# acrylic damage by pleco?



## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

I have a 100 gallon plexiglass tank. Got a bristlenose pleco about 6 months ago. It is a hard worker scraping off algae from the tank wall. However, over time, I am noticing that the view through the front glass is becoming more and more "blurred", no longer crystal clear. I tried to scrape the surface hard but it does not help, it seems it is permanent damage by the pleco, not remnant of algae. Upon close inspection, the tank wall is full of tiny scraping marks caused by the pleco. Anybody else has similiar experience?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Ouch  That's not good. Another reason why I don't want an acrylic tank. 

I had a pair of bristlenoses in my tank, and while the female is very good in cleaning leaves, the male would rasp through all the Sword leaves in no time. They are pretty tough, those leaves, so I believe they could do some damage to Acrylic if you get a "bad" pleco.


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

I use some acrylic tanks also. I did some research on suckermout catfish and acrylic tank before. I found out that plecos have different kind of teeth (whatever they are called) arrangement. Some are bent inward and won't damage acrylic and others have their teeth pointed another way and will scratch acrylic. I believe regular pleco is safe but not sure about bristlenose. I have regular plecos in my acrylic tanks for years and they did no damage.

Unfortunately I don't keep the article anymore. You can google search on it. The article also lists which type of plecos to avoid when using acrylic tanks.


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## jmiz16 (Aug 12, 2004)

Do you know if SAE'S have bad teeth?


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

I think it is totally possible. I have seen first hand how strong the pleco's rasping ability is. 

When I worked at the Aquarium, we had sea urchins eating the acrylic, and had to make a device to keep them off the glass.


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

SAEs and ottos were totally fine for me. Only had the problem when I added a bristlenose pleco.


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## TicK (Sep 30, 2004)

I just finished fixing my "blurred" acrylic tank...caused from using a glass cleaning magnet instead of an acrylic one :icon_redf 
A gritty brand of toothpaste (I used rembrant) and some elbow grease with a soft cloth will buff out most of the cloudyness...otherwise you can shell out some extra $$$ for an acrylic scratch kit


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## Scissors (Oct 21, 2004)

shalu, IMHO, yes the damage, if scratches and not algae remnants, are done by your bristlenose. The larger the bristlenose, the faster the damage will show up. I've seen bristlenoses finish off dead feeders by scraping off the meat (sorry for the graphic content) Anyways as Tick stated if the scratches aren't too deep you can just buffer them out.


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## jmiz16 (Aug 12, 2004)

SCISORS,
I noticed you have a pic. of an UARU cichlid.I think they are really cool. Do you know a lot about them, how big do they get are they aggresive and can I have them in a planted tank? do they dig?


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

darn, re-polishing the tank is not possible right now, because I have no where to house all the fish properly. Hopefully, in a few years I can have my dream home with a huge custom tank built into the wall, then I will deal with this one. For now, I am just going to enjoy the "wedding photo" effect, if you know what I mean


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## Scissors (Oct 21, 2004)

I have only kept two Uarus in my fishkeeping hobby so I cannot say how aggressive they are. The ones I had were pretty mellow. As with most non-dwarf cichlids, plants seem to be more food than habitat for them. Yes, they will dig.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

This is some pretty clear evidence that Bristle-nose pleco are trouble in acrylic tanks.

But does anyone have any experience with other - not bristle-nose - plecos in acrylic tanks?

Is it possible that they have teeth that are not a problem. 'Cuz belive me, I'm not buying one until I get some good evidnece that they are ok. So needless to say, I'm hoping to find some insight from people with personal experience.

Thanks.


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Bump.

Does ANYBODY have positve (or negative) experience with plecos - other than the BN variety - in acrylic tanks?

Thanks.


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## python (Mar 21, 2007)

I have a common pleco in an acrylic tank. He regualrly scrapes the tank walls and I have yet to see any damage.


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## susankat (Oct 14, 2007)

If you look at this pic, you can see the bristlenose teeth. This is my big male. Luckily my tank is glass.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Scolley, ever find out what species are OK? 

Python, do you know what species of "common" you have?


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

My Rubber-lipped plecos have caused no damage to my 120g acrylic tank and I've had them in there for almost two years.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

Bh., I'm in your town--could I stick my pleco in your tank for a few weeks and see if he damages your tank? 

I promise to take him back...


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## bharada (Mar 5, 2004)

Mori said:


> Bh., I'm in your town--could I stick my pleco in your tank for a few weeks and see if he damages your tank?
> 
> I promise to take him back...


Not likely :icon_lol:

Go to TAP Plastics and buy a piece of scrap acrylic and wedge it against the glass of your tank. Eventually your pleco will find its way onto it and you can determine for yourself if it has any destructive tendencies towards the material.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

I'm not sure that's as much fun, but I suppose it make a lot of sense...


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