General Care Discussion :: Sucker fish in the tank

[GotEmInOkinawa]

With as much research as I have put into the care of these litttle guys, this answer still eludes me. I am wondering if it is okay to have a sucker fish (I know they're called something else, just not sure on how to spell it.) in the tank with my little guys. I have already put one in there, but I just wanna know if I need to pull it out ASAP. Thanks!

Kevin

[Daniel3507]

are you talking about plecos? some people have them with their turtles. i dont think they can really harm your turtle but there is a chance your turtle will eat it if he is big enough.

[GotEmInOkinawa]

Yes those. I thought the name for them was a whole lot longer. It is big enough to were they won't be able to eat it, although they are growing so fast that I don't know for how long that will be. I did however catch DC looking at the pleco as if he were stalking it, and I did notice that there was a chunk taken out of the fishes dorsal fin. But other than that, it seems to be working out all right.

[Daniel3507]

im sure there is a bigger name but thats just what most people call them here. im actually thinking about getting one today or later this week. im just worried about how big the plecos get.

[GotEmInOkinawa]

My wife told me that when she was growing up, they had plecos in their tanks, and when they got too big, they would take them to the pet store and trade it for a small one. I assume thats what happens over here in Okinawa, as I've been to a pet store where they had a pleco in a tank that looked to be close to three feet in length.

[Daniel3507]

that sounds like a good deal. i have a friend who said they used to give the plecos they had to the zoo when they got to big.

[GotEmInOkinawa]

Not a bad idea.

[Tenodera]

Hey my name's Kevin, too!

I have this pleco, a bulldog pleco in my turtle's tank for quite a while now. Bulldog plecos never grow bigger than 2 inches.

The pleco decided his home was in between two big rocks, and whenever my turtle comes along hungrily, the pleco will lead him to some left over food and then swim back to his hiding place!

[GotEmInOkinawa]

I have no idea what kind of Pleco it is that I have, the name for it was written in Kanji. I got him to help out the bad filter that was in m 20gal tank that I had to deal with for a while. Now i've upgraded to a 55gal tank, and he's just so small in there that I fear he'll never be able to stay on top of the cleaning in there.

[SpotsMama]

I think what Canadian Kevin mentioned would a smart thing for you too - give the pleco a place to hide. Plastic plants with lots of leaves are good, or some decorations like rocks. Turtles like plastic plants too - if you have the kind that reach up to the surface of the water they will sit on them and rest.

Just be sure your little turtles can't get stuck in whatever you put in the tank. They are bad about squeezing into tight places and getting stuck and....well, you can imagine the rest.

[GotEmInOkinawa]

Yes I witnessed this first hand, when the smallest of the two DC decided he(or she) to wedge Itself right up on the glass between the heater. I'm a little worried about putting them in this new tank that I got for them, because they're still so small, I know that they are great swimmers, but it still worries me. In the tank that they were in before, there was a rock that the Pleco would hide on, and that seemed to be his spot where he would go to hide even from me when i would move their plants around and what not. So i guess he's all set with that one.

[SpotsMama]

Sounds good.

Your little turts will be fine. They live in big ponds and lakes in the wild and love to swim and dive. Having some plastic plants for them to rest in would be good though.

[GotEmInOkinawa]

I'm going to look into that today. I was thinkng about possibly making them something to rest on, and to bask on. The options for purchases here are not the most extensive I've seen soo...