OK, here's the deal....I had to take my chocolate albino pleco out of my goldie tank cause he was starting to eat their tails. So, I have him in a 10 gallon by himself, and he looks terribly misrable and lonley. I would like to get him some tank mates, but I have some questions/issues.

1. is 10 gals big enough for him plus a few other fish?
2. will trops be OK in with him?
3. i need something low maintenance because weekly water changes are the best I can do right now with all the other stuff that I have going on.

so...is it a good idea to get some trops to go with my Pleco? If so, can I have some recomendations on what kind and how many?

Thanks everyone

Oh, the filter I currently have on there is a Penguin biowheel 170.

Not sure about other fish but having never heard of this kind of plec before I have had a look on various sites about them and apparently they get HUGE. So 10 gallons may not be big enough eventually, depends how large he is now...
Speaking personally I wouldn't put any other fish in with a plec that has been sucking on other fish in the past, in case it happened again.
He may look miserable but chances are he will be happier with more room to himself than if the space is shared with other fish.

yeah, that's what i was thinking too, i just feel so bad for him

I have had him for about 3 years now, and i think he is done growing since he hasn't gotten really larger in the past year (give or take). When I bought him, the info on him said that he'd get to be about 6-8 inches, which is about what he is now.

He actually didn't bother my goldies at all until they got sick and they were kind of bottom sitting, then he would find the parts of their tails that were touching the floor, and he'd try to chew on that...which is really not cool. But then I thought maybe he wouldn't bother trops, especially ones that prefer the top of the tank.

I just feel bad for him, I wish I didn't have to take him out of the big tank, but I had no choice

If he's already 6-8 inches, I wouldn't get any more fish in a 10G, though of course I'm sure other people will say differently!

I think he'll do just fine on his own, he won't be sad It's not like he chewed the goldie tails in an affectionate way

hahaha.....yeah, he wasn't doing it out of love! LOL

Is he just a normal chocolate pleco? Not a bristol nose? If so they get up to 20 inches long.I have a normal colored one that rules my 46 gallon with my small raphael cat.If you can, I recommend taking him to a pet store."common" plecos also aren't good with small fish that can't defend themselves. I don't worry about my cat because he has some pretty large spikes and knows how to use them! Things like platies and guppies wouldn't stand a chance against a large pleco.

I had a *large* pleco with tetras, he had zero chance of catching them. Actually, he didn't try at all. Like you Grain, took him out of my goldie tank after he attacked a sick fish (took out both of the poor thing's eyes ). If you can get a bigger tank, then I'd suggest some tetras. But otherwise, yes, you might have to bring him to a pet store. I gave my pleco away when he outgrew his 20 gallon, I was sad to do it but he just couldn't live in there anymore.

Thanks for the help everyone

I definately can't get a bigger tank as I have too much going on tank wise as it is now. I feel bad for the little guy, but I am afraid to give him to a pet store. There is only 1 LFS in my area, and I just don't think they would take care of him properly. OR, they would sell him to someone who wouldn't take care of him properly, and he'll be even worse off than now. I don't think I'd be able to live with myself

That's what I worry about with my goldies. I have hopefully found them a pond for the spring because I know that they need a bigger tank and that I simply don't have the room, and if I took them to an LSF they'd either die or be bought for a bowl

At 6-8 inches he's ok on the 10G for now, but maybe think about putting some adverts on websites etc seeing if anybody would like him.

I know what you mean about feeling bad. I gave my pleco to an lfs that I thought would take good care of him, but when I dropped him off the owner wasn't too gentle with the big guy..I still feel bad about it

How about a rubbermade?