Zodiac007

I can't decide whether to get 2 britlenose catfishes, 1 Gold Nugget Pleco or 1 Starry Night Pleco.

Other fishes in the 50 Gallon are:

- 3 rummynose tetra
- 6 neon tetra
- 1 cardinal tetra ( thinks shes a neon so she's always with them)
- 8 harlequin rasboras

The tank is heavily planted with live and fake plants, rocks, drift wood and sunken ships.

So which ones would you recommend?

- 2 Britlenose catfish ( also, can britlenose catfishes be kept in two's? )

- 1 Gold Nugget Pleco
or
- 1 Starry Night Pleco

Which of these clean the best? Which are the easiest to care for? Which is hardier?

Thank you.

Mike19

I would add a few more rummynose tetras, the cardinal maybe able to live with the neons but would do better with other cardinals and the gold nugget plecos grow around 25-30cm s way to big for your tank so i would stick with a bristle nose and keep only one.

Nick G

Get a couple of Bristlenose Pleco's. They stay small so you'll have room for other fish

Zodiac007

Actually your wrong. Yes, some plecos grow to 12 or 18 inches, but the ones I've mentioned don't.

Gold nugget plecos only grow to 6 inches.

Starry Night plecos only grow to 4 inches.

Britlenose catfish grow to 4 or 6 inches.

so, yea...i've done my research

Mike19

Gold Nugget pleco (L18) - 35 cm http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_nugget.php
Stary Night pleco up to 4 inches http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1923&aid=2670

Zodiac007

thats not what this site says. look on the right side where the info is.

gold nugget

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...863&pcatid=863

starry night

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...06&pcatid=1006

britle nose, I'm gettin the species that grow to 6 inch

Zodiac007

and 35 cm would mean about 14 inches, not 18

Nick G

You could keep a fully grown Pleco in a 50gal if you wanted to. But it'll destroy your plants, so I wouldn't.

GouramiGirl1221

Most on the forum have had lots of luck with the bristlenoses as "cleaners". The starry night plec is gorgeous, but I really don't know how well they clean. If the cleaning aspect is very important to you, you might want to post the question on the plec area of the forum. Best of luck to you!

mathas

In this case, LiveAquaria is incorrect. PlanetCatfish is one of the most reputable catfish resources on the web, and they agree with Mike19's research and place the maximum size for an L018 at 355mm, or around 14". If the 50g you have is similar in footprint to a standard 55g, a gold nugget pleco would get longer than the tank is wide. They also aren't really known as great algae-eaters. PlanetCatfish even goes so far as to mention "frozen foods such as bloodworm and blackworm should be offered along with frozen prawns. Algae and plants are avoided, but cucumber and courgette appear on the accepted menu"

The L183 (or starlight, or starry night) is a member of the bristlenose genus, and is a good choice if algae reduction is a goal.