Adopt big or small pleco??

[fishymommy]

Hello,

I love common plecos and sadly, lost my poor Hoov-dog a few weeks back. Since I have the huge 90g, I wanted to adopt/buy another common pleco so he has a large happy home to go to instead of being sent to an unknowing person who would try to shove him/her into a small tank. With this in mind, would it be better to get a close to full grown pleco or a medium/small one that can grow up in the large tank? Either way, I would hopefully be helping one pleco in the long run. Which option would "rescue" a pleco more? Do I adopt the big beastie pleco that nobody seems to want at the pet store because he's so big? Or a smaller one that may accidentally be bought by an unknowing fish keeper??

Sorry if that doesn't make any sense.. I can't seem to make the words type out right. Haha.

Thanks in advance,

fishymommy

[mac]

Hmm,

IMO I guess it all depends. In my LPS the tank they keep the large Plecos in is 135 gallons. And there is no trouble for space. And if the fish is not sold they ship them of to other shops who sell the fish to people who want large ones.

I don't know really, in our situation what to do. I would IMO get the small or medium ones. Mostly because some people think the fish stay that size.

mac

[fishymommy]

Your LFS sounds nice. They probably keep the large plecos in 40-50 gallon tanks at my LFS. Just enough for them to hang on the wall... Thanks for your opinion

[KingFisher]

I vote none of the above. I think even a 90g is too small as a permanent home for a common pleco. Especially given the fact that you already have two BPs which will grow large. The pleco would eventually be cramped for space and have no swimming room.

There are many smaller sized plecos to choose from, I suggest that you take a look at a few of these before deciding.

[Jacko]

A 90 gallon isn't that huge when it comes to common plecos, they can easily get as long as your tank is wide, so I would suggest not getting a commong pleco, there are plenty of other plecos that still get fairly big but won't outgrow that tank.

KF beat me to it...
didn't know you already had to BP's though, with an 18" common pleco, the bioload would be pretty much too great for that tank, unless you've got a great filter, what're you running?

[mac]

Your LFS sounds nice. They probably keep the large plecos in 40-50 gallon tanks at my LFS. Just enough for them to hang on the wall... Thanks for your opinion

Well they are very crappy really. They just have a large tank. Normally when you get fish from them you have to go through a lot of work. Because more than half their fish stock is rubbish, or diseased.

And the good fish die after a while because of their rubbish fish keeping practices.

In your case I think the large ones would be best, but mind you they do grow large so in time they would out grow your tank.

mac

[fishymommy]

Ok.. well what other pleco's do you suggest? My sister loves the zebra pleco's but I've never seen one in real life before so I have no idea where I would get one. Any other suggestions??

[Jacko]

I wouldn't suggest a zebra pleco, it'd just endanger them more...
Check out aquabid.com, find plecos you like and research what size they get, I'd suggest one around 12 inches.

[mac]

I agree Alex. Great point.

mac

[Jaster]

I have an 80 gallon and I use a crew of 3 Bristle nose plecos. They do a great job, they get along with everyone (even fry), and room is never an issue for them because they get 4-5 inches.

[fishymommy]

wow, i didn't know zebra plecos were endangered. Thanks for letting me know!! And thanks for the tips so far. Any other pleco favorites??

[Wild Turkey]

I voted medium size.

I think you said it best when you said "or one of those uber large plecos that no one but me wants" putting money towards the purchase of one only makes them more likely to carry them for a while. If no one else wants them, let them sell poorly and hopefully it contributes to large plecos not being sold in the lfses so often.




On the contrary to the zebra pleco comment though, I dont think that purchasing one makes them "more endangered", quite the opposite. If you stop buying, the guy stops breeding efforts and that will make them more endangered imo. Wild caught would be another story

[smaug]

I have a sailfin plec you could have!!!Hes a beauty for sure.Im in Pa.

[mrs fishpatrick]

If you mean L046 by zebra pleco, you better start saving
these cost an arm and a leg and then some!

[Wild Turkey]

If you mean L046 by zebra pleco, you better start saving
these cost an arm and a leg and then some!

Yes, not a worthy investment unless you are planning on breeding or have a lot of extra money lying around imo. Beautiful fish tho

[mac]

Yes, not a worthy investment unless you are planning on breeding or have a lot of extra money lying around imo. Beautiful fish tho

I quite agree. Great fish. But best kept to breeding IMO.

As for the price I see them from time to time in NZ selling for $1,500.00 down to $800.00.

mac

[Oscar_freak12321]

I would suggest getting a medium sized one. That way, it is mostly able to hold its own, and still not big enough to beat up on your older fish that have been in the tank for a while. This will give it time to adjust and you can see how you would like to go from there.

[fishymommy]

I have a sailfin plec you could have!!!Hes a beauty for sure.Im in Pa.

Haha thanks for the offer but I'm in Iowa.

[fishymommy]

I quite agree. Great fish. But best kept to breeding IMO.

As for the price I see them from time to time in NZ selling for $1,500.00 down to $800.00.

mac

Holy Crap!! And I thought salt water fish were expensive! Jeez

[mac]

Holy Crap!! And I thought salt water fish were expensive! Jeez

Well most of the salt water fish in NZ are cheaper than these loverly fish.
I guess because the ones which are for sale are bread in NZ and as far as I know they don't import them.

mac