Could a BN pleco hold up to a cray?

[Gerald the Mouse]

I'm planning on getting a cray for my 15g tank, and selling the 2 harlequins rasboras that are in there right now. That leaves me with a BN pleco in the 15g tank. I could move the pleco to my 10g tank housing:
7 Silver tip tetras
2 ottos
But I think it would be overstocked, unless I would move my Fluval 104 to the 10g tank so it would be running along with the Eheim Ecco.
Or I could forget about moving anything but the rasboras, and just keep the pleco in the 15g. But has anybody kept a BN pleco with a p. anelli cray before with good results? I don't want my little pleco to get torn to shreds by it. If it helps, I'd probably be getting one of the offspring of the crays in this thread on another forum: [link].

[Natty]

Originally Posted by Gerald the Mouse

I'm planning on getting a cray for my 15g tank, and selling the 2 harlequins rasboras that are in there right now. That leaves me with a BN pleco in the 15g tank. I could move the pleco to my 10g tank housing:
7 Silver tip tetras
2 ottos
But I think it would be overstocked, unless I would move my Fluval 104 to the 10g tank so it would be running along with the Eheim Ecco.
Or I could forget about moving anything but the rasboras, and just keep the pleco in the 15g. But has anybody kept a BN pleco with a p. anelli cray before with good results? I don't want my little pleco to get torn to shreds by it. If it helps, I'd probably be getting one of the offspring of the crays in this thread on another forum: [link].

Crays are very curious creatures, no matter how unaggressive they might seem, they'll still get your pleco. They're also defensive sometimes. Plecos are pretty strong, but I would think your pleco won't be moving a lot at night, but the crays will and will probably just grab onto the tail out of curiousity. Believe me, I've kept the two together before. Watching your crayfish getting a free ride on your pleco might be funny, but its not a good thing.

How big is the cray and how big is your pleco? Unless your crayfish is starving or really aggressive, it probably won't do anything to your pleco other than giving it a curious pinch once in awhile.

They'll probably still be able to live together, just remember to feed your crayfish. If the crayfish is A LOT bigger, than its more risky. If they're around the same size I would think its okay. Tank room is important, too. Bigger the tank, the more room they have between each other.

Depends on size difference, if the pleco is bigger or about the same size, it should be okay. I think self experience will help you out more. We might give you our opinions, but in the end, it differs a lot and our opinions are still as good as guessing. Test it out, I think it'll be more accurate to find out on your own.

[Gerald the Mouse]

The pleco is maybe 2-3 inches in length. I'm not sure about the cray yet, because I don't have it, but from the guy on the other forum would probably send me a juvi, if not, a little bigger.

[Natty]

Originally Posted by Gerald the Mouse

The pleco is maybe 2-3 inches in length. I'm not sure about the cray yet, because I don't have it, but from the guy on the other forum would probably send me a juvi, if not, a little bigger.

Well, from your estimation, how big is the cray and how big can they get later on?

I'm not familiar with the species and I didn't get any results when searching. But if they have claws, they will use it to test out their environment and whatever is around there.

[Gerald the Mouse]

Whoops, spelled it wrong.
P. allenii. And it gets 10cm long, so I'm guessing when it gets shipped, maybe 5cm?
Link: http://www.planetinverts.com/Procambarus%20allenii.html

[Natty]

I would definately say watch out. Make sure they're fed and if you see any real aggressive behaviors, take your pleco out.

It's either the crayfish shows aggressive behavior to your pleco....

Or your pleco disturbing it during a molt, a hungry pleco is something else haha! I had one defending a piece of algae wafer I placed in the tank. You can give it a try, its more of a live and learn situation.

[Gerald the Mouse]

Thanks for the help. I'll leave the pleco in there to start, but if I see any aggressiveness, I'll move him out.

[Lupin]

You are better off not attempting the crayfish with your fish. Why try to watch for it to make a move against your fish? If they are not compatible at all, then don't risk it.

[BruceWatts]

I agree with Bluebell. Since both live on the bottom and all the action will be after lights out keeping a watch on them will do no good. Although the cray may not be big enough to kill the pleco outright it will definately try to harass it. Crayfish will try and eat anything they can capture and they are not to be trusted in a tank with slow moving bottom dwellers or fish small enough to overpower at night.

Bruce