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<\/p>\nLooking for a ‘Pleco’ clean up crew to clean the algae from the glass and plants in your tanks ? \u00a0These are the plec’s that you are most likely to come across in your LFS.<\/p>\n
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Usually t<\/span>hi<\/span>s is actually <\/span>Pterygoplichthys pardalis<\/span><\/i> (L021 L023) and is usually<\/span>\u00a0sold as a cheap catfish to clean algae from a community tank. They a<\/span>re<\/span>\u00a0long\u00a0<\/span>lived, peaceful and armour plated so safe with most other t<\/span>ank\u00a0<\/span>inhabitants; they don\u2019t eat plants although they may uproot them occasionally while moving about. Unfortunately given their large eventual size and generally poor performance at cleaning algae as they get larger they are a poor choice for the average aquarist. The cute little pleco quickly outgrows most tanks and produces a lot of waste thus clogging up the filtration system. Given their eventually size of 35-40 cms I would consider a 250 Litre tank as the minimum size for a common plec.<\/span><\/p>\n While actually two different species the Red\u00a0<\/span>Spot<\/span> Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps <\/i>L083, L164, L196 and the Gold Spot Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus \u00a0<\/i>L01 \u00a0are practically identical in all but color. \u00a0The Red Spot has dark colored splotches and squiggles on a Light Tan Background, the Gol<\/span>d Spot has Tan Splotches and Squiggles on a dark colored background, the Red Spot also<\/span>\u00a0has a slightly larger Dorsal Fin, and is sometimes sold as a Sail Fin pleco.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Usually sold as a\u00a0<\/span>small somewhat cute fish around 1 to 2 inches long. These are a fast growing eating machine. The specimen in the photo above is around 40cm long and 24 years old as of 2017. They are slightly more aggressive than common plecs but still peaceful although they can cause problems for more timid tank mates by out competing them for food. Recommended only for a larger tank (minimum 250 litres) as they quickly outgrow most small tanks and produce huge amounts of waste overloading the filtration system. Ideal as a \u2018clean up crew\u2019 for a tank with larger cichlids or boisterous fish but not really suited to the average \u2018community\u2019 tank. Will not eat plants but may uproot them while moving about, good at keeping green algae\u2019s in check but they get lazy if overfed on fish food and start ignoring the algae. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Common Plec’s in NZ Looking for a ‘Pleco’ clean up crew to clean the algae from the glass and plants in your tanks ? \u00a0These are the plec’s that you are most likely to come across in your LFS. COMMON PLECOSTOMUS. Usually this is actually Pterygoplichthys pardalis (L021 L023) and is usually\u00a0sold as a cheap … <\/p>\nRED SPOT & GOLD SPOT \u00a0PLECOSTOMUS<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nBRISTLE NOSE CATFISH<\/b><\/h4>\n
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Ancistrus<\/span><\/i> sp (3) The common Bristle Nose Catfish or Bushy Nose Catfish is the ideal sucker mouth catfish for any tank, in fact I recommend every tank have at least one of these guys (every tank I have has a BN clean up crew). They are hardy, long lived, armor plated, excellent algae eaters, peaceful and relatively easy to spawn. They tolerate a wide range of water conditions and max out at around 15 cms in size. The males have the extensive bushy whiskers, the females also have them much they are much smaller. There are a few variants including The Golden Bristle Nose (an albino form of sp3) the Black Eyed Golden (L144) and hybrid mixes of all three. Other than every scrap of algae they can find they eat any sinking food pellets (although vegetable based ones are preferred) they also love courgette. All in all the perfect pleco for most community tanks.<\/span><\/p>\nOTOCINCLOS CATFISH<\/b><\/h4>\n
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If you are looking for a smaller algae eater then Otto cats are the ones for you. In NZ they are usually <\/span>Otocinclos vittatus <\/span><\/i>but other varieties are available from time to time. Ottos are vegetarians so need a diet of greens, tank algae, courgette, blanched lettuce etc. They are also a shoaling fish and should be kept in groups of at least 5 or 6. Maxing out at around 1.5 inches they are an ideal \u2018clean up crew\u2019 for smaller tanks as long as you are prepared to supplement the usual community flakes diet with some extra greens.<\/span><\/p>\n