Can I put a pleco in a tank with green spotted puffer fish?

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Plattypus5420

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2008
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Winston Salem, NC
My puffer tank grows algea very quickly and would love to put a pleco in there to help control it. I know that puffers are semi-aggressive fin nippers but what if the pleco is bigger than them? Or any other advice. Thanks! :)
 
yeah i dont think you will have a problem, i usually find even agrressive fish seem to ignore plecos completly.
 
gsp will need salt in the tank as it matures tho so you wont be able to keep them together forever
 
their tank is already set up with brackish water, is that a problem for plecos? sorry i do not know much about plecos, i have one but in another tank
 
You might be better off posting this in the Plecos forum. To the best of my knowledge Plecos will not like a lot of salt. This depends on the salinity of your brackish water. a tsp or two per 5 gall will not hurt but any more than this may not be too favourable.
 
Oh just remembered - what about a small school of black mollies for sorting that algae out they like it brackish. To be honest plecos create more mess than they clear up and when they get a bit older algae is neither here nor there because the majority require a bit more than just algae. Mines currently on honeydew melon, celery and lettuce.
 
It wont work...been there...tried that

I even tried acclimating a pleco over like a week...but in the end the salt was too much.

Get some guppies...they will eat algea and breed as a constant food source (not the only one though for the health of your fish)
 
how big is the puffer? i have a turbo snail in with mine but its twice as big as him. it cleans most of the algae
 
they are only about an inch long, they are
 
Them puffers might be hard on the eyes on the bottom dwellers -even if they are alot larger then themselves.

Ive got 4 puffers in diffrent tanks and the algea problem is a constant problem. Clean the tank sides and let the algea roam free over the rest. Might even look good.

Tried diffrent flatbellyfishes -didnt work. Tried big appelsnails -didnt work. Tried shrimps -didnt work. They just dont like other fishes -except for food... :)
 
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