Large Plecos foe 2200 gal tank

skynoch

Moderator
Looking to add some large plecos to my 2200 gallon tank. They would need to be around the 15"+ side to live with some of my other large stingrays.
I'm a complete noob when it comes to plecos so I was hoping someone could tell me what some cool large plecos are. Not worried at all about any of them sucking on my rays slime coats.
 

bcarlos

Member
The thing you've got to keep in mind is the plecos diet. Alot of the plecos that reach the size you're looking for are vegetarian, and putting them in a tank with carnivores can prove fatal (I.e a high protein diet for these fish causes bloat, and ultimately death). So stay away from any of the panaques (royals, blue eye, etc).

The coolest, carnivorous plecos (those from the pseudacanthicus genus), like L24, L25 and L600 reach sizes like what you're looking for, but finding one that size in Canada is impossible. And if it was possible, they'd cost you near the price of a nice BD. L114 is the most affordable of the pseudas. You don't really see them on the Canadian market at that size either. Whenever you see plecos kept with rays on Asian set ups, they're almost always pseudas.

One suitable pleco for your tankmates and tank size would be an acanthicus Adonis. True monsters, they can apparently reach over 3 feet, and their guts can handle the higher protein they're sure to get in your tank. If you want something extra special, a big albino Adonis would be a true show pleco.
 

CanadaPleco

New Member
Don't forget L14, they are carnivores as well and getting them at 12" or a little more is not nearly as hard or costly as huge pseudas.
 

skynoch

Moderator
So will vegetarian plecos go after meat sources before vegetarian sources. I have no problem feeding more veggies than I allready am for some of my other fish?
 

bcarlos

Member
So will vegetarian plecos go after meat sources before vegetarian sources. I have no problem feeding more veggies than I allready am for some of my other fish?

Yeah the bigger issue is that vegetarian plecos will greedily go after meat sources, and that can cause problems. I would not recommend putting any of the panaques in with rays.
 

kkaamm

Member
I have just written an article sharing my personal experience regarding feeding NLS food to plecos on Canada Pleco forum.

NLS provides good foods to Arowana, Stingways as well as plecos. Feedling NLS to vegetables eating plecos like Panaque, BEP is not an issue for me as NLS foods are all highly digestible. My big 12" BEP eats NLS only for the last 3 yrs.

In the meantime, I also recommend large L14s in your tank as they are beautiful, can be found more easily and are more affordable!!!
 
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