New Pleco Owner

courtnee · Post by **courtnee** » 07 Jan 2007, 07:45

I have 55gl tank and have pictus cats on the bottom. I have 4 of them and the largest right now is 5". they each have their hiding spots of fake logs and plenty of room to swim on the bottom and are very happy. The rest of my fish are tetras (white skirt and serpae) as the bottom if for the pictus.

I have a snail that I adore but he can not keep up with the demands of a 55gl tank. LOL Last night I bought a common Pleco. I know very well they get very large and I know I do not have that much room to allow a pleco to grow to big.

He has settled in well and gets along well with the pictus on the bottom. I can already see his clean up efforts and I am thankful. He is great to watch too.

My LFS said once he gets bigger to just bring him back and they will give me another pleco and I found this to be a great solution to my problem at the moment. This way I know I can give him back to LFS once I grow him bigger to allow him to go to another home with more room.

I am already thinking of a 125gl tank with my pictus since two are fourlines and will grow to what I think is to big for a 55gl. I would like for them to have more room.

I figure if I get attached (I already am LOL) I can throw the pleco in the 125gl for more time.

My big question would be how fast of rate do these guys grow?

What size would you say is time to remove him from this tank with what I got in there? (with everyone in there hiding spot the entire back of the tank is wide open for swimming. My tank is unplannted with many fake plants for additional hiding.

If I did get a 125gl with my 2 spotted pictus, 2 four line pictus, would that be a good home for the pleco as well and to what size is comfortable?

I am just trying to decide what path I want to take.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 11 Jan 2007, 13:44

Common plecos grow quite fast - how fast depends on the conditions of the tank and the amount of food available, but small ones will double in size within a year at least, unless you're not looking after it at all...

--
Mats

courtnee · Post by **courtnee** » 13 Jan 2007, 14:12

Well my pleco died. I was upset! He seemed so happy in there and hung out with the pictus and was eating well. I thought I did something wrong!

I had the LFS test my water and he said it was flawless just the same results I got at home. No ammonia, no nitrItes, nitrAtes at 20. My PH sits at about 7.2

I only had him 3 days. He did not seem stressed. His fins were up alot and he moved from once side of the tank to the other. Laid on the boat, laid on the plant. Just "hung out" His skin looked really good and his tummy was not sunken in etc.

Just one of those things I can not explain. *sigh*

I will try again.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Jan 2007, 12:00

Death of a pleco within three days points to one or more of the following things:
1. It was in poor health when you got it - quite possible.
2. Your water is very different from the shops and the resulting rather sudden change in water caused chock to the fish, which it eventually died from.
3. Your tank is not cycled and high levels of ammonia or nitrite caused the fish to die.
4. Your tank is not cleaned often enough, and very high levels of nitrate caused the fish to die.

Without knowing more about the water in your tank and the shops tanks or the health of the fish, it's impossible to say which of the above where the cause or partial cause of the death.

Generally, common plecos are very hardy, but sudden changes in water conditions aren't good for any fish.

I would suggest, for the future, that you get a pleco that grows a bit smaller, such as .

--
Mats

courtnee · Post by **courtnee** » 15 Jan 2007, 14:11

I am going to assume it was the first one, something was wrong when I got it. Also I can not rule out the huge change in water. However from what they tell me and I know my PH range is close to there PH. My temp is higher I know that. I keep mine at 80F they keep their tanks around 78F.

My tank is cycled. It has been going for sometime. I watched the nasty fishless cycle and got it cycled and have stocked my tank with out issues.

I liquid tests my water. I know that before the pleco went in, as well as while he was in there, and the day after he died I had

0 ammonia
0 NitrIte
20 NitrAte
7.2PH

I know my water was not unhealthy and poisoned him. The rest of my fish are healthy.

I do PWC and gravel vacs to keep the tank clean. I am proud of my tank and the LFS even said my tank was great.

So I seriously doubt that was the issue.

Also I understand the common pleco can get large. That he will indeed outgrow a 55gl tank. Why when I started the thread I stated such the case. I could get a smaller one but to me getting a baby is like being a mother. A 55gl has plenty of room for him and when I get my 125gl tank he can go in there as he grows.

As for suggesting a smaller pleco for future purchase (thanks for the suggestion). I want to discuss that a little. I am not saying this to start a spat or anything. I am just confused and really do not understand why I need to buy a smaller one.

Now please, fill me in what is wrong with having a baby pleco that is a few inches in a 55gl tank to be moved as it grows into a 125gl tank as I stated (or at worst return him to the LFS after Ive grown him)?

I mean really. A 55gl tank is plenty of room for a pleco as a baby with a owner that watches their water like a hawk and takes very good care of a tank.

Also a 125gl home is well for a pleco for quite some time.

I understand they get large. I stated that I understand that.

I guess that is where I am confused.

So suggesting a smaller one for the future. Is that saying I shouldnt own a pleco with a 55gl tank nor a 125gl (that I will have by this summer.

I guess who can own these common plecos?????

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 15 Jan 2007, 14:29

Looks like water conditions are fine, yes. I wasn't trying to blame you, I only listed the (IMO) most common causes for death of fish close to purchase.

I didn't mean that you should buy a smaller common pleco, but rather a species that doesn't grow quite so big.

Unless you keep very big and boisterous fish that make it a requirement that your algae-eater is also large, then I would suggest that you try a fish that stays small through its entire life, rather than one that can grow to around 18" (and even a 125g tank isn't really big enough for that sort of this, even if it's a lot better than a 55g!).

My personal guideline is that the fish should have 4L x 2L x 2L or close to this, where L is the length of the fish [quite obviously, more is always better here]. That means a 400g or so tank (72 x 36 x 36 inches, or 6 x 3 x 3 ft). Obviously, it's technically possible to keep a fish in much smaller accomodation, just like a family of four can technically be living in a bedsit - but that's hardly a good solution. In the fish scenario, small tank -> lots of water changing if nothing else. Filtration becomes a problem on small tanks too, as the waste production is/becomes greater than the filter can cope with [with a bigger tank, at least the concentraiton of the waste is lower].

I can certainly see the reason to buy a common pleco, if you have other large fishes that would cause harm to a smaller species.

I have a tank that is around 110g (60 x 20 x 24 inches), and the largest pleco in that is around 6" in length (although there is a in the tank that will, all being well, grow larger than this).

--
Mats