plecos and cichlids

[murdock6701]

I have a few very mellow 4"-5" - do you think they'd be Ok as tankmates w/ 5" yellow labs? check that, 1 pleco w/5 yellow labs?

[bikeguy33]

1 pleco and 5 yellows are no problem at all....they dont compete for food....and if anything the pleco will bunt the hell out of the labs if they get in his way. their heads are like lil jackhammers.

[murdock6701]

thanks Bill - new I could count on you

[eve]

which kind of plecos are we talking here???

[theoden]

Never had a problem with mixing plecos and cichlids.

[brenda]

Yeah, I also don't see it as a problem. I have some loaches in with my cichlids and have never seen them bother each other at all.

[jonv]

I can't see any possible issues with this either. Labidochromis Careleus alone is not really a type of fish that's super sensative to it's boundries like say a Demasoni or Auratus. You will get exceptions from time to time, but will really stoke a labs coals is have two males in that tank.

I'm sure there may well be some plecos out there that are very zealous when eating, but I'd agree with Bill more on this where I can't see bottom feeders short of CAE's causing issues with your Africans John. Would be a very unusual case worth documenting if it proved otherwise.

[8 in the Corner]

Mouthbrooders in general do not bother the plecos. It is the substrate spawners that will attack them when they are protecting eggs.

I learned this the hard way with a pair of telmatochromis temporalis. They had been living in a 20 long with a mated pair of albino bushy nosed plecs for about 6 months. I was cleaning filters and dropped my favorite box filter (a Lee) and broke it. I replaced it with another brand and was fixing the Lee when I found the female plec dead a couple days later.

She was all beat up and fins were ripped. Apparently she had been hiding under the pedestal of the Lee filter and the different brand that I replaced it with temporarily, had no pedestal. The Lee gave her just enough room to get under and the temporalis were just a little too big.

They had a batch of eggs that are now fry and that is the reason their attitude changed toward her. The male plec is much bigger and has his own cave where they have spawned in the past. He is very protective of it and doesn't let the temporalis even look inside. The female plecs don't stake out caves, so all she could do was hide under the filter (the Lee).

I was really bummed, but learned a very important lesson. Take out your scavengers if the tank is not a big one. The telmatochromis are now alone in the tank with their fry.

The electric yellows are one of the more easy going mbuna, they get along with just about anything. You should have no problems with mixing the two species.

[murdock6701]

thanks everyone for your help! makes me feel better