thoughts on this plan for 55gallon

[Chris24]

55 Gallon tank

i allready have:
1x Rainbow shark, male 3 years old, 6"
1x red eyed swordtail 2" i think a male
1x black veil angelfish 2"
1x pleco (not sure what kind he is yet) i would guess 7"

what i want to add:

2 more of the red eyed swordtails, females
2 more of the angelfish. (idk how to sex these or what ratio i should have)

maybe some kind of shrimps to scavenge gravel for excess flake etc...

when i plug this into the AQadvisor, all is well and good until i add the pleco. i have a power 60 filter in there, and even if i add a second one the advisor says i would be doing two decent size water changes a week. i assume because it says they (the pleco) can get so huge as adults.

sooo...im wondering if alot of people have the same problem with plecos. im not really attached to the guy, i just assume they are basicly good to have in the tank. i guess my options would be

a) lose the pleco, but then i would have more algea to deal with?
b) when he gets largish say 9" or so, trade him in for a smaller one?
(i wanted a smaller baby one anyways, but the guy at the store "upgraded" me to the larger guy for free)
c) maybe there is some variety of pleco that doesnt get so huge?

the rainbow is my 1st fish, and even though he is a lil bastard hes got to stay, i want the others in the tank because i want to try breeding the swords and angels. i have a 20 gallon tall, and a regular 10 gallon also that i can setup to use and infimiry or fry tanks if/when needed.

thoughts?

thank you AQ COM!

[Chris24]

whoops should have done more research...

here is a list of small plecos
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=132656

[Bristley]

Personnally, I think you should try to go with the trade in option if you don't have a place that you can rehome your pleco. See if they'll take him in and try to get a rubberlip or bristlenose pleco. Both stay relatively small (5" or less IIRC).

As far as the Angelfish go, I have heard/read that they are very difficult to sex when they are young. If you plan on trying to breed them I've heard the best bet is to by a group of them and over time they will start to pair off. Once you get a pair you should separate them from the other Angels.

I have a friend who has two Zebra Angels (not sure about the sexes), in a 75 gallon tank. They are about the same size and he said that they seem to get along just fine. I have heard that if you have Angels of different sizes in too small of a tank for all of them the larger ones will harass the small ones, so you should read up some more about them first before you make any decisions.

[rich311k]

Lose the pleco. He is just going to keep growing and he does not really eat algae anyway. A bristle nose would be a better choice.

The rest of your stocking plan sounds fine to me. I would get 3-4 2 inch angels and let them pair off on their own. The others your store wiill take back. there is always a market for semi grown angels.

The sword tail fry will not survive very long in that tank. Be ready with another tank to move the moms in when they are ready.

[Lady Hobbs]

Pleco's gotta go. Pleco's will suck on the slime coat of flat sided fish and kill them. They never go in an angel tank, Discus tank or Silver Dollar tank and probably other like - shaped fish.
They also get over a foot long.

[toddnbecka]

There are planet of pleco's that stay smaller than commons, though not necessarily available at your lfs. Bristlenose and rubberlips are the most commonly available algae eating vareities. Some Hypancistrus species grow to about the same size, but less useful for algae control.
You'd be better off getting 4-5 more angels, then swapping off the extras after a pair forms.
Breeding swordtails in the same tank with angels will make the angels happy, they love to eat fry. The 10 gallon tank would be a good nursery for them, at least until they grow large enough to be safe from the angels. If the 10 becomes overcrowded before they're large enough you could place a divider in the 55.