Habitat - Indoor :: Plecostemous with turtle????

[mzkitty23]

Do you all think that putting a plecostemous with my RES would be okay? He definitely does not eat or nip at other fish AT ALL, so no danger in that. No danger with over crowding either, it's an ENORMOUS tank. I just know it would help with the algae that seems to build up pretty quickly. I just wondered that since plecostemous' get big if he would feel threatened or something????

[Swaypippin]

Many people here do this. There's really no danger in it for the turtle, just make sure the Pleco comes from a healthy tank. As for the turt not nipping at him, just wait, it will probably come with age. I could never put one with Sisqo, even if it was huge, he'd eat it. :/

[megcornell]

Chances are the pleco will become food sooner or later. If you're okay with that and don't mind the mess associated with turtles eating larger fish then there are no additional issues with adding plecos.

[Cim*Forever]

I have a pleco in my fish tank. Iv had him for about 2 months. So far so good. Having said this, my turtle has only ever eaten 2 fish since I got him in November. Just don't get to attached in case you turtle does in fact eat him.

[mzkitty23]

thanks. u think i should get a medium sized one or a large one? i wonder which would be better. since i've had him (about a month) he's been in the tank with 5 goldfish and he never bothers them and he is so picky about eating anyway i don't think he will eat it.

[imderanged]

I have 2 Plecos too. When you say medium and large I'm not exactly sure what you mean...plecos can get VERY large! I would go with a smaller one, because I think the smaller ones are a bit faster and the bigger it is the more expensive it will be. No point in spending alot on it since your turtle might just make it an expensive meal. Either way, they are going to grow(if they don't get eaten) Mine are around 2" and my turtle is 2.25" and it has been working out for me so far.

[mzkitty23]

well, i thought large becuase my turtle is pretty large (shell is around 9 " long). But, he doesn't eat the goldfish, so one that is not too big will work. Then i wondered about him feeling threatened when it gets big...who knows, i guess time will tell on that.

[imderanged]

I dunno. I guess it depends on your turtle. The plecos are almost as long as Sylar, but he doesn't seem afraid of them at all, infact they can swish their tails in his face and he doesn't seem to care (which is weird because he DOES actively hunt the minnows, and is an aggressive eater) Then again, my turtle is not a shy turtle.

[mzkitty23]

hey thanks imderanged, i'll let u know how it goes!

[steve]

I'm not sure if it was mentioned but try to add a couple of hiding spots for it... give it a chance

[imderanged]

Ohh yeah ! didn't mention that I have plants and rocks and a log in the tank. the plecos spend alot of time in that log or between rocks. They are noctural. They make this wafer food for bottom feeders "algae disks" and the turtle love it too. I drop one or two in there every couple of days when I turn out the lights and Sylar goes to sleep. (I don't have a alot of algae in my brand new tank, and I don't wanna starve out my Plecos) Another thing I didn't think about when I first answered you was that he will not hurt your turtle, but he could hurt your goldfish. I have never seen it myself, but everyone I have talked to about it said Plecos and goldfish don't mix. The plecos apparently think goldfish slime coat is tasty and will suck on the fish. Also plecos and goldfish like different temperatures. If I were you I might think about removing the goldfish from the tank. goldfish are not the greatest thing to feed to a turtle, and if you are trying to keep them as pets since you said the turtle doesn't eat them, they like cooler water than turtles and tropical fish.

[mzkitty23]

yeah, i know that the goldfish generally wouldn't work in the tank and they were in there when i acquired the turtle (his tank came along with him). i haven't moved them b/c they seem to be doing so well and they seem to provide a lot of entertainment for the turtle! it wasn't really a conscious decision to have them together, but for some reason it seems to be working out well...so i just haven't changed it. the previous owners did put them in their for him to eat, but he never did.

there is a decorative thing at the bottom that the pleco would be able to hide in if i get one...but i really don't think that the turtle will bother him...it would really shock me if he did, but I know, you never know.

[VanishingReality]

I thought mine wouldn't touch it since he refused to eat his minnows. Well a few weeks ago went in a minnow for a snack and the pleco. In a second the minnow was gone and he was hunting the pleco. I got him out later that day but given an hour, it would have been gone.

[Tenodera]

I keep a LOT of fish with my turtle, and he has never bothered them, but the two small plecos I put in last week seem to have disappeared...

[Dale]

I used to have a medium sized pleco in one of my 220 gallon tanks with my turtles. They all left him alone and never went after him. One day the pleco died and the turtles decided to clean up the carcass before I could get it all out. I removed the head and everything I could see, but,I missed the tail section.
The next day my largest RES had something sticking out of his mouth. When I caught him I saw that it was the tail section of the pleco. Plecos have very rough spiney skin, so, after the turtle saw that he could not swallow the piece he could not spit it out either. The barbs on the skin were sticking into his throat preventing the peice from coming out. I couldn't get it out, so, it had to make a 20 mile emergency drive to the vet to have it removed.

He's OK, but, is now worth $50 more than he was before eating the pleco.

So, no more plecos in my tanks.