Will they eat a pleco?

[marksuttonjr]

I recently got 2 axolotls. I won 1 in a drawing, and purchased a 2nd. I was told not to keep any fish with them, however I put both axolotls in a 29 gal with a pleco about the same length they were. I figured that a pleco would be armored enough that it would be OK. I buit a few caves out of rock and driftwood, and everything was doing great together. Sometime last night or today the pleco disappeared. I took everything out of the tank except the axolotls, and found no sign of the pleco. I also searched the room. No sign that the pleco was ever there. Last time I saw it was 3PM yesterday, and by 4PM today it was gone

 

[Skudo09]

It can surprising how much an axolotl can fit in its mouth. Plecos can hide very well also. Regardless, it is not a good idea to keep plecos with axolotls. Apart from their different requirements, plecos can cause damage to the axolotl's slime coat. Fish can sometimes introduce disease and parasites. If you do happen to find the pleco, it would be best to re-house the pleco separately.

 

[Kirzzin]

Agreed,
Also, your axie tank shouldn't be warm enough to produce algae and a stable environment for a pleco and your axies are carnivorous, its not good for them to eat the same type of food as the pleco.

 

[marksuttonjr]

I only put the pleco in there to clean up algae that I introduced to the tank. When i set it up a week ago I added drift wood, and large rocks from my cichlid tank for decor and to seed the tank with good BB. I did not plan on leaving the pleco in there long term. I was just surprised that it vanished. Like I said I figured that it was armored plenty well that they could not eat it. They are around 4" and it was slightly larger. Maybe 4 1/4" to 4 1/2". I guess it was a lesson learned.