Quick freshwater fish question

[d2mini]

Ya, i know this is a reef forum, but i know there are a lot of freshwater converts here.
So at the office I have a little 2.5 gallon Eclipse tank with one Betta in it. It's been running for 2-3 months and I don't have ANY algae, never had to clean the glass yet. But I was wondering if I can add a small one of these to help clean off the gravel? You know... excess food, fish poo, etc.

[NotiReef]

Thats a pleco right?
I used to have one of those in my 55 freshwater tanks a while back....those things grow very fast. I bought mine when it was 2 maybe 3 inches...in less then a year when I got rid of him he was over 12 inches long. I didn't have much algae for him to feed on so i used to give him algae chips. Anyway he got huge!!!
Good Luck!

[NotiReef]

Also it does do a great job of cleaning up poo/access food, etc.

[d2mini]

Yup, a pleco. I used to have them years and years ago when i had bigger tanks but didn't know if a small one would be ok in my little 2.5g... and that close to my betta.

[NotiReef]

i think plecos are very friendly tankmates and will be fine as long as there are no baby bettas around...those might turn into food for the plecos. But with a 2.5 gal tank....maybe it will stay small due to tank size??? not sure.

[d2mini]

Ya, i never know if that growth vs tanks size is a myth or not.
But I suppose I could always trade him in to the lfs if he gets too big.

[NotiReef]

yeah thats what i did...traded him to my lfs. the funny thing is mine got that big eating leftovers and algae chips only i wonder how he would have done on a bloodworm diet

[yote]

Plecos are strictly algae eaters.But they do grow fast.And I've heard that freshwater fish will stop growing when they run out of room.But I dont think I would count on that.

[simpleman]

I have a rubberlip pleco in my 15 gal planted. I think they only get to 3" max.

[2manyfish]

I know I will get flamed.but I can't help it. It is a constant refrain that catfish eat feces. They do not. While they will scavage thru waste for undigested material they require adequate food just as an other fish or animal. Indeed most catfish are carnivous especially as adults. They will eagerly take any fish they are able to swallow.

Plecostomus do consume a good deal of vegetable in their diet but not exclusively so. They eat small crustaceans in the wild as well as prawns and other animals, eggs, fry etc. They have been known to rasp on the sides of laterally compressed fishes such as Discuses, Fancy Goldfishes, Angelfish, Silver Dollars, et cetera. I would never recommend a pleco in a discus tank but many recommendations are for the pleco and discus.

I would never attempt to keep a pleco in such a small container for personal humane reasons. A cory catfish would be a better choice; but they also need an adequate diet not just fish feces. A pleco, they do get large, up to 2 feet in the wild, in a betta or 2 gal container is no different than a Lionfish in 10 gallon aquarium