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Originally posted by foreverconfused
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pros - stay very small, focused algae eater, can clean plant leaves without damaging, reletively inexpensive
cons - highly secialized diet of certain algaes only, can starve in unestablished tank, need a small school (3-6)
Plecostomus (Hypostomus Plesotomus)
pros - reletively inexpensive
cons - SIZE (2-3ft), diet (only eats minimal algae), destroys water quality in a tank, generally a very bad choice
Ancistrus (bristle nose plecostomus) (my most recommended plecostomus)
pros - Effective algae eater, reletively inexpensive, size (5"), can breed, local breeder availability
cons - netting can be difficult
There are literally hundreds of different plecostomus species and all have their own unique requirements and origin. I would hope to dissuade you from a 'plecostomus' as they are a very poor choice in any smaller aquarium (under 100 gallons). There are far more suited relatives that stay smaller and you'll be far happier with. Another that is sold as a 'cleaner' fish is the 'Chinese Algae Eater', avoid these as well. They are a shark minnow that can be effective when young, but grow large and become very aggressive to anything in the tank. There is a true siamese algae eater that is very good, but are harder to find. Once you have selected your target species (main fish) in the tank we can assist you in choosing something that will work for the tank size and tankmates.
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