# Is bushynose plecos compatible with African Cichlids?



## Stormy_87 (Dec 16, 2009)

Hi 
I was wondering if anyone ever kept bushynose plecos with African cichlids? I currently have an electric blue cichlid, yellow lab cichlid and a peacock cichlid and was interested in getting some bushynose plecos for my aquarium. For the most part my cichlids are pretty mellow.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Bushy nose or Bristlenose Plecos are from soft water environments, but are pretty adaptable, and are pretty good at staying hidden. Depending on tank size you might try 1 for a tank between 30-50 gallons, and maybe 2 for a larger tank. (They get too big for smaller tanks. Even a 30 gallon is pushing it) They are very efficient algae eaters. 

I am not as familiar with all the Rift Lake Cichlids. Don't some of them eat algae, too? Probably not the stuck-on-flat sorts, like Loricariads. 

The CAE (Chinese Algae Eater) can hold his own against pushy fish, and might work, too.


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## Hedgie (Dec 18, 2007)

I've kept Bristlenoses with all types of cichlids and never had a problem unless they were under 2cms, then they were eaten.


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## Stormy_87 (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I finally received 6 albino bushynose plecos from the mail. I've decided to keep them in my ten gallon until they get a bit bigger though. There about 1-1.25 inch now, way to small to put in my African cichlids tank. 

I do have another question though, has nothing to do will bushynose plecos. What ways is there to raise your ph in the aquarium? My ten gallon planted tank is about 6.8 ph and I haven't even set up my CO2 system yet. I read that CO2 lowers ph in the aquarium, is that true? My fish so far seem to be fine, but I'm still worried that once I set up my CO2 system the ph is going to drop drastically. I have bushynose plecos, guppies, and red cherry shrimp in the tank.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

pH is not a stand-alone value. To do anything to the pH it is better to know the KH and GH of the tank. CO2 interacts with the KH and between them they determine the pH. In general adding CO2 will lower the pH. If the KH is already pretty low, then CO2 will have a very large effect on the pH. If the KH is higher, then the pH will not change so much when you add CO2. These are not the only things that alter pH, but it is a good place to start. 

Test the GH and KH of the tap and the tank and post these numbers here. Lets see what is going on. 

If your goal is to keep the Rift Lake Cichlids they need hard water, GH and KH around 10+ German degrees of hardness. I create this sort of water for my Lake Tanganyikan tank by adding baking soda to raise the KH and Seachem Equilibrium to raise the GH. Raising the KH usually raises and stabilizes the pH. In my hard water tanks the pH is in the very high 7s to low 8s. Get the GH and KH right for the fish you want to keep, and ignore the pH as long as it is somewhere in the ballpark. Don't waste your time chasing an exact number for pH.

Bristlenose Plecos, Guppies and Red Cherry shrimp are all rather adaptable. I would aim for a GH and KH anywhere from 5 German degrees of hardness to 15 degrees, and this might make the pH (before CO2) somewhere from about the upper 6s to the upper 7s.


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## Stormy_87 (Dec 16, 2009)

I'm not sure about German degrees. My jungle quick dip test strip shows the GH being 300 which is considered very hard and the KH being 100 which is between moderate and ideal. Would you recommend me to put some baking soda in my water to stabilized my KH, if so how much should I put in my 30 gallon tank.


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