[Docock]

I really love these fish and want to put one in my 48 gallon aquarium. It will be heavily planted and a community aquarium. Can I do it?

Thanks

 

[Betta132]

Should be alright, size-wise, but plecos are messy and destructive and it may chew all your plants up or possibly just bulldoze them everywhere.

 

[Docock]

Is there any pleco alternative that is smaller and will not do this?

 

[Betta132]

There are no plecos that won't make a mess, but a small group of otocinclus will do about the same thing without messing up your plants. It can be a bit tricky to get healthy ones, they often come in with internal parasites or unknown issues, but if you get 6-8ish you should have a few left over. You need at least 3 to keep them happy, they tend to shoal.

 

[SteppingStones]

I've personally kept L201 and L004 in my 38 gallon tanks with very little issue. They stay pretty small and haven't disturbed any plants. I also picked up some L010A (Red Lizard Catfish), and they're my new favorites right now.

 

[Betta132]

Oh yeah, lizard cats or twig cats are generally good for planted tanks. Starving ones may chew on plants, but they don't really disturb much. Give them a solid surface to cling to, driftwood or such, and they're happy. They don't move much, but they do spend lots of time out in the open, and they look cool. Plus, you can just reach into the tank and pick them up, you don't even need a net. What other fish can you do that with?