# common pleco bully?



## cichbilly (Oct 16, 2010)

i was reading that plecs are defensive against cichlids? that surprised me. but i have seen my plec swim around with the cichlids all the time never realized it was a fight/or saying back off! my question is since ive added my plec 3-3.5inches my cichlids are about the same size 2.5-4. ive lost a few cichlids Pflavus mostly and everytime i find them the pleco is sucking on the dead. would he be capable of killing a cichlid at night in the dark while they sleep on the bottom? they are really hard sleepers sometimes it takes them 30 mins to wake up after i turn the lights on in the morning! (they take after me) lol 

is it possible then? killer pleco?


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## Chard56 (Oct 10, 2010)

*Killer Vampire Plecostomus*

I just lost a 12 inch Oscar some days ago from a plecostomus sucking the slime right off both sides of him. They were tank mates for over a year that I know of. The night before I discovered the Plec sucking on his sides it was following him around like he was trying to kiss his side. I had seen an Oscar with a big sore on its side years ago. It had a big Plecostomus in the tank that kept going up and trying to attach itself to the raw open sore. I just thought at the time it was because it already had the sore not that it had caused it. I'm assuming that it happened that night. He was fine at lights out and not the next morning. I rescued them from friends of my sons. They had thrown the bluegill that was a tank mate up in the air for skeet shooting and the Plecostomus was next. I should have waited a day. No I can't say that I would have been more pissed if they had shot it too. After saving them and having them for several months and this. It's just too weird. I won't trust another plecostomus with any fish from here on out.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

That's rather strange. I have kept larger Plecos for years and they are rarely aggressive towards any of my other fish. The two I have now will sometimes chase each other, but it never becomes anything violent. The Common Pleco is about 8" while the Brown Spotted Pleco is about 14".


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

I have a common pleco and 2 cichlids (oscar and blood parrot). The pleco and blood parrot share a large cave. No problems ever between those two. The pleco I have seen headbutt and tail whip the oscar when the oscar gets too close to mouth of the cave, but not always. Oscar is NOT allowed in the cave. Incidentally, I think this makes the blood parrot happy.


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

Cichlids are much more likely to kill each other than to be taken down by a common pleco. Dead fish are pleco chow, and the commons don't bother with algae after they grow larger than a couple inches. They are usually quite well enough armored to survive cichlid aggression, and in fact may become the dominant fish in the tank, but aren't normally aggressive enough to kill cichlids.


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## Chard56 (Oct 10, 2010)

As a side note I would like to add that my Oscar was still alive and kicking when this attack occured. I just thought it was a territorial thing at the time. I medicated his water after removing the plec but he died within 48 hours.


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

Awww, that's too bad. Most common plecos aren't well-equiped enough to take a large cichlid down. Well-equiped enough to ever be taken down themselves, yes, but not usually the killer themselves. It does happen, though, as you found out. You had a pretty small common pleco. Unless you actually saw it attacking, you really don't know if he killed them or simply cleaned up the dead body. I've had quite a few fish disappear over the years, and I'm pretty sure my common pleco disappeared them, but they were all acting not quite right before they disappeared. I assume my pleco just cleaned up the mess. I really like plecos. They're pretty unique.


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## cichbilly (Oct 16, 2010)

yea i enjoy having the pleco in my tank ... and no i didnt see anything happen to the cichlids ... but its only been my flavus for the most part and its been since i got the pleco .. again no evidence of he being the killer ... except he is not afraid of them ... he doesnt stay hidden all day like most people say hes out and about all day digging through the rocks and "sometimes chasing" the cichlids ... i didnt know if their dorsal fin was a defensive thing like a catfish they have some kind of toxin in them that irritates a humans skin if you get pricked ... just gotta keep an eye on all them for right now and see if i can see the aggression in there


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## sneasle (Jun 25, 2008)

I got a few cichlids in trade for some BN pleco's a while back. I lost the male of the bunch after about a month, didn't think anything of it at the time but now I'm wondering if maybe he got a little too hostile with the big alpha BN in the tank (who was bigger then he was) and got himself killed..

Hmm....


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

I just find this all funny because when I first stocked my tank and got it cycled there was a lot of trash on the bottom of the tank. Got 2 striped raphael catfish ( who I got rid of because they did nothing at all except at night ) they litterally did nothing to the point that they started growing algae on them and my ablino bushy nose pleco's started cleaning them. And you could see a difference in their color when they were cleaned! Tried to find a picture of it on my PC but I had to reformat about 3 months ago and apparently lost it.


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## Bettawhisperer (Oct 1, 2010)

I also have a large 14" pleco that is in the outdoor pond with goldies and Koi in the summer and then comes in for the winter. I have never had a problem with plecos and other fish. My theory on this topic is that if plecos are well fed they have no reason to pick on other fish.


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