# plecos nature's janitors



## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

hey guys, if you get fed up with cleaning your tanks every other week, then plecos are your solution. my puffer tank has one and so far i havent cleaned it yet, all i do is change the water(like 60% water change) and my pleco does the rest, but soon i will clean the tank though as plecos arent perfect! then again no fish is. my tank is still crystal clear after having it most of summer(or winter depending on where you live). i use a under gravel filter so all the waste is at the bottom making it easier for the pleco to get to it.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

plecos dont eat waste ie. fish poo... some species eat algae, but not all. that waste is just sitting down there under your undergravel filter. ...... i dont know what else to say...


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

i mean that they are bottom feeders and help keep the tank clean, my vocabulary is void right now.......
and i do plan on cleaning it soon.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

you should be doing a gravel vac with your waterchanges. plecos add bioload, and add waste. Dont get me wrong, i love plecos, they are in every tank around here for the most part, but dont mistake them for something that keeps your water parameters good, cause they dont. they may eat algae, giving you they illusion that they are cleaning up everything, and yes they bottom feed too.. but there is much more that you need to do.


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

i understand what your saying they just make the tank cleaner and clearer, and yes i gravel vac evry other water change.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Make the tank cleaner and clearer?

No. They don't. They may eat some algae and make the glass easier to view through. They may eat some food and debris (not poop) that has fallen to the bottom. But they'll make plenty of waste as well, so net net they are making your tank a little dirtier, not cleaner.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

Yup...plecos are dirty beasts. They aren't filters (so they can't make your water clear) and they create alot of waste, making more than they can clear up (so they aren't making your water cleaner either)


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

all i know is when i take my pleco out my tank gets dirty fast


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

That doesnt even make sense Albino, if anything it would make your tank cleaner unless it has algae then the tank will get algae but it wll still be cleaner.


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

yeah i ment the algae, im pretty sure he eats most of the algae


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

you shouldnt be feeding so much that there is left over food... then that would just solve the problem all together, as well as cost less in food


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## Albino_101 (Aug 14, 2008)

i dont over feed it is just that puffers are messy eaters and never eat it all, i feed them shrimp so they leave the heads.


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

point is, most plecos make more of a mess with poop than they clean. i do a gravel vac, and within 20 minutes, its as if my pleco is trying to make it look like his home again.

You shouldnt be feeding enough that there are left overs, and if there are, you should dispose of them, not wait for the pleco to eat them. It will only cause problems in the future.


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