Did my betta kill my plako?

[kbansink]

I have a 6gal tank w 1 betta, 5 glofish. They have been in the tank since end of May. Today Augsut 16th I brought home a small plako. I put the plako in the tank at 3:30p after floating the water bag for 30 min to aclimate the temperature. i went to feed them at 6p and the plako was dead....... He had a nice marine funeral. My husband says the betta killed the plako b/c he was too slow. any suggestions? thanks!

[Flashygrrl]

Bettas don't generally kill plecos, it's usually the other way around. If it was a common pleco you would have had a great deal of trouble with him anyways as common plecos generally get about a foot long, require a 75 gallon tank and heavy filtration.

My guess he was never healthy in the first place.

[iamntbatman]

Bettas are known to pester other fish sometimes, but I really doubt he killed him. Plecos have armor plating and certainly know how to defend themselves if they need to. I agree - he was probably already sick when you got him from the store, or he was simply unhealthy and stressed out and the added stress of the move did him in.

[sasbell]

It would be near impossible for a Betta to kill a pleco, or vice versa. Plecos have an exoskeleton and can be housed with fish much more aggressive than a Betta with no problems, I agree that yours was probably already sick when you purchased it. Or, plecos are in the catfish family and are very sensitive to amonia in the water. If it's been a while since you changed the water last, the ammonia could have just been too high for him to handle. Make sure you have your water tested before adding fish again.

On the other hand, Plecos are incapable of killing other fish. It's a common myth that they can, but it's completely false. All they have is a suction cup for a mouth, and although they have spines on their fins, they're much too clumsy as swimmers to use them as fatal weapons. I definitely would not purchase one for a betta bowl though. They get gigantic. Try a smaller variety other than a common pleco. Several more decorative plecos only reach 4-5 inches as opposed to 18 inches.

[Flashygrrl]

They chew on driftwood too so I'm assuming they must have teeth.

[iamntbatman]

Hmm I dunno. They definitely have some rasping action going on with their mouthparts. I've heard plenty of discus keepers say that plecos will kill discus by sucking on their sides and kickeying them to death.

[sasbell]

Plecos have small rough bumps inside their mouths that allow them to remove algea from surfaces, but no "teeth". Furthermore, they're herbivores and don't eat meat as part of their diet. They have no interest whatsoever in "eating" a fish. You may see one at a pet store that is "stuck" on a dead fish, but the pleco did not kill it, suck it to death, nor is it trying to eat it. They will occasionally get stuck on fish pellets too, upon which they flip upside down to get the pellet to float out of their mouth. When they suck on driftwood they are extracting the sugars from the wood as a source of nutrience. They do not actually "eat" the wood.

Like I said, their fins are spiney just like any catfish, and they can use them as a defense mechanism to "stab" something if they feel threatened (such as when they are being removed from a tank), but they are too slow and clumsy to use these in any event other than self-defense. They aren't aggressive at all and usually retreat in the event that another fish is picking on them. Larger plecos (8-10" range) will defend territory or chase a fish that is bullying them. I've seen mine headbutt two fish that are fighting from time to time, but never harm them.

On the other hand, Chinese Algae Eaters (which novice fishkeepers sometimes confuse with plecos because of their name) are aggressive and territorial and do kill other fish on occasion.

Do some research an reading. There are forums dedicated specifically to plecos. They're interesting fish and fun to keep, but know what you get before you buy it. Plecos can vary vastly in size, coloration and diet specifications depeding on the kind you buy. But, for the most part they're pretty low maintenance and help make your tank a little more low maintence as well.

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by iamntbatman

Hmm I dunno. They definitely have some rasping action going on with their mouthparts. I've heard plenty of discus keepers say that plecos will kill discus by sucking on their sides and kickeying them to death.

Most plecos will look for a source of protein and slime coats are just one of them. Merely sucking on the sides will not really kill the fish but the constant stress and harassments from continuous sucking can actually kill a fish especially a placid one like a discus.

My bristlenose managed to injure severely several of my discus before in his attempts to obnoxiously guard a piece of driftwood which was ultimately its territory. I do not believe this caused the demise of my discus however as it happened only a few times. My troubles with the CO2 system was the main culprit.

[1077]

I would agree that common plecos do not have teeth and in large part are herbivores but there are more than a few species that do have teeth. And while it is true that they don't normally look to kill other fish some are quite territorial and will do battle with each other. They have indeed on occasion been reported to suck or rasp on the sides of fish such as Discus and Angel fish as well as Severums.While this activity in and of itself usually does not kill the fish It does open the victim up to secondary infections which can ultimately lead to the victims demise. There is a very informative website that provides much information on the many species of Plecos and their diets and I would urge those who are considering plecos to visit. It is www.planetcatfish.com