Common pleco tank mates

Common pleco: peaceful, 22.8 in, fine on its own, swims in the bottom of the tank and needs about 203 gallons. The list below checks every species in our catalog against it.

Each species is checked against common plecos both ways: mouth size, fin nipping, temperament, territory, water overlap and keeper reports.

Good tank mates

Neon tetra
Paracheirodon innesi
Fits
The classic community fish: a tight school of electric-blue stripes that suits planted tanks of 15 gallons and up.
1.2 in · 17+ gal · 70–77°F · pH 5–7
Harlequin rasbora
Trigonostigma heteromorpha
Fits
Copper-orange schooling fish with a black wedge; hardy, calm and a good first school for a 15–20 gallon tank.
1.4 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 6–7
Fancy guppy
Poecilia reticulata
Fits
Colourful livebearers with flowing tails; prefer harder water and breed readily, so plan for fry.
1.4 in · 13+ gal · 75–81°F · pH 7–8
Cherry shrimp
Neocaridina davidi
Fits
Bright red dwarf shrimp that graze all day and breed in a planted tank; tiny bioload, but fry are snacks for most fish.
1.6 in · 4+ gal · 72–75°F · pH 6.5–7.8
Betta
Betta splendens
Fits
The Siamese fighting fish: one male per tank, warm still water, and no long-finned or nippy tank mates.
2.8 in · 11+ gal · 72–86°F · pH 6–7.5
Angelfish
Pterophyllum scalare
Fits
Tall, graceful cichlids for tall tanks of 30 gallons and up; adults eat neon tetras and shrimp, so stock around them.
3.5 in · 32+ gal · 77–84°F · pH 6–7
Amano shrimp
Caridina multidentata
Fits
The best-known algae-eating shrimp, made famous by Takashi Amano; bigger than cherries and a good fit for planted community tanks.
2 in · 7+ gal · 72–77°F · pH 6.5–7.5
Black neon tetra
Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
Fits
A peaceful tetra with a bright white-over-black stripe; hardier than the neon tetra and an easy fit in any calm community tank.
1.4 in · 23+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 5.5–7.5
Black widow tetra
Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Fits
A hardy, deep-bodied tetra with black 'skirt' fins; easy for beginners, but a small group nips the fins of its tank mates.
2.4 in · 22+ gal · 68–79°F · pH 6–7
Blue dolphin cichlid
Cyrtocara moorii
Fits
A sky-blue Malawi cichlid with a fatty forehead hump; calm and sociable over open sand, but no match for boisterous mbuna.
9.8 in · 80+ gal · 77–81°F · pH 8–8.5
Bronze cory
Corydoras aeneus
Fits
The most widely kept cory: a tough bronze-green or albino catfish that shoals along the bottom and handles a broad range of water.
3 in · 23+ gal · 70–81°F · pH 6–8
Cardinal tetra
Paracheirodon axelrodi
Fits
The neon's close cousin, with red running the full length of the belly; a soft, acidic-water schooling fish that likes it warmer than neons.
1.4 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 4–6
Cherry barb
Puntius titteya
Fits
One of the most peaceful barbs: males glow cherry red and leave fins alone, making it great for planted community tanks.
2 in · 17+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 6–8
Chinese algae eater
Gyrinocheilus aymonieri
Fits
A popular sucker-mouth 'cleaner' that reaches 11 inches and turns aggressive with age, sometimes rasping the slime coat off other fish.
11 in · 95+ gal · 72–79°F · pH 6–8
Clown loach
Chromobotia macracanthus
Fits
A bold orange-and-black loach that lives 20 years and grows over a foot long, so a proper group needs a 6-foot tank.
15.7 in · 202+ gal · 75–86°F · pH 5–7
Convict cichlid
Amatitlania nigrofasciata
Fits
A tough Central American cichlid that breeds almost anywhere, and is aggressive enough to attack fish several times its size.
5.9 in · 34+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 7–8
Demasoni
Chindongo demasoni (syn. Pseudotropheus demasoni)
Fits
A small blue-and-black striped mbuna with outsized aggression; it attacks much larger fish and is kept only in large, crowded groups.
3 in · 64+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 8.2–8.5
Dwarf gourami
Trichogaster lalius
Fits
A bright little gourami popular with beginners; one male per tank, no bettas, and buy carefully, as imported fish often carry an incurable iridovirus.
3 in · 18+ gal · 72–81°F · pH 6–7.5
Fairy cichlid
Neolamprologus brichardi
Fits
A graceful Tanganyika cichlid with a lyre tail; one pair grows into a family colony that guards its rocks year-round.
3.5 in · 34+ gal · 73–79°F · pH 8–9
Firemouth cichlid
Thorichthys meeki
Fits
A Central American cichlid with a fiery red throat it flares when threatened; fairly calm for a cichlid but territorial when breeding.
4.7 in · 34+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 6.5–8.5
Glowlight tetra
Hemigrammus erythrozonus
Fits
A small, translucent tetra with a glowing orange stripe along its body; peaceful, hardy and at its best in a densely planted tank.
1.6 in · 22+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 6–7.5
Golden mbuna
Melanochromis auratus
Fits
A striped gold mbuna and one of the most aggressive Malawi cichlids; it kills rival males, so plan a crowded harem tank of 55 gallons or more.
4.3 in · 64+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 7.6–8.8
Jewel cichlid
Rubricatochromis bimaculatus (syn. Hemichromis bimaculatus)
Fits
A blazing red West African cichlid that holds its territory year-round and turns extremely aggressive when spawning; best kept as a pair on its own.
5.9 in · 34+ gal · 72–82°F · pH 6–7.8
Kribensis
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Fits
A small West African cichlid whose female has a bright belly; a cave-spawning pair digs pits and guards fry along the bottom.
3.9 in · 23+ gal · 75–81°F · pH 6.5–7

And 87 more in the species catalog.

Risky

And 9 more in the species catalog.

Avoid

And 5 more in the species catalog.

Every tank is different. Set yours up once (size, water, who already lives there) and each species is checked against it.

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