wonder work and i love them.

even cause they're new, the cichlids are bugging them lol


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## Tiktaalik Owner (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm a sucker for the natural look, but that clean tank is like some liquid work of art.


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