General Care Discussion :: How to keep a pleco safe?

[Bumby's Mom]

I am seriously considering getting a pleco for my hatchlings tank. There has been an algae explosion in there. I am just really concerned about the plecos safety. I don't want him to be injured (or eaten!!!) in any way. Could my hatchlings hurt a fish? They are just 2 months old and barely 1 inch. If I got a pleco I would want one that stayed small, under 4 inches or so, do they exist? I seen someone mention a miniature pleco. What could I provide the fish with so it can escape and be safe from the babies? I would give it some alone time in the tank everyday while i took the babies out to eat.

[killrmack]

i would really just add a common pleco and when it gets to big get rid of it iv had a pleco with my turts since i got them as hatchlings (almost a year ago) and its fine.

[megcornell]

You can't guarantee the safety or survival of any fish you add to your turtle's tank.
You can increase its' chances by giving it a hiding spot and by buying a smaller one because the turtles will be less likely to slowly pick at a tiny fish and just flat out eat it, unlike a larger pleco.

To help with the algae, make sure your tank doesn't get sunlight, and that the lamps are directed on only the basking area (or restrict the amount of light that hits the water as much as possible).

There are chemicals you can buy to get rid of algae, they've been tested for safety, but personally I wouldn't use them.

[Bumby's Mom]

Thanks. I can't correct the light problem since there basking dock is small (they are only an inch or so) the lights spill over on both sides. I have one of those compact UVB lights with the compact hood thing and there is no way to make that shine only on the basking dock. Killrmack- I won't get a regular pleco because they get too big and I don't want to be stuck finding a home for it. I am going to go to petsmart and see if they have any that I want and then go form there. I will also make sure they will take it back if the turtles are mean to it.

[Rickiew04]

I actually just went through this. I've been battling algae for about 2 months or so, and I just don't have time to be scraping it out or cleaning the tank every 2-3weeks. I bought a pleco 2 days ago. Wilson(my turtle) is 2in. and the pleco i bought is a pretty small one. I can already see that he has been eating a lot of the algae. And so far Wilson hasn't bothered him at all. The store I bought my pleco from said that when the pleco gets too big, I could bring it back and they would give me a credit or something. So maybe you can look into the store around you and see if they do the same thing.

[megcornell]

Since plecos get so large, I'd go for the "algae eater" fish, they're tinier, and they look like they can swim faster.

[frogger6]

well I know I'm going to catch heck for this, but i have to disagree with getting a small one that the turtles "won't notice as easily". I've noticed with my turtles that they chop small fish in half (Literally) and completely ignore large fish.
I even have a medium sized pleco in there ( not to mention a few other much larger large fish like a shovelnose)...(see pic)
Sure, every turtle is different, but don't assume they'll pick on a fish just because it's big. It just not always the case.


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[Bumby's Mom]

Thanks Everyone. I got a rubbermouth pleco from Petsmart today and the maximum they get is 5 inches. I picked on that was about the size of the babies and let me tell you, I am so paranoid over this. The fish hid for about 5 hours and then he came out and was swimming everywhere trying to eat algae and as soon as the babies spotted it they went after it snapping their mouths the whole time. The fish is really fast so it can definitely get away, I just get really nervous that he will get hurt or something. I will be upgrading the babies tank in January when I have the money so hopefully they can all live in peace and then be more happy when they get a bigger tank.

[frogger6]

..of course you could keep the turltes busy with feeder guppies or similar.
it would be a distraction from fish you don't want them to eat

[Bumby's Mom]

I don't feed them live foods. I don't want to see anything get eaten.

[Rickiew04]

What about using products such as this... http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/productdetail.aspx?id=1276&cid=817. A guy at a pet store told me this would be safe for turtles, but I know these people aren't always "all knowing." What do you guys think about using a product like that? There are many other brands on the market as well.