Many people are asking this question can Plecos And Cory Catfish Live Together? Both of them are similar fish that can be used in aquariums.
Generally, the Plecos can live with cory catfish together without any problems. Plecos fishes are used for cleaning the algae spread in the tank and cory catfish do a similar job as they tend the clean bottom of the tank.
In this article, we will be doing a walkthrough about plecos fish and cory catfish’s temperaments, feeding, water parameters, Tank mates, and how to care for them in a single fish tank.
So let’s start a walkthrough about plecos and cory catfish
What is Plecos Fish?
Plecos fish is also known as the suckermouth catfish (Hypostomus plecostomus). It was one of the best fish for cleaning the algae and reducing the spreading.
Plecos fish belong to the tropical freshwater and armored catfish family. They consist of more than around 150 species of catfish with suckermouth-shaped and bony plates and spines over their body.
They will be raising their spines and plates when they are attacked by other fishes. They come in different colors and sizes according to various species.
Temperament
If we look into the temperament of plecos fish, they are social and friendly fish but sometimes they will become aggressive.
If the other fishes start attacking the plecos fish, they will become aggressive and show some erratic movement while swimming.
They will use spines and plates as weapons for attacking or defending against other fishes.
Feeding
When we look into the feeding section, Plecos fish are basically algae eaters but they will eat anything that comes their way.
You can feed them bloodworms, tropical flakes, and some vegetables such as cucumbers, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.
Many plecos species will eat algae wafers and some others will eat plants and decade food particles. That’s why many experts recommend feeding some vegetables to plecos fishes. here is the list of plecos food.
Water Parameters
Now let’s look into the water parameters of plecos fish.
The recommended pH Level of Plecos fish is 7.0 to 8.0, that was similar to every fish and the water temperature is between 74° and 80° F.
Can plecos out of water, I have posted a detailed article on this, So you can read that.
What is Cory Catfish?
Cory catfish were also known as bottom-dwelling scavenger fishes because they are staying at the bottom every time.
It was an excellent and efficient cleaner for the tank. It was the family of Callichthyidae and the subfamily Corydoradinae.
They will then be overfed and dump waste from the bottom of the tank but they will not eat algae. Many people buy this fish as a mistake because they will not eat algae and many people are considered algae eaters.
The Cory catfish can grow up to 4 inches in length.
Temperament
The temperament of Cory catfish is a calm and peaceful fish. They are not aggressive toward other fishes.
But they have hard spines on the pectoral and dorsal fins for protection. When the fishes start attacking them, the Cory catfish will raise the spines.
As a beginner, you can easily fish and keep the Cory catfish because they are calm and peaceful fish. But you need to be careful while cleaning the tank.
Feeding
Cory catfish love all types of food but they mainly like worms so try to feed the live worms such as live black worms, frozen bloodworms, and pellet food.
The feeding was simple, you can feed them twice every day because they will be eating the waste food from the bottom tanks.
Water Parameters
If we look at the water parameters of the cory catfish, a pH Level of 7.0 to 8.0 are recommended with a temperature between 74° and 80° F.
What lives well with cory catfish and plecos?
Cory catfish and plecos can be suitable for any small fish that have a low temperament. But some small fishes will also attack them while feeding. The suitable for Cory catfish and plecos are listed below.
- Amano Shrimps
- Red cherry Shrimps
- Ghost Shrimps
- Snails
- Neon Tetra
- Harlequin Rasbora
- Swordtails
- Otocinclus
- Cherry Barb
Can Plecos Live With Cory Catfish Together
When we analyze both fish such as Plecos and cory catfish. They can live together in the same aquarium. The water parameters and feeding were similar for both fish such as the ph level and recommended water temperature for the fish is pH Level of 7.0 to 8.0 are recommended with a temperature between 74° and 80° F.
The Plecos fish are used in tanks for reducing the algae spread because they will eat the algae and clean the tank. Basically, they are sucker-mouth catfish for cleaning the tank.
Like plecos fish, many people use cory cats to clean the algae. But they don’t realize that cory fish only clean the waste from the bottom tank.
Cory catfish are similar to plecos fish, but they will be doing the jobs differently. The plecos will clean the algae from the tank and cory catfish will clean the bottom of the tank.
Cory catfish will not eat algae, they are used for cleaning the decade waste and other fish wastes.
Both of them are peaceful and calm fishes, so you can put them in the same tank due to their low aggressiveness. But sometimes they will use sharp spines and plates for protection.
The spines and plates around the body will be acting as a tool for protecting them from attacks. It would help if you were careful while cleaning the tank because the sharpened spines and plates will harm our hands when we touch them.
Both of them will eat any feed, but you can feed them live bloodworms, blackworms, and other flake food. I recommend feeding twice per day because overfeeding the fish will make their job hard.
Do Cory catfish get along with algae eaters?
Cory catfish can live with any algae eater because their water parameters and temperaments are similar. They will be calm and peaceful fish, so you can put them in the same tank without any problems.
Do cory catfish clean tanks?
The cory catfish will clean the bottom tanks, but they will not clean the algae. You can put plecos sucker mouth catfish for cleaning the algae.
Wrapping Up
Now you know the water parameters and temperaments of the plecos and cory catfish. Both of them can be lived in the same tank because they are calm and peaceful fishes.
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