The Planted Tank Forum banner

Good plants for plecos?

32K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  thenameless  
#1 ·
I have a new pleco and am totally clueless. I know he'd likely eat just about anything I put in his tank, so does anyone have some recommendations for plants to use with plecos? I assume floating would be preferable over planted? Thanks for any advice you might have!
 
#5 ·
i have the same one... common pleco. i have amazon swords, anubias, java fern, jungle val in the tank, and feed him some algae wafers. plants are ok. but java fern and anubias are one of the good ones to keep with him
 
#6 ·
I have plecos in several tanks with all sorts of plants. Mine eat all sorts of vegetables, and some are driftwood nibblers. The ones I have do not seem to eat plants enough to cause problems. Make sure there is driftwood in the tank. Some are quite dependent on it, others may just nibble a bit now and then. Some Plecos are more protein oriented, so offer a carnivore wafer for them.

I have 2 that were sold as Common Plecos, but are really different. One is about 6"+ long, and almost all black with lots of soft grey areas that make him (her?) look sort of like a reverse Dalmatian dog. This one lives in a tank with other fish that do eat plants, so I am limited to Java Fern and Anubias in that tank. Lots of Duckweed, but it comes and goes; I think the Barbs eat it sometimes and other times ignore it.
Another that was sold as a common is definitely not. The coloring looks just right to be camouflaged under fallen leaves. Fairly rich brown, large patches over a charcoal-brown background. About 5" long. Tall dorsal fin. This tank had a lot of plants, but Marmokrebs got to them. The plants are recovering now that the crays are gone. This Pleco was in a smaller tank, with lots of plants including Vals and Hydrocotyle.
I have Bristlenose Plecos in 3 tanks (maybe different species of BN, they do not look the same) lots of plants in those tanks, including some Sunset Hygro, Hydrocotyle, Bacopa and other things.