General Care Discussion :: turtles and plecos

[brokenmasochist]

Ive had Betty for 2 years, shes in a 20 gallon long tank right now. Ive had algea issues in the tank, and was curious if you could put a 7 inche pleco in there? I wouldnt dare put it in there if it wasnt a good idea, but was just curious.

[Tenodera]

Well a lot of people keep plecos with their turtles, including myself. My turtle is not a RES, he's a type of turtle more herbivorous by nature so he never even chases any of the fish I put into his tank.

I keep a 2 inch bulldog pleco in my tank and it does a really good job in my tank! I don't even remember what the algae looks like.

To answer your question, it would really depend on your turtle. Some turtles just like sushi more. A tip, if you do end up getting it, is to take out your turtle before adding the fish. It might not notice it as food.

[megcornell]

A pleco that large cannot hide from your turtle which is usually a key reason they survive. Also at that size your turtle is more likely to just take chunks out of the pleco, torturing it, than to just eat it all at once like a feeder guppy.
I personally think adding fish other than feeder fish to turtle tanks is usually a poor idea because everything you put in the tank will eventually get eaten.
If however, you do want to put a pleco in, I think you'd be wise to put a smaller one in there. The size of the pleco won't deter the turtle from going after it, so bigger isn't better.
As for the algae, do you have your tank near a window? Sunlight really increases algae growth. Most tanks deal with a bit of algae, mine has a persistent colony on the basking dock, it doesn't do any harm to the tank, and cleaning it doesn't get rid of it for very long, so I just leave it.

[brokenmasochist]

The tank is across the room from my sliding glass door, so it doesnt really get much sunlight (i have dark curtains on the door). Its bright green algea, which i know is a good sign of a healthy tank, it just LOVES to grow all around the glass by the basking dock. If I put something in the tank for the pleco to hid in, do you think it might be ok?

Lately, betty hasnt been much af a sushi eater. I put a few feeders in there 2 months ago, and she hasnt touched them. They are happily living together now, and betty instead would rather beg for her pellet food and veggies then eat the fish.

[killrmack]

I think the whole thing with the fish will eventually end up as food is really questionable yes the possibility is greater but isnt definite. My turtles for instance are being housed with a 4" pleco, a 4" albino red fin shark, a crayfish, and my 5" oscar but before that there was like 7 tiger barbs in there and like 20 guppies. The only time my turtles will go after live food like feeders and crickets is if i really feed them to them i had 5 rosie reds with them that lived about a year with them i only have one now (almost 2") the rest oscar got to. Sorry for my rambling but anyways just make shore you have time to monitor the tank watch carefully for signs of aggression. Oh yeah and plecos do a good job cleaning up algae but are some serious poop factories.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Unfortunately, turtles don't care if the fish/pleco is bigger than them. They will nip nip nip, until the fish finally dies from the stress or completely gets eaten in chunks! It makes a big mess in the tank & then you will be changing water constantly. Unfortunately that's the way it is. I've seen it happen which is why I no longer buy fish for Sheba.

[FLhaven4strays]

I have 2 large (10-11") plecos in my outdoor pond with a 8.5" cooter & 5" res. 110 gal approx & plenty of places to hide and so far no problems at all.

I do agree it's a big risk though. Each turtle is different and even plecos spines won't deter a turtle once they get the urge... In the wild, if it moves it's turtle food.