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i am currently caring for my brother's pleco. he had an 18 gallon-tall, and it worked fine when the pleco was small. but he's really big now. i have him in one of my 55 gallon tanks. right now. but it's kinda crowded in there.

i was wondering if a pleco would make a good tankmate for my res? or would the turtle try and eat/harm the pleco?

let me know what you think, or if you've had any experience with this sorta thing.

Short answer is don't risk it. If/when the turt tries to eat the fish, it'll be a long, messy, painful death for the poor thing. How big is the fish that the 55 is crowded?

How long is the Pleco?

We have 8 inch one and a 4 inch one in our 90 gallon tank along with a freshwater lobster and everyone is a happy family! The plecos do wonders of keeping the tank clean and eating turtle poop.

I would say if the Pleco has a good size over the turtle than it is okay--watch them close for a day and if any sign of trying to taste the Pleco goes on then take him out! My 2 turts show no interest in the plecos though.

i have an 8" female res that is currently alone in a 55 gallon tank.

(the tank that the pleco is currently in is filled with various tropical fish... tetras and platies and the like... and lot's of african driftwood and live plants. not a whole lot of space for a large fish to move around in.)

and my pleco is about 7 1/2" long from nose to tail.

the pleco is really quick and even hard for my husband and i to net. and he really likes to hide. so... maybe it'll work.

i am off of work thursday. so maybe i'll stick the pleco in while i can be home to keep an eye on things...

Don't feel bad, my pleco is hard to net as well. He can be a royal pain sometimes but he is fun to watch.

Your RES will more likely eat it than not unless the pleco is much bigger, but that doesn't mean that your RES won't try. If this is someone else's pet, then you shouldn't put it into a situation where it can be killed.