Blue Phantom Pleco Care Guide (L128) - Tank Size, Growth Rate, Tank Mates, Food And Breeding

[@SVTJD]

Got my first green phantom 2 months ago. Love them! Beautiful fish unique and I love it. Cheers from Michigan USA

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Enjoy! Amazing fish!

[@donaldhall8785]

Finally got my first Blue Phantom a couple of weeks ago. He has settled in to a 20long tank (He is about 2") with some Corys, Guppies and a Clown Pleco. Tank is heavily planted and has 3 pieces of wood in it. Been feeding him extreme flakes, Algae wafers, Pleco wafers along with baby Brine, cyclops , tubifex, bloodworms and repashy. So far so good,

[@fullmoon2678]

Iv x2 of these lil baby’s and they r absolutely beautiful

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Amazing fish!!

[@stuartaquatics3533]

Awesome little guys. Keep up the good work

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@SNWxGaming]

My wife surprised me with one today probably cause I wouldn’t shut up about it lol but he looks amazing he is not at transparent especially in the dorsal and tail fins like yours in the video but I’m gonna assume that will change in time and my light might not being hitting the bottom of the tank hard enough. It is a 24in tall and I’m not sure my fluval aquasky has enough range. None the less very happy and excited to observe his growth.

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Glad to hear you got one! I love mines! 👍

[@TimsBitsnPieces]

They look fantastic.

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

They are indeed! 100% recommend them

[@ConfusedScalpel]

Just lost my four full size phantoms this morning. Heartbroken. I think I know the mistake. They were in a 40 breeder and two adult Severums. Woke up this morning to all but one plecco dead (he died later though). Massive spike in nitrates. No signs of malnutrition or scars. I think I greatly underestimated the volume of waste that these guys produce compared to other fish. Will definitely use my 110 if I get them again in the future.

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Aww man that’s sucks, sorry to hear that! Yes I lost one of the blue phantoms while moving a tank! They’re a bit sensitive to water changes

[@ConfusedScalpel]

@@Fishkeepingmadeeasy yeah they are. Had to change a couple times for high nitrite and ammonia levels over the last week. Costly mistake for sure. And sad for the fish too. They’re beautiful.

[@ConfusedScalpel]

Also these were my first pleccos. I keep cichlids and bichirs in my other tanks and they seem pretty easy to deal with. Tanks are also older with well established cycle.

[@ashleycowan9560]

so i just bought a blue phantom plec like 2 days ago always wanted one they look awesome i have a bristlenose plec in a differant tank. my blue phantom is in a 200 litre tank. but wow does it hide lol i have rocks drift wood etc so make little caves and it hides soo much only at night do i see it come out. my question is i havnt seen it eat yet i put in spirulina wafers at night before i go to bed and when i get up in morning there away. but i do have corys in tank. so should i take it that its eating ?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

The spirulina wafers will disintegrate and other fish are likely eating them too so the pleco might be eating them. I would recommend trying fresh vegetables like Zucchini over night and you’ll see the bite marks on it. Mines don’t actually eat any kind of pellet just veg and frozen foods. But they do hide, a lot to begin with. If the food is there they will eat it. I wouldn’t worry too much at the moment. Ask the store what they were feeding and you could try that also

[@ashleycowan9560]

@@Fishkeepingmadeeasy thankyou for fast reply. what about cucumber would that be ok?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

I’ve used cucumbers in the past and they loved it! Just less nutritious that’s all! But I’d give it a go! Just a little bit in a fork that’s what I do haha

[@ashleycowan9560]

@@Fishkeepingmadeeasy thankyou :)

[@ashleycowan9560]

ill go buy some zucchini today and try that with the plec tonight

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

awesome pleco

[@richieinca]

How well would they do with Koi? I had a smaller algae eater (3-4”) and the Koi attacked and ate him.

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

They grow pretty slow and most you can buy will be juveniles. So likely your Koi would eat it. Also you’d need to keep your Koi at a higher temperature to suit the Plec. They are also not great algae eaters. Tend to eat more meaty foods

[@Kdot_osrs]

Can I keep a gold nugget and a 128 in a 55g heavy planted tank with tons of rocks and hiding places ?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

They can territorial if they are older and larger. But I had one with a bristle nose and it was absolutely fine

[@andrade_org]

Can these be kept in a group? (Big tank 600l and lots of caves) how many?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

I kept two together and they were fine. They can be quite territorial so as long as you’ve plenty space and hiding places, which sounds like you do you should be fine! Have as many as you want, but they’re quite expensive where I am from so I’d have like 5 😂

[@TriHard7c]

do you have any spawn yet ?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Unfortunately not 😂 but I can but hope

[@benwater879]

How’s it getting on now fella

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Doing well! Has actually grown quite a bit but still looks a bit small 🤔 I haven’t gotten any more! I had two at one point but one just seemed to disappear, likely another Geophagus victim

[@Ocfish_hobbyist1]

I want one so bad now

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Awesome fish! I would recommend to anyone!

[@hellomshas]

Are they r algae eating

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

They eat algae to a certain extent but they prefer actual food

[@RiteshSingh-bb7jg]

Hi, Can it live with African cichlids (Malawi)

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

No, the Blue Phantom prefers softer more acidic waters. It’s from South America so better for South American cichlids 👍

[@hellomshas]

Will it eat algae

[@andrewp4837]

this pleco can live with Goldfish?

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

It’s maybe not ideal but if the PH and temperature you were keeping your goldfish suited the blue phantom I wouldn’t see a problem really.

[@rxnqzfn]

I got mine for £31 but the person wanted £20 for postage so it came to £51 total

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

Good price 👍

[@carwylloloh2457]

Exotic freshwater fishh 👍

[@Fishkeepingmadeeasy]

A great fish 👍