Found this article on the Hong Kong Plec.I thought it may be of interest to any of you who would like a plec that stays small and is very shy.I have one and they are great little fish.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Hill...streamLoach.php

After reading the article I'm going to get another one to keep mine company as I found they prefer being in a group.

Hope you find this of interest.

Your fish is very interesting!

But ugh, I read some coments from a few goldfish pages and they made me feel sick.

I am thinking of getting a rubber lip pleco. Since you already have a pleco just wondered if you would answer a question or two? Devs already gave me some wonderful info but she was not sure if they needed driftwood or not. Do they need driftwood or can I just provide a small rock hiddy place for them? Also I read an article since talking to Devs that says that they may bother some slow moving fish such as golodies and may try to eat their slime coat. Do you know if this is right? I wanted to get one to help with my algae in my tank. I have a heater and usaully keep my temp around 76 since I have two fancy goldies (orandas)

I don't really know much about the rubberlip but I did find this little write up on it.I have never heard of one attacking a goldfish up to now.


Chaetostoma sp. Rubbernose Pleco / Bulldog Pleco / Rubberlip Pleco

Adult size 3"-5? (7.5cm ? 12.5cm)
Good overall cleaner: Green Surface, Brown/Diatomic; Generally won?t damage plants
The Rubbernose is a good algae eater for 10+ gallon aquariums. This is supposedly a rather timid fish, so don?t expect to see much of him unless adequate refuge is provided (a fish with more places available for hiding sees the need less). Smooth rocks and rounded gravel are preferred. It is not recommended to keep this pleco with aggressive or high-activity fish.




I personally always supply either a wooden hiding place for my plec's as they look camoflaged against it.Or I make a nice area with plants and a small kinda den he can hide in.My hong kong plec hides in a large head shape ornament during the day.which has plants on it.Where my common plec in my tropical tank I made him a den using a peice of slate and some rocks with him being large and clumsy.
Personally I like the hong kong plec.Hope this helps you anyway.

thanks Blue that was good info and thanks for the taking the time to find it and post it for me. . I have a bare bottom tank and have a little bridge that the goldies like to swim through ( in fact Koko is almost getting to big to swim under it.). Last night when I was getting some aquarium salt and aquasafe at wallyworld, I found a perfect log decor ( it is resin but looks real ) which I think will provide my rubberlip with a few good hiding places when I get him or her on Friday. they had the decor log on the wrong shelf at wallyworld and it did not have a label on it so I got it for $1.67 whehew! That was a blessing since I think it probably was worth about $10. I told them it was on the wrong shelf with the tag below it saying $1.67. By the way, since I salt my tank for the goldies, are the plecos sensitive to salt? I have it my tank at .3 percent salinty right now as a precaution cause one of my fish is fairly new and I am not taking any chances. I have a heated tank and usaully keep the temp around 76 cause I have orandas ( fancy goldies).

Pleco's can be very sensitive to salt and water param changes,so you'll have to be very careful on that one.

Thank Devs. I guess I can always try it , and if it starts floudering I could always take him out. Thanks again Devs

Goldfishcrazy2, I think plecos need driftwood is for nutritional needs...only real driftwood can supply that.

Not all plecostomus need driftwood. Rubberlips don't need it, I have had one for wahile now and driftwood is not a part of his diet. As for the "hongkong" pleco, it's not a pleco at all. It's a loach, more closely related to goldfish and otehr cyprinids actually.

Its proper name is Hillstream Loach but they are more often than not sold as Hong Kong plec's in stores where I live.There are many names this little fish is sold under.All of them given in the article I attached to the tread.

OK. As usual..no one at the pet store where I bought my common pleco said anything about driftwood. Do they really need it?? What does it provide for them other than a place to sit? Food of some sort? I just found out yesterday that they need vegetables and fruit along with algea wafers. I do have several pieces of good sized driftwood, but I have disenfected them with PP. Will they still be OK to use? I am sooo glad that KOKOS website exists or I would be killing alot of fish without knowing why!!!

Common plecostomus don't need driftwood, don't worry.