SereneReyn

does anyone have any actual experience with these guys? planet catfish says they eat driftwood, with a few other things, and another site says they're not big on algae... i've had several people swear up and down to me that they're great for algae.

so... does anyone actually have one? do they like algae or no? or just not as much as some?

jamison

Do you have any pictures of it? I would love to see! I've had my eye on an albino at my LFS.

SereneReyn

this looks like the fish that my LFS is selling, tho there are 2 others also listed as a 'clown pleco'. anyway, it's cheap, and local, so no shipping...


http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=734

Tom

I personally have two of them in one of my tanks(a wild caught and some other one). But they are good on algae, and they do need a piece of driftwood to be happy and healthy. I know I haven't had any algae in my tank since I got my first one and it has already tripled in length since a year ago and the ones I have are Peckoltia vittata.

To help you even more, I would need the scientific name of the fish too.
Tom

FL CommunityFans

Those indeed look exactly as the 2 clowns we have, that our LFS also referred to as a 'clown pleco'. I can confirm that they do eat algae, and zucchini =D, and definitely require some drift wood. It's needed for an enzyme they use to digest.

Get one, you'll love it

They can be very shy however, until the light goes out. Then you see him wagging all over the bottom, looking for a good place to grub. My daughters young young young clown is either perched on his wood or on the wall cleaning. My adult in my tank is either on the wall cleaning or on his rock doing the same. He goes around the driftwood about 7am and 9pm every day for about 30min - 1hr then back to the rock.

SereneReyn

does the type of driftwood matter? i've got several pieces of the malaysian stuff... anyway, i'm beginning to get all sorts of algae, and i do want something of a tank-scrubber pleco... but what i'd read made it sound like this isn't the one for that.

i very much appreciate the first-hand comments, i'll give it some thought.

FL CommunityFans

I've read the same reports over at PlanetCatfish. Make a post over there, cause they are pleco/catfish fanatics, and they can give you more accurate info likely. I don't know if the wood really matters all that much, I have Malaysian and .... I forget.. lol. Anyhow, if you have malaysian, it should be fine. We got the clown for the exact reason you need one. (we also got 2 golden mystery snails whose offspring will be fancy food for my yoyo loaches) We had him in the tank for an hour max before he was cleaning the walls and getting a full stomach. Between him and the snails the tank was cleaned in less than a week. (this is in a 10g btw - larger tank would take a bit more time for sure, but the job would get done)

Tom

The wood doesn't matter cause I have local driftwood for my tanks and they seem to love it since the one I got a year ago has grown tons. You also have to give them a piece of cucumber every couple of days and also some algae wafers so they become even healthier and live even longer.
Tom

Firecracker

We have two They are pretty cool.

Barbrella

IF you want an algae eating machine, get a species 3 BN!

Tom

But IMO, clown plecos do the same job.
Tom

voiceless_kat

I have a clown pleco in my 55g and I just love him. I didn't really have an algae problem ( have otos in there also), but wanted a smalll pleco. I did have a plastic flat leaved plant with algae on it, which disappeared over his first night.

I have driftwood in the tank - 2 pieces, and |I have never seen him on either of them - maybe he spends his nights here. I heard they were reclusive also, but Morley is anything but. He has his favorite places ( inside a hollow log; under a tree root;inside the ship ) but when feeding time is on, he moves to the front of the tank and waits for things to fall. Omega One flakes are quite large, and it was a hoot watching him jump on top of one and eat it right down.
I put a cuke or zuchinni in the tank every second day, one on clip to sink for Morley and one stuck higher on the side of the tank for the otos, gouramis and mollies. Morley likes to eat off the one on the side of the tank, usually he is on one side chowing down, a gourami on the other.

Since he is so social and out all day, I don't do the night feeding thing. If I drop a shrimp pellet in during the day, Morley just chases any other intereste.d fish away.

We can watch him from across the room as we watch tv, always scooting around the front of the glass. This fish is a wonderful addition to my tank, and won't get over 3 inches. I hope you get one...I am sure you will be pleased.

Val

SereneReyn

ok, well i got a pair of them... they're so teeny. one seems a bit shyer than the other, haven't really seen him since he went in... but the other has made himself right at home.

Barbrella

Really? Planet Catfish lists two plecos called Clowns. I'd like to get one but they don't mention algae eating.

Is this the one you're referring to?
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=734

FL CommunityFans

Yup, that's the exact one I have as well ( 2 in fact). They definitely do eat algae, and I'm watching one go to town right now. They LOVE diatoms, almost as much as the snails do. The smaller clown is cleaning house on that particular type right now, and our larger one is constantly on the glass if he's not on his wood or sleeping. I don't see anything on the glass, but he's still there sucking away.

They can be very antisocial for their first few weeks. After some time, they get used to the environment and are much more active and 'fun' to watch.


As noted in the feeding descript, they prefer wood primarily, but they love vegetation in general. Mine definitely take the algae over cucumbers and zucchini when I add those in. They do however go nuts over the algae wafers I throw in for everyone.

Barbrella

Thanks for the clown info! It's very helpful.

Allie

I have one female clown pleco in my 44g with a blue panaque and a snowball plecos. She loves wood and gets very territorial over her little spot. I had to remove the blue phantom plecos b/c they fought too much. He is much too expensive to let get hurt.
Clown plecos are like woman around chocolate when it comes to their food. I've seen Stripey (yes I name certain fish) chase away angelfish from her algae tablets. They love feeding time.

Tom

Exact same ones I found out I have from the distributor of them.
Tom