snails vs. pleco

[Guppy Woman]

Hi everyone! I need some help.... I have lots of snails, guppies and a common pleco in an 40 gal aquarium. I am worried that the snails (common river snails) are eating the algae that is for the pleco. I don't like using the algae pellets cause I have had booms of algae that has taken months to clean up. I haven't seen any different behavior with the pleco so I think he is ok.What do you guys think?

[Mustang Boy]

if you are worried about him not getting enough algae you can supplement his diet with blanched vegetables like cucumber and others

also your pleco will eventually reach over a foot long and will be too big for even that 40g tank

[Guppy Woman]

How fast do they grow? What is there life span? I am hoping in the future to get a 100 gal set up. I hope that will be enough!

[ov10pat]

I second the cucumbers. Get something to hold it down as the cucumbers float.

Pat

[comatoast]

No intent to hijack here, but this is an interesting issue: Do algae wafers (which many feed fairly frequently) actually cause algae blooms? Apparently the OP thinks so- I'd be interested in the opinions of our learned colleagues.

[ov10pat]

Originally Posted by comatoast

No intent to hijack here, but this is an interesting issue: Do algae wafers (which many feed fairly frequently) actually cause algae blooms? Apparently the OP thinks so- I'd be interested in the opinions of our learned colleagues.

I dunno, I havent seen any correlation.

Pat

[FrostyNYC]

Since the algae in algae wafers is baked as part of the drying process, I can't imagine that any of the algae is actually alive and could regrow. Not to mention, the algae in algae wafers is usually a spirulina, not a typical algae growing rampant in tanks. More likely, the algae bloom was caused by algae wafers going uneaten and polluting the water.

I've found zucchini and yellow squash to be preferred over cucumber. Common plecos also grow fond on normal fish food as they age, relying less and less on algae.

[sewingalot]

Originally Posted by Guppy Woman

How fast do they grow? What is there life span? I am hoping in the future to get a 100 gal set up. I hope that will be enough!

Here are some basic info on them: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/common.php and http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm

My experience with them are they live many years, the last one we had lived with cichlids for over 12 years before he jumped. I suspect they could live at least 20 or more. They grow moderately, depending on what and how often you feed them.

[ov10pat]

Originally Posted by sewingalot

Here are some basic info on them: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/pleco/common.php and http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Pleco.htm

My experience with them are they live many years, the last one we had lived with cichlids for over 12 years before he jumped. I suspect they could live at least 20 or more. They grow moderately, depending on what and how often you feed them.

100 gallons would be fine for him. If you are interested in smaller plecos Id recommend the clown pleco, the bushynose pleco or the leopard frog peckoltia. Check them out on planet catfish. There is alot of info there on plecos. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=213 scroll down to the size section and click on either near, nearer or same size species links. This will show you all the similiarly sized plecos.

Pat