# Clown Pleco's



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

If acclimated slowly in the bag does anyone think Clown Plecos will do well in a Tang tank consisting of Leleupi and A. Compressiceps golden head?

The care says they are amongst the most hardy of the Plecos, even more so than the common Pleco.

Im interested in these cause they do look good and they dont get big like the common Pleco but arent as expensive as the other Plecos out like the Gold Nuggets.


----------



## DK77 (Apr 6, 2008)

Hi Jwerner2:

I actually have a clown pleco and a blue phantom pleco in my tang community tank right now. Both pleco's have been in the tank for ~5 months and seem to be doing fine. There is a group of black calvus and firecracker leleupis in there with them and no probs at all so far.

HTH


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I have 1 clown pleco in with calvus and other fish... probably about 5 years now. It's a pretty fish, but pretty useless on clean up. Ancistrus spp. are much better at getting algae off the rocks and glass.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Thanks guys.

I heard they do well at cleaning up and arent very needy as far as drift wood is concerned,.. odd.

Im not a bristle nose fan and am contemplating these guys mostly for the size. A Pleco that only gets 4" and looks cool like they do is OK in my book but now Im thinking about what Triscuit said as far as them not being good clean up.

I dont have a _huge _algae problem I just love my multi colored river rock and want it to stay clean 

Glass aint a problem, I dont care about having to scrub the glass but scrubbing the rock is a pain without removing it.


----------



## DK77 (Apr 6, 2008)

Ya I have no driftwood in the tank and the clown doesn't seem to mind. As far as cleaning goes I would have to disagree with Triscuit, my clown is an algae vaccume. When I come into the room at night he is always scrubbing the rocks down good. Doesn't really touch the glass, but he does keep the rocks clean.


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

To each their own fish  There are no guarantees that a fish will behave in any way you expect. Perhaps my clown pleco is just lazy!

My clown pleco is a bit smaller than my albino bristlenose plecos, but even the big daddy BN pleco is barely 4". They're breeding in my cichlid tanks!  Of course, the cyps ate most of the first batch before I could get the baby plecos out.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

I'll try one out today I guess and if it fails me I can put him in another tank I have.

He will be the only algae eater in the tank so maybe if there is not any competition he will take to the algae better.

i did read more last night and found its a mix between some saying they do a great job and some saying they dont do a good job.

I get algae on my sand a bit also cause I CHOOSE to use brighter lights. Its not bad like I said in my last post and I can usually take care of it during a water change when I turn up the sand before it looks like a nuisance but they also say they like to hug the substrate so maybe it will keep the algae on the sand turned up a bit also.


----------



## Guest (Apr 6, 2009)

By the way, if you are getting the fish because you like how it looks, then don't because you won't see the fish while the lights are on. I had one clown pleco for over 3 years, and only time I saw the fish was when I was cleaning the tank and moving the driftwoods around.  Sometimes I forget I even had the fish. As a matter of fact, I don't even know if the fish is still alive. For all I know, it could be dead.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Oh I know. Im saying, if I would get a Pleco they would be one I would choose cause I do like they way they look out of he ones I could put in my tank without them out growing it. Not just cause I feel I need a fish that looks cool  .


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Grabbed one last night. Im happy so far. He hid and all but I woke up in the middle of the night like always cause Im a crappy sleeper and I decided to go take a look. He looked as if he was cleaning some rock and this morning I did notice he did a small job.

I acclimated him slow in the bag by removing water and adding small amounts of my water for about a hour. I know hes not fully acclimated but he is doing well. He was out while the lights were on for a few minutes and I was watching him from across the room and of course as I got closer for a better look he hid again.

I have a few other tanks he may be more at home in and I really like to do tanks consisting of species from the same local so if he dont do what I want him to I'll just put him in a tank he would be more at home in. My only real concern that I just started thinking of is if he dont eat much algae what will he eat? Im hoping he don get to my Leleupi fry since they just started spawning and stuff. They are tucked away in a nice spot that even the mother needs to wriggle around to get to.

All in all hes a nice lookin fish. Hes more of the olive green with a nice golden orange set of stripes. As soon as he gets used to everything and ventures out more during the day I'll try my best to get a shot of him.

This also gives me a excuse to pull the CCFL night light I made back out since I wasn't so impressed with it when I made it


----------



## Tai95 (Feb 4, 2006)

I would never recommend anyone keep a clown without driftwood. Clowns are not really an "algae eater" like a lot of people think. Actually the majority of plecos are not algae eaters like some of the people wish they were. Clowns fall into the wood eating group of plecos and there have been a few scientific studies of the actual stomach content of wild caught clowns containing nothing but wood fibers. They will graze on algae, but that should not be the only food offered to them. They will readily eat meatier foods such as bloodworms, mysis, or brineshrimp and will also eat vegtable matter like cucumbers and zuchini.

If you have eggs in the tank I would think the pleco would have no trouble eating them if it was able to reach them without being attacked.


----------



## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Well for the eggs I dont have any new ones as of yet and as I said they have fry in a spot that even the small female Leleupi has to squeeze into.

Can you provide this info on the drift wood. I have read the complete opposite on wood and mixed opinions on algae.


----------



## Tai95 (Feb 4, 2006)

http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/congre ... f/toba.pdf

http://pages.towson.edu/nelson/Panaque/manaus.html

Here are a few for you. If you search the other cited research you will be able to get even more information. These are actual studies and can be pretty technical though.


----------



## Guest (Apr 8, 2009)

Here's one more.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=734


----------

