# Betta and plecos?



## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

I'm going to be upgrading my 5.5 g to either a 10, 15, or 20 g in the near future. (If a 10, the pleco will only be kept in there for under a year until it grows a bit more). Does anyone have experience with keeping bettas with plecos? I'd most likely be getting a zebra pleco since they are under 4" at adult size. Any feedback is appreciated!


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

In a 10 I have successfully kept an aggressive king betta with three baby plecos. They just need lots of hiding spaces. They are fast and have a hard scaley body so they are compatible. My only problemwas that theyare prolific poop propducers. :| so I suggest only one and keep an eye on ammonia.


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

Mine were albino amd black b.n. plecos


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## Elliriyanna (Jan 25, 2013)

With a pleco that only gets 4 inches I would get a 2o long. I kept a betta sorority with baby bristlenose pleco's in a 20 long with no issues. just make sure your filtration can handle it, and be sure you have driftwood for the pleco.


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

Elliriyanna said:


> With a pleco that only gets 4 inches I would get a 2o long. I kept a betta sorority with baby bristlenose pleco's in a 20 long with no issues. just make sure your filtration can handle it, and be sure you have driftwood for the pleco.


I have an extra 20g long laying around so I might do that :B


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Plecos are awesome tank mates if you put in the time for water changes.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Only buy a bristlenose pleco and use a 20g minimum, other species need even larger tanks, the common pleco gets to 2' (yes feet) and needs 200-300g+ tanks, the leopard sailfin pleco gets to 18" and needs 200+g, several other species need 75g and larger tanks. Clown plecos don't eat algae their whole lives and I believe needs a 30g+ tank, for info on other plecos breeds check out catfishplant.com, they have a huge listing of plecos.

Be aware that plecos have HUGE bioloads-they poop ALOT, how much? At any given time they can have a turd strand hanging from them that is 4x as long as the pleco, and they can cover your plants in poop garland. In adakin's photo above you can see broken up poop floating around the pleco, stirred up by its moving about.

Do not expect the pleco to survive solely on algaes, especially in a newly setup tank, they will need algae wafers and blanched veggie supplements occasionally-frequency varies depending on diatom (brown algae) availability in the tank). 

Also its best to do a fish-less cycle before adding a pleco (I prefer the pure ammonia method), they can't handle the ammonia and nitrites generated with a fish-in cycle like a betta can. 

Another thing to remember is never use AQ salt(or Epson salt) in a tank with a pleco(or any other catfish) and always read all info on any aquarium medication before using. Plecos are hide based fish not scale, and can't tolerate salt and some other treatments.

I'm not trying to scare you from keeping a pleco, just giving you some basic info so you are prepared for proper care ^^


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

Thank you for all the useful information! I didn't know about the salt issue so I'll need to research that a bit more since I regularly use aquarium salt when I do water changes because my betta is a fin biter. :/


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Aqua Aurora said:


> for info on other plecos breeds check out catfishplant.com, they have a huge listing of plecos.


I would just like to endorse and correct Aqua's link to http://www.planetcatfish.com/ It's a great site for all things Catfish.

Many Plecos need driftwood in the tank, it is an essential part of their diet. While the clown pleco stays very small, it has a huge bioload. It's also very reclusive, meaning you won't see too much of it. It's also a good idea to feed a pleco after lights out as they are nocturnal and most active at night.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

vaetki said:


> Thank you for all the useful information! I didn't know about the salt issue so I'll need to research that a bit more since I regularly use aquarium salt when I do water changes because my betta is a fin biter. :/


If you always use aq salt than catfish are not a good match for your betta, sorry.




MikeG14 said:


> I would just like to endorse and correct Aqua's link to http://www.planetcatfish.com/ It's a great site for all things Catfish.
> 
> Many Plecos need driftwood in the tank, it is an essential part of their diet. While the clown pleco stays very small, it has a huge bioload. It's also very reclusive, meaning you won't see too much of it. It's also a good idea to feed a pleco after lights out as they are nocturnal and most active at night.


Whoops dislexic-ness strikes agian ^^'' Thank you for correcting that!


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## vaetki (Jul 7, 2015)

I did some reading and I've gathered that it isn't necessarily a good thing to let aquarium salt sit in your tank because it doesn't evaporate like water does. I'm moving my betta from a 5.5g into a 20g and he'll essentially have the entire tank to himself (besides a few snails and his ghost shrimp pal). I'll keep an eye on him and hopefully having more space to explore (this will be a heavily planted tank with roots and moss and leaves to swim though, and also a few driftwood caves as well) his fin biting will stop. If it doesn't, I'll be putting him into a quarantine tank with aquarium salt. I really have my heart set on a pleco and I'm hoping this works out!


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