I was reading in the Aquarium Quarterly that the N fixing bacteria develop on the surfaces (plants, glass, gravel). But plecos swipe through these. Would they be detrimental to the bacteria?

I apologize if this has been discussed before. I only have limited net time.

Not at all, these bacteria grow on all surfaces of the tank and the filter. Plecos are not able to remove all the bacteria biofilm, only the part visible to the naked eye. Anyway, even if they did, there is so much and grows so fast that these fish would not be able to keep up with it.

Thanks.