# Oscars and Algae Eaters



## bsmurray (Feb 25, 2014)

Plecostomus


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## dbw27 (May 19, 2014)

Thanks. Will the plecos eat the amazon swords (only thing the oscars won't eat)?

Thanks.

dbw


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

The problems are two fold as I see it.
Most of the Plecostomus are good algae eaters while they are small ,but grow lazy as they get larger and discover that fish foods are much easier to come by than rasping on wood or rocks for algae.
They also contribute substantially to the amount of waste that a couple Oscars need no help with= dirtier water more quickly.
Would need to grow out the Pleco in another tank till he/she got some size ,or the fish could be viewed as a snack and this could lead to a pleco lodged in the Oscars mouth/throat as the pleco extends its pectoral fins in an effort not to become such a snack.


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## dbw27 (May 19, 2014)

Got it. No pleco. Anything else?

dbw


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## Clear Water (Sep 20, 2014)

bsmurray said:


> Plecostomus


That's about the only fish I know that could make it with Oscars.

On another note TFH has an article on Oscars this month it may be worth your time to read.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

dbw27 said:


> Got it. No pleco. Anything else?
> 
> dbw


 Well if you don't mind the extra waste, and can find a larger specimen(six inches minimum).


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

roadmaster said:


> Well if you don't mind the extra waste, and can find a larger specimen(six inches minimum).


What he said. 
I bought a seven inch Pleco from the LFS for $15.00 for a Cichlid tank with three large, mature Cichlids to take care of the algae problem instead of me having to physically deal with it. They never went anywhere near him and a year later when the Cichlids had eliminated each other down to the last man and the last one jumped out of the space in the hood for the heater I restocked the tank with multitude Tetras. After another two years he had outlasted all of them as well. By this time he had grown to 13.5 inches long which is HUGE when he's stuck to the front of a 20" tall 55 gallon tank. The way he would whip around that tank was lethal and such a Pleco would not be good for a heavily planted tank. Just keep in mind a large Pleco is a commitment because they are ridiculously hardy and don't seem to stop growing.


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

goodbytes said:


> What he said.
> I bought a seven inch Pleco from the LFS for $15.00 for a Cichlid tank with three large, mature Cichlids to take care of the algae problem instead of me having to physically deal with it. They never went anywhere near him and a year later when the Cichlids had eliminated each other down to the last man and the last one jumped out of the space in the hood for the heater I restocked the tank with multitude Tetras. After another two years he had outlasted all of them as well. By this time he had grown to 13.5 inches long which is HUGE when he's stuck to the front of a 20" tall 55 gallon tank. The way he would whip around that tank was lethal and such a Pleco would not be good for a heavily planted tank. Just keep in mind a large Pleco is a commitment because they are ridiculously hardy and don't seem to stop growing.


And seem to live for everroud:


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## Leaky Filter (Nov 30, 2011)

A pleco will do fine.

Pro tip- If your LFS orders one for you, be specific about the size of the fish. I once ordered three of "the biggest plecos the wholesaler could find". They wound up being 13-15". Just huge. The customer didn't want them.


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## dbw27 (May 19, 2014)

but....will the pleco eat the amazon swords?

Suppose I buy a smaller veggie pleco, not the common pleco, that doesnt get too big?

There are loads of plecos. One does not need to get the huge common pleco.

dbw


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Some of the Pleco species will eat plants and some won't.
Reasons for getting a larger specimen have already been related to you.
Place some vegetable matter,algae wafers in the tank and the Pleco could very well leave the plants alone.


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## loach guy (Jun 2, 2014)

My experience with Oscars is this. Oscars are like lazy dogs. As long as they are well fed, they will not go out of their way for a meal. I was told that I couldn't put anything in my tank that could fit into their mouths. Well, I ended up with 32 fish in that tank. 26 of them could have easily been eaten by my 4 very large Oscars. They lived in there for years because I chose fish that are quicker than the Oscars food (mainly feeder goldfish). Having said that, my algae eaters were 2 large plecos. I would imagine though that SAE would be quick enough to where the Oscars wouldn't bother them. This would especially be true if there was some driftwood and other structures in the tank that would make them difficult to get to. All of this is theory based on my own observations though.


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## Leaky Filter (Nov 30, 2011)

dbw27 said:


> but....will the pleco eat the amazon swords?
> 
> Suppose I buy a smaller veggie pleco, not the common pleco, that doesnt get too big?
> 
> ...



You will probably wake up to some Oscar housekeeping and the plecos will be the least of your worries as it relates to the Amazon swords. Oscars are diggers, and they're really good at it.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

One of the first Fish I ever kept was a red Oscar that upon it's death,was nearly 12 inches long.
The fish would jump from the tank to take bit's of shrimp from my hand,scooped up golf balls from the bottom of the tank ,and ping pong balls from the surface to play with or toss out of the tank whenever it suited him/her.
Broke numerous heater's,and dug large open pits wherever it suited him/her. 
I used to place left over minnows.creek chubs,perch, from fishing trips in the tank before I learned about how easy it was to transmit all manner of parasites/bacterial pathogens this way and the fishes seldom new what hit them before they became lunch.
The reasons suggested for placing larger fish with large Oscars are well founded.


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