Clown Pleco Tank Mates

Clown Pleco is peaceful, so its tank mates need choosing with care. Here are the 190 freshwater species that pair well with a clown pleco — plus the 3 to avoid — with a live checker you can tune to your own tank.

By The Aquarium DB Team • Updated June 7, 2026 • Full Clown Pleco care guide →
Best matches

The best tank mates for a clown pleco

  • Ember Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Neon Green Rasbora ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Ramshorn Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 20–28 °C (68–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Red Lip Nerite Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Dawn Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2.5 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Nerite Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 2.5 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Assassin Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Cherry Shrimp ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 18–28 °C (64–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Endler's Livebearer ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Glowlight Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Gold Ring Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Malaysian Trumpet Snail ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 21–27 °C (70–81 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Neon Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Tail-spot Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Trinidad Guppy ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3 cm · 19–24 °C (66–75 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Pygmy Corydoras ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3.2 cm · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Glowlight Rasbora ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 3.5 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Blue Danio ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 21–26 °C (70–79 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Emperor Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Flame Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Ghost Shrimp ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 18–28 °C (64–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Glowlight Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Golden Dwarf Barb ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Phoenix Tetra ✅ Compatible
    Easy care · Peaceful · 4 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
With caution

Clown Pleco tank mates that can work with care

  • Afra Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Alligator Gar ⚠️ With caution
    Hard care · Aggressive · 250 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Alligator Gar may bully the smaller Clown Pleco, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Altifrons Geophagus ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    Altifrons Geophagus may bully the smaller Clown Pleco, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Amazon Puffer ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Peaceful · 8 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Angelfish ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 15 cm · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Angelicus Synodontis ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Semi-aggressive · 25 cm · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    Angelicus Synodontis may bully the smaller Clown Pleco, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Arrowhead Puffer ⚠️ With caution
    Hard care · Aggressive · 12 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    Your 80 L tank is below the ~132 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Auratus Cichlid ⚠️ With caution
    Medium care · Aggressive · 11 cm · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    pH preferences only just meet (Clown Pleco 6.5–7.5 vs Auratus Cichlid 7.6–8.8) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.

+ 139 more “with caution” pairings — see the interactive checker above.

Avoid

Fish to avoid keeping with a clown pleco

  • Imperial Flower Loach ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Semi-aggressive · 50 cm · 15–22 °C (59–72 °F)
    Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Imperial Flower Loach 15–22 °C).
  • Goldfish ⛔ Avoid
    Medium care · Peaceful · 30 cm · 18–22 °C (64–72 °F)
    Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Goldfish 18–22 °C).
  • Panda Loach ⛔ Avoid
    Hard care · Peaceful · 6 cm · 18–23 °C (64–73 °F)
    Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Panda Loach 18–23 °C).
Interactive tool

Check any fish against a clown pleco

Dial in your exact tank size and filter by result — the checker scores every species in our database against a clown pleco, with the reasoning for each verdict.

Tank-mate checker

Will it live with a Clown Pleco?

We compare each fish against your clown pleco on temperament, size, water parameters and swimming zone. Set your tank size and filter the results.

  • African Butterfly Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Badis✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Bamboo Shrimp✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
    • Both are peaceful; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Bearded Corydoras✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–24 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
    • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Brilliant Rasbora✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Keep Brilliant Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Burmese Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Dwarf Gourami✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Glass Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Keep Glass Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Golden Wonder Killifish✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keyhole Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Kribensis✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 25–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Molly✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Paradise Fish✅ Compatible
    Aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 16–26 °C (61–79 °F)
    • Peaceful + Aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Porthole Catfish✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Both are peaceful, and their water overlaps around 24–28 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Rosy Barb✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
    • Peaceful + Semi-aggressive, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
    • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Thick-lipped Gourami✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Topaz Cichlid✅ Compatible
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Zebra Pleco✅ Compatible
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
    • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 26–28 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
    • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Afra Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Afra Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Bandit Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Bandit Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Brichardi Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Clown Rasbora⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Clown Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Convict Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 21–28 °C (70–82 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Daffodil Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Clown Pleco 6.5–7.5 vs Daffodil Cichlid 7.8–9) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Demasoni Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 9 cm · Hard care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.6); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Demasoni Cichlid in a shoal of 12+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Electric Yellow Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
    • Different pH ranges (6.5–7.5 vs 7.8–8.9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Giant Danio⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 20–27 °C (68–81 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Giant Danio in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Johanni Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Clown Pleco 6.5–7.5 vs Johanni Cichlid 7.8–8.6) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Johanni Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Lifalili Jewel Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Aggressive · 9 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Mexican Tetra⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 9 cm · Easy care · 18–25 °C (64–77 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Mexican Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Rusty Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Clown Pleco 6.5–7.5 vs Rusty Cichlid 7.8–8.5) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Silver Tetra⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~115 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
    • Keep Silver Tetra in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Tanganyikan Butterfly Cichlid⚠️ With caution
    Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
    • pH preferences only just meet (Clown Pleco 6.5–7.5 vs Tanganyikan Butterfly Cichlid 8–9) — target the overlap and acclimate slowly.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~130 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Zebra Loach⚠️ With caution
    Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~115 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Goldfish⛔ Not recommended
    Peaceful · 30 cm · Medium care · 18–22 °C (64–72 °F)
    • Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Goldfish 18–22 °C).
    • Goldfish may bully the smaller Clown Pleco, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Imperial Flower Loach⛔ Not recommended
    Semi-aggressive · 50 cm · Hard care · 15–22 °C (59–72 °F)
    • Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Imperial Flower Loach 15–22 °C).
    • Water hardness preferences differ (Clown Pleco 2–10 vs Imperial Flower Loach 12–25 dGH).
    • Imperial Flower Loach may bully the smaller Clown Pleco, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
    • Your 80 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Panda Loach⛔ Not recommended
    Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 18–23 °C (64–73 °F)
    • Temperature needs don't overlap (Clown Pleco 24–28 °C vs Panda Loach 18–23 °C).

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.

Setting up a clown pleco community tank

Give the group a stable, planted 80 L+ tank with a gentle filter, a reliable heater and plenty of cover — broken sight lines and hiding spots let mid-water and bottom dwellers keep out of each other's way. Cycle it fully and stock gradually.

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How to choose

How to choose the right tank mates for a clown pleco

As a peaceful species, clown pleco is easily bullied — favour other calm, non-nippy fish and steer clear of boisterous or aggressive tank mates. It mostly occupies the bottom of the tank, so it pairs naturally with species that use the other levels.

Clown Pleco grows to about 9 cm, so avoid tank mates small enough to be seen as food — as a rule of thumb, skip anything under roughly 5 cm. Match its water, too: aim for 24–28 °C (75–82 °F), pH 6.5–7.5 and 2–10 dGH. Fish needing very different conditions — coldwater species, or hard-water lovers against a soft-water fish — rarely thrive side by side.

Clown Pleco doesn't need its own kind to feel secure; think twice before keeping more than one if it is territorial. Whatever you add, introduce new fish slowly, watch for bullying in the first days, and have a backup plan if temperaments clash.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can a clown pleco live with other fish?

Yes — with the right companions. Our checker finds 190 compatible freshwater species for clown pleco. Pick calm, similarly-sized fish that share its water needs and add them to a mature, well-planted tank.

What is the best tank mate for a clown pleco?

Easy, peaceful, similarly-sized species top the list — for example Ember Tetra, Neon Green Rasbora, Ramshorn Snail. Use the checker above to match against your own tank size.

What fish should you avoid keeping with a clown pleco?

Avoid Imperial Flower Loach, Goldfish, Panda Loach and similar — usually a temperature, size or temperament clash. The full "avoid" list below gives the reason for each.

How big a tank do clown pleco tank mates need?

Start from Clown Pleco's own minimum and scale up with every addition. The checker above defaults to a 80 L community tank and flags pairings that need more room — drag the slider to match your setup.

← Back to the full Clown Pleco care guide