Other Turtle Discussion :: PLECO FISH

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

i am gonna get a pleco fish tommorow i think. My turtle has totaly ignored my 3 feeder fish (which are getting big) for 3 1/2 weeks. so i want to get one so that i dont have to wirry about the alge which has started growing in my tank. is there any special care i need to know about? also wat is the price rang on them? i know this is a turtle forum but i figured someone here would know a thing or too about them. sould i get 2 for a 30 gallon tank?

Pleco fish are the fish that suck onto the side and eat alge right? wasnt shure if i got the name right.

[jenaero]

You have the name right. I think they go for $10 or so. They get REALLY big tho. There's one at my local pet store that's 2 feet long. Even if your turt is leaving the feeder fish alone, plecos are much slower. If your turt does decide to take a bite out of him, it will be a long, painful and MESSY death for that fish. Believe me. You can try it, but only get 1 to see how your turt reacts to it. He may ignore it for now, and a year from now he could decide to take a chunk out of it..ick.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

well i just got back from petsmart. i got one pleco for $6. so far my turtle is scared of him and is running away from it. they do get big, but i read that they do not need a big tank because they dont move around alot. my mom thinks it is the ugliest thing ever. but i think it is rather "pretty".

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

well after i totally cleaned out the tank. (took me 2 and 1/2 hours) i let the fish get used to the water b4 i put them in. when i put them into the water, i cheeked back in like 10 minutes, and the 2 roseys were dead and the goldfish followed them close after. now only the pleco remains on the edge of dieing a slow painfull death. rico the janitor (thats wat i named him) is almost dead on the bottom of the tank. I feel really sad for these fishes. i think it is because the water temps were very different so even waiting for a little while with thme in a bag in the water wasnt enough. also i dont treat the water either. so maby there was too much chlorine. i am trying to get some reptisafe, but i was just at the pet store and i dont think that my mom wants to take me again. any comments on wat i should do would be appreciated

[jenaero]

Treat the water next time. That's what killed the fish. When adding new fish, do NOT do a complete water change first.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

wat kind of water conditioner should i use? i was thinking of reptisafe, but i am not shure wat is best.

[jenaero]

I used reptisafe when i had my goldfish because I already had it for the turts. It'll be fine for the feeder fish and the pleco....if he lives.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

the plco died, forgot to mention that. poop i liked that fish.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

i was thinking of gettting another pleco fish. this time i would get some reptisafe or something. should i get another one or not?