Hey all,

I'm thinking about getting a pleco to put in my 1 year old male RES's tank. I've had Bob since he was a baby, and he's never shared a tank before or been offered live food, so I'm not sure how he'll react...
He loves people and is very interactive with me but can be skiddish out of the tank.
Any advice? Size of pleco, etc? I am worried that the pleco could make him sick (slightly neurotic turtle Mommy!) or that he'll feel threatened by the pleco, or just think Christmas came early and eat it!

Thanks!

First off, welcome to HC!

It will be the luck of the draw basically in how well they get along. The pleco won't bother the turtle at all, though the turtle may instictively attempt to eat it. The larger the pleco, the lower the chance this may occur.

Of course, as the res grows, it will eventually be able to take out the pleco even if the pleco is at full length. (They can reach 16-18 inches.)

If the tank doesn't have algae growing, you will also need to feed the pleco. There are algae tabs you can buy that the pleco will eat.

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hi and welcome. Rich said it all. What size tank is your turtle in?

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

i used plecos for my RES for the longest time. They do a very good job at cleaning the algae in the tank but no matter how big I bought them, the plecos always ended up as lunch for the turtles after a matter of months. You can give it a try but excellent filtration (canister filter) and large weekly water changes do the most good at keeping nitrate levels down, and when nitrate levels are low, so is algae growth for the most part.

Its doubtful that your turtle will be intimidated by a pleco, maybe if you kept him with large cichlids but definitly not a pleco. They tend to remain quiet, peaceful custodians of the tank and mind their own business. I often saw my pleco cleaning algae off of the turtle's shells while they rested at the tank bottom.

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"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

Thanks for the replies! I figure I'll give it a shot...
I'll let ya'll know - thanks for the welcome as well!

Welcome!

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My RES never eat the Pleco's but they always have plenty of other more appetizing live fish to choose from. I have even caught my Pleco's eating the algae off the turtle's shells! My RES live in a pond outside so the green funk on the shells is inevitable but they have formed a pretty good relationship considering.

welcome to HC!

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Hi Jocey,

Welcome to Herp Center! Hope your enjoying the site!

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My personal recommendation is against the addition of the catfish. Though it will eat some of the algae, it will likely still need additional nutrition. It's also a tropical fish, and the turtle is not. It will add additional waste to an enclosure that already gets enough from the turtle (turtles produce a lot of waste). As also mentioned, the turtle may wind up eating the catfish anyway. Eating the fish will be risky for the turtle, as suckermouth catfish have spines in their pectoral fins. Plus you'll need to clean out your turtle's habitat completely at least once a week, with partial cleanings potentially being necessary between said cleanings. This will not only stress the catfish, but it should render the need for the fish mute. In short, the primary reason I'd recommend against the fish is that there are more downsides to adding it than there are benefits.

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